Digital rights management and the breakdown of social norms.

May, Christopher (2003) Digital rights management and the breakdown of social norms. First Monday, 8 (11). ISSN 1396-0466

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Abstract

At the centre of the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) is a long history of political bargains struck between private rights to reward and the social benefit of information/knowledge diffusion. The historical dynamic of politics in this policy area has been to expand the rights of owners while circumscribing the public realm of information and knowledge. In recent decades the public domain has become merely a residual, all that is left when all other rights (as constructed by IPRs) have been exercised. The advent of digital rights management (DRM) technologies has disturbed a reasonably legitimate politico-legal settlement over "fair use," challenging the existing balance between the rights of "creators" and the interests of users. The breakdown of the norms underpinning IPRs has prompted renewed debate regarding their legitimacy. Although it is technological change that has enhanced not only the ability to copy but also the potential to control the distribution of content, this paper suggests that this argument will not be won or lost in the realm of technology. Rather, new technologies return the question of the control of knowledge and information (content) to the realm of politics.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
First Monday
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/researchoutput/libraryofcongress/ja
Subjects:
?? COMPUTER NETWORKS AND COMMUNICATIONSLAWHUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTIONJA POLITICAL SCIENCE (GENERAL) ??
ID Code:
35541
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
21 Jan 2011 14:45
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
20 Sep 2023 00:08