Copyright protection policy has widespread implications. Layers of issues arise in this policy area that impact every part of society. The critical issue is to protect and reward ideas that emerge from the creative industries. Creating an Internet commons that stimulates innovation is also vital to the policy. Knowledge and discovery in the economy are important to create infrastructures that are capable of advancing innovations in the marketplace.[1] This is becoming increasingly difficult because our society is fixated on controlling property rights in an overtly restrictive way. Overarching these concerns are the implications on the privacy of the individual. Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology is designed to track Internet usage and copyright violation.[2] It has been employed as a tool to aid the fight against piracy. This is coupled with the potential for Internet Service Providers to cut off Internet to repeat copyright infringers. This ability undercuts the basic legal right to due course. Needless to say, this approach to copyright protection will significantly influence the way individuals use the Internet. Moreover, it will change the way individuals interact with ideas, images, and multimedia on the whole. The decisions to be made about the future of the Internet commons and copyright protection are therefore of considerable importance. This report will begin with the background of NZ copyright policy development. It will then discuss the analytical framework and approach taken to examine the issues. The findings of the study will then be examined. The report will then use the case study of U.S. copyright policy to give further understanding of the global nature of this policy problem and gain insight as to where New Zealand copyright policy should be directed. In the analysis section, the validity of the analytical approach will be questioned, and methodology outlined in order to allow replication of the analysis. This will be followed by policy recommendations and discussion. Without losing the thread of the paper, readers only interested in a basic knowledge of the policy can skip the sections regarding research approach, the case study, and the analysis section.
[1] Mars, M. Matthew, Janet Bercovitz, and Barclay E James. “Toward Measuring the Social and Economic Value of University Innovation: A Survey of the Literature.” In Measuring the Social Value of Innovation: A Link in the University Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship Equation, edited by Gary D. Libecap. Bingley, West Yorkshire: Jai Press, 2009.
[2] Kerr, Ian. “To Observe and Protect? How Digital Rights Management System Threaten Privacy and What Policymakers Should Do About It.” In Intellectual Property and Information Wealth: Issues and Practices in the Digital Age edited by Peter K. Yu. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 2007, p. 322.