Tipping the Scale in Favor of the Right Holders: The European Anti-Circumvention Provisions

Abstract

The European directive on the copyright in the information society provides for some provisions against circumvention of Digital Rights Management technologies. Circumventing a technological measure or making and trafficking in circumvention tools are now prohibited activities in the European Union. Despite the expressed intention of the European lawmaker to safeguard a balance between the rights of the copyright holders and the interests of the users and society at large, the anti-circumvention provisions give the rights owners preference: the protection is broad and surely extends beyond the boundaries of copyright; the exceptions are overridden, albeit the empty promise of the article 6(4). The scale has been here mostly tipped in favor of the economic interests of the authors. This paper describes the anti-circumvention provisions of the directive and the new (im)balance they put in place.