Copyright Enforcement Research Articles

Target choice and unique synergies in global mobile telephony: a dyadic approach

In this paper we evaluate the heterogeneous effects of online copyright enforcement. We ask whether the unexpected shutdown of the popular file hosting platform Megaupload had a differential effect on box office revenues of wide-release vs. niche movies. Identification comes from a comparison of movies that were available on Megaupload to those that were not. We show that only movies that premiere in a relatively large number of theaters benefitted from the shutdown of Megaupload. The average effect, however, is negative. We provide suggestive evidence that this result is driven by information externalities. The idea is that online piracy acts as a mechanism to spread information about product characteristics across consumers with different valuations for the product. Our results question the effectiveness of blanket public anti piracy policy, not only from a consumer perspective, but also from a producer perspective.

Issues of copyright enforcement in the digital environment: p2p networking and darknet

This article will provide a basic overview of the P2P Networking, its development into darknet, and the legal aspects and means of copyright enforcement will be analyzed. Furthermore, the correlation between copyright and right of privacy in digital environment will be shown. Finally, the available options of copyright protection and Technological Protection Measures will be discussed.

Copyright on the Human Rightss Trial: Redefining the Boundaries of Exclusivity Through Freedom of Expression

Courts have traditionally considered copyright to be immune to any external freedom of expression review, the tension between those rights having to be resolved through internal balancing mechanisms such as the idea/expression dichotomy or limitations and exceptions to the exclusive right. Two important rulings from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rendered in 2013 clearly challenge this premise. One is the judgment against France in the Ashby Donald case, the other an admissibility decision in the Swedish ‘‘Pirate Bay’’ application. Both rulings held that the use of a copyrighted work can be considered as an exercise of the right to freedom of expression, even if the use qualifies as an infringement and is profit-motivated. The Court, by verifying if in the given situation the interference can be justified with regard to other conflicting rights, accepts the idea that the compatibility of any copyright enforcement measure with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and that no predetermined answer can be given by copyright law. Thus, it can be expected that freedom of expression might be used in the future by courts to redefine the boundaries of exclusivity. Taking this recent case law of the ECtHR as a starting point, this article examines what guidelines should be applied by the judiciary when having to solve the conflict between copyright and freedom of expression in a particular case.

How copyright shaped the music industry: a comparative and empirical assessment on copyright enforcement in the PRC and the ROC

Since 2000, the revenue of the music industry has plummeted worldwide. Meanwhile, the advancement of technology has created many changes that has transformed the copyright law system, raising doubts about the effectiveness and necessity of copyright law system. This article conducts comparative and qualitative research on the music industry of mainland China and Taiwan, to study the effect of copyright law enforcement to the music industry. In mainland China, the laws, enforcement campaigns, and judicial decisions did not create significant impact on average citizens nor the creative industries. On the contrary, through copyright law legislation and amendments, enforcement, judicial decisions, unspoken rules, and business practices, the notion to respect copyright have been embedded in most people’s minds in Taiwan. It was believed that copyright, manifests in its various of forms, is the keystone to the environment that attracted talent all over the Greater China region to Taiwan.

The troubled waters of copyright safe harbours in India

The proliferation of the internet has raised novel concerns regarding the enforcement of copyright. Increasingly, online intermediaries are being targeted for their role in copyright infringement. Therefore, intermediary liability is arguably the single largest legal structure that may affect how our markets react to these technological changes. Against this background, this paper undertakes an analysis of the liability of internet intermediaries for copyright infringement, focusing primarily on the scope of ‘safe-harbour’ provisions. The author seeks conceptually to anchor the notion of intermediary liability in common law doctrines of secondary liability. Subsequently, the author throws light on the three most important elements of a safe harbour provision for internet intermediaries: (i) scope, in terms of kinds of activities and intermediaries it covers; (ii) fault or knowledge standard; and (iii) notice and takedown mechanism. To understand this triangular metric of gauging the effectiveness of a safe harbour, the experience of the Indian framework lies at the heart of this article. The author undertakes an analysis of Indian law—both prior to and subsequent to—the introduction of the ‘fair use exception’ by the Copyright (Amendment) Act 2012. Where relevant, the article also draws lessons from other jurisdictions. Through an analysis of the Indian framework, this article hopes to inform the larger legal debate on the scope of intermediary liability for copyright infringement.

On Online Platforms and the Commission's New Proposal for a Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market

In September 2016, the European Commission published a new Proposal for a Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. Article 13 of this Proposal would introduce a new set of obligations to take measures for the enforcement of copyright for internet intermediaries that host large amounts of works in a public manner. This study, commissioned by MEP Julia Reda, evaluates Article 13, as well as the Recitals that support it. The study concludes that key elements of these provisions are incompatible with existing EU law. On this basis, it provides a series of recommendations for potential amendments.

New dissimilarity measures for image phylogeny reconstruction

Image phylogeny is the problem of reconstructing the structure that represents the history of generation of semantically similar images (e.g., near-duplicate images). Typical image phylogeny approaches break the problem into two steps: (1) estimating the dissimilarity between each pair of images and (2) reconstructing the phylogeny structure. Given that the dissimilarity calculation directly impacts the phylogeny reconstruction, in this paper, we propose new approaches to the standard formulation of the dissimilarity measure employed in image phylogeny, aiming at improving the reconstruction of the tree structure that represents the generational relationships between semantically similar images. These new formulations exploit a different method of color adjustment, local gradients to estimate pixel differences and mutual information as a similarity measure. The results obtained with the proposed formulation remarkably outperform the existing counterparts in the literature, allowing a much better analysis of the kinship relationships in a set of images, allowing for more accurate deployment of phylogeny solutions to tackle traitor tracing, copyright enforcement and digital forensics problems.

United Kingdom Copyright Decisions and Legislative Developments 2016

This report highlights the main UK copyright decisions in 2016, which relate to the definition of “substantial part” in the context of copyright infringement, the interaction between the fair dealing provisions and the Information Society Directive, the relationship between copyright enforcement and competition law, the interaction between national legislation on copyright damages and the Enforcement Directive, and the effect of choice of law clauses on statutory rights conferred by the copyright legislation of other jurisdictions. It also discusses the repeal of Sec. 52 of the CDPA, which had previously limited the term of copyright protection for artistic works that had been exploited through industrial manufacturing to 25 years from the date of first marketing.

Piracy and box office movie revenues: Evidence from Megaupload

In this paper we evaluate the heterogeneous effects of online copyright enforcement. We ask whether the unexpected shutdown of the popular file hosting platform Megaupload had a differential effect on box office revenues of wide-release vs. niche movies. Identification comes from a comparison of movies that were available on Megaupload to those that were not. We show that only movies that premiere in a relatively large number of theaters benefitted from the shutdown of Megaupload. The average effect, however, is negative. We provide suggestive evidence that this result is driven by information externalities. The idea is that online piracy acts as a mechanism to spread information about product characteristics across consumers with different valuations for the product. Our results question the effectiveness of blanket public anti-piracy policy, not only from a consumer perspective, but also from a producer perspective.

The Impact on Cultural Diversity of Automated Anti-Piracy Systems As Copyright Enforcement Mechanisms: An Empirical Study of YouTubees Content ID Digital Fingerprinting Technology

Freedom of expression is closely intertwined with the preservation and promotion of cultural diversity. Simultaneously, protection of freedom of expression is promoted as an essential foundation for democracy in a pluralistic society. Although the aim of fostering cultural diversity is widely recognised, challenges remain in analysing the relationship and interaction between cultural diversity and freedom of expression. These challenges are likely to loom large in the digital environment. Digital technologies are changing the way cultural works are being produced, distributed and accessed, but digital technologies are also changing the way online uses of cultural work are monitored. Under the auspices of the Digital Single Market Strategy, the EU Commission has proposed a new copyright directive and intellectual property enforcement strategies. In the mind of the Commission, achieving this aim requires video-sharing platforms to embrace sophisticated technological tools, termed in this paper as ‘automated anti-piracy systems’ (‘AAPSs’). AAPSs are capable of recognising content which right-holders have already identified as their own, and respond based upon standing instructions from the holder whether the platform should permit use or block it. The Commission is intending to endorse and render mandatory the - so far - unregulated and informal notice and take-down procedure established by private entities. There are inherent risks in this privatisation of decision-making when digital content is blocked, filtered or removed. There is a lack of transparency in the design, implementation and use of AAPSs. This exacerbates the lack of accountability of intermediaries, and concerns that they fail to respect fundamental rights compared to in cases where the judiciary would be involved in the decision-making process. Consequently, one may begin to wonder whether an obligation to deploy automated anti-piracy systems on online-sharing platforms might run counter to promotion of cultural diversity. By requiring private entities to determine what unauthorised use is an ‘infringement’, will there be enough (or any) breathing space for cultural diversity to thrive? After all, the digital environment enables distribution and communication of artistic and cultural expression across borders and cultures in an unprecedented manner. While many may have very little economic value, they may be, nevertheless, indispensable for individual fulfillment and participation in a democratic society. Instead of considering whether the use of automated anti-piracy enforcement mechanisms is likely to violate international human rights law, this article looks at this issue from another perspective, and asks whether use of AAPSs is likely to impact on cultural diversity. By promoting cultural diversity as desirable ‘ends’, freedom of expression and copyright become the ‘means’ for enhancing the interaction between cultures and thereby promotes democratic values. In this article, we discuss our empirical research which sought to assess the diversity in cultural expressions featured on video-sharing platforms.

Privilege Over Innovation: Sports Broadcasting, Mobile Television, and the Case of Aereo

Despite the advent of digital and mobile technologies, major leagues and television networks continue to enjoy significant control over the distribution of popular sports content. Leagues have long enjoyed an antitrust exemption via the Sports Broadcasting Act when it comes to negotiating pooled coverage rights with broadcasters. This paper argues that leagues leverage this competitive advantage to thwart technological innovation. Our case is demonstrated by an examination of how Aereo—a startup technology company sued by broadcast networks in 2013 for copyright infringement—was framed in legal debates and news media coverage. Reinforced by statements circulated in the media, the leagues filed an amicus brief supporting their broadcast partners that expressed concerns about how Aereo-style innovation would impact their business models. Drawing in related international cases, the present study shows that the control of intellectual property and enforcement of copyright are crucial sources of power in the g...

Enhancing the Standards of Civil Damages Remedies to Fight Copyright Piracy in International Trade? A Commentary on the Proposed TRIPS-Plus Damages Reforms in the Third Amendment to the Copyright Law

The proposed third amendment to PRC copyright law endeavours to enhance the standards of damages to fight piracy more effectively via a TRIPS-Plus approach. This includes, inter alia, reframing statutory damages, introducing punitive damages, and new evidence rules granting the right of information to right holders. Nonetheless, the inconsistency of the extra-compensatory rationales of civil damage with the principle of restoration enshrined in the traditional Chinese copyright regime risks causing difficulties for the Chinese courts in implementing the new rules. The new provision on the right of information on pirated goods is a significant weapon to combat piracy that, conversely, risks causing tension between copyright enforcement and data protection, in addition to jeopardizing the defendants’ and third persons’ rights to privacy. This article argues that the proposed higher protection standards of copyright enforcement in China should not remain solely written law. The Chinese courts need to develop applicable conventions for calculating damages, based essentially on investigation using objective criteria of how much compensation ought to be payable, which is also the basis of calculating reasonable statutory damages. In this regard, this article advocates considering the merits and demerits of compatible enforcement provisions in the US and EU, and, meanwhile, developing a unified minimum standard for all courts in China via accepted and consistent judicial practice and through persistent dialogue and interaction with the academic community.

Copyright enforcement in the digital age

Government-sanctioned and market-based anti-piracy measures can both mitigate economic harm from piracy.

Derogating Regulative and Enforcement Powers in Copyright Protection in the Digital Market: A Trojan Horse for the EU?

The proposal for a Directive on Copyright in the Digital Market contains a proposal to harmonize protection of copyright in the digital market and to close the so called ‘value gap’. The value gap is a term that, in the realm of online copyright dissemination, signifies a situation where the right holder (for example an author of a song) is not adequately remunerated for his or her work. This situation usually occurs when his or her song is made available on an online platform, such as YouTube and him or she is not paid for the use and enjoyment of its work. The current market mechanism to tackle this problem is done via licensing schemes. This paper will analyse the possible Trojan horse that is hidden in this proposal, in order to ask the question, when it comes to online regulation and enforcement of copyright, is the deployment of Article 114 of the TFEU the correct legal basis for the EU to use in order to enhance accountability of the Internet Service Providers in regulation and enforcement of copyright.

The Role of Human Rights in Copyright Enforcement Online: Elaborating a Legal Framework for Website Blocking

The Role of Human Rights in Copyright Enforcement Online: Elaborating a Legal Framework for Website Blocking

Retrieval of Near Duplicate Images using K means and PSO Clustering

Objectives: The main objective of this paper is to retrieve Near Duplicate images from set of images similar to that of the user’s query image. Methods/Statistical analysis: Initially, the features are extracted from all the images in the image set and clustering is done using K-means and PSO. Then the similarity is calculated between the query image features and the features of images in the set. California ND image dataset is used for testing purpose. Initially, around 20 images are taken and tested. Findings: In this paper, clustering of near duplicate images is done along with optimization technique i.e., PSO is used with k means clustering. The experimental study indicates that the performance of the proposed system is much better when compared with other present systems that are not using optimisation methods. Application/Improvements: Near Duplicate Detection has received more attention in the recent years due to applications in copyright enforcement, organizing large image databases, easy image search, elimination of duplicate logos, etc. K means - PSO Clustering provides faster search-by-query images, image grouping and facilitates users’ browsing.

On the Reconstruction of Text Phylogeny Trees: Evaluation and Analysis of Textual Relationships.

Over the history of mankind, textual records change. Sometimes due to mistakes during transcription, sometimes on purpose, as a way to rewrite facts and reinterpret history. There are several classical cases, such as the logarithmic tables, and the transmission of antique and medieval scholarship. Today, text documents are largely edited and redistributed on the Web. Articles on news portals and collaborative platforms (such as Wikipedia), source code, posts on social networks, and even scientific publications or literary works are some examples in which textual content can be subject to changes in an evolutionary process. In this scenario, given a set of near-duplicate documents, it is worthwhile to find which one is the original and the history of changes that created the whole set. Such functionality would have immediate applications on news tracking services, detection of plagiarism, textual criticism, and copyright enforcement, for instance. However, this is not an easy task, as textual features pointing to the documents’ evolutionary direction may not be evident and are often dataset dependent. Moreover, side information, such as time stamps, are neither always available nor reliable. In this paper, we propose a framework for reliably reconstructing text phylogeny trees, and seamlessly exploring new approaches on a wide range of scenarios of text reusage. We employ and evaluate distinct combinations of dissimilarity measures and reconstruction strategies within the proposed framework, and evaluate each approach with extensive experiments, including a set of artificial near-duplicate documents with known phylogeny, and from documents collected from Wikipedia, whose modifications were made by Internet users. We also present results from qualitative experiments in two different applications: text plagiarism and reconstruction of evolutionary trees for manuscripts (stemmatology).

Introducing the Open Clause to improve copyright flexibility in cyberspace? Analysis and commentary on the proposed “two-step test” in the Third Amendment to the Copyright Law of the PRC, in comparison with the EU and the US

The so called “three-step test”, that the limitations and exceptions of copyright shall be allowed in certain special cases, provided that they do not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author, grants copyright flexibilities to balance the interests of all stakeholders, especially within the European system of circumscribed limitations and exceptions. This is essential for the domain of computer law, confronted by rapid and unpredictable global technological developments, and is, thus, enshrined in the most important international intellectual property (IP) treaties. Through the proposed third amendment to the Copyright Law of the PRC, the legislature intends to adopt this test while also introducing an open-ended list of limitations and exceptions that constitutes a China-specific “two-step test.” This contravenes prima facie the thesis endorsed by the WTO Panel in the case concerning Section 110(5) of the US Copyright Act in 2000. In contrast, court decisions in China frequently apply the fair use doctrine of US copyright law, neglecting to consider its peculiar context of the US common law tradition and, thus, unduly expanding the Chinese courts' discretionary power.This paper summarizes the case law in China and takes a comparative approach to address the divergence between the judicial application of cyber copyright law and the existing legislation. It suggests revising the proposed Article 43 of the Copyright Law of the PRC to capture the due interpretation of the three-step test, thereby finessing the delineation between rights protection and free use with the compensation of remuneration under the principle of proportionality. It argues that transplanting the US fair use doctrine into Chinese copyright law is feasible, but with the preconditions of endeavouring to strengthen judicial reform to integrate the IP adjudication systems, enhancing the coherence and efficiency of copyright enforcement, and facilitating consistent dialogues between scholars, practitioners, and lawmakers.

Online video sharing: an alternative channel for film distribution? Copyright enforcement, censorship, and Chinese independent cinema

Regarding piracy as the crime of stealing copyright holders’ rightful profits, many creative industries, such as the film, music, and gaming industries, are battling for stricter administrative and legal enforcement against copyright infringement. However, there is a counterargument that piracy could benefit copyright holders in the form of free promotion. Given China’s strict censorship of film content, this paper investigates how online piracy complicates the distribution of independent films in China. The advance of cyber technology and high-speed Internet access has not only fueled the spread of online film sharing, but has also encouraged public participation in the debate on the complex relationship between piracy, copyright, and censorship. Taking Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin (2013) as a case study, this paper evaluates the alternative business models for Chinese independent cinema put forward by Chinese netizens.

Copyright Enforcement: Evidence from Two Field Experiments

Effective dispute resolution is important for reducing private and social costs. We study how resolution responds to changes in price and communication using a new, extensive data set of copyright infringement incidences by firms. The data cover two field experiments run by a large stock‐photography agency. We find that substantially reducing the requested amount generates a small increase in the settlement rate. However, for the same reduced request, a message informing infringers of the price reduction and acknowledging the possible unintentionality generates a large increase in the settlement rate; including a deadline further increases response rate. The small price effect, compared to the large message effect, can be explained by two countervailing effects of a lower price: an inducement to settle early, but a lower threat of escalation. Furthermore, acknowledging possible unintentionality may encourage settlement due to the typically inadvertent nature of these incidences. The resulting higher settlement rate prevents additional legal action and significantly reduces social costs.