The rapid development of the internet has significantly increased patterns of interaction between people, both individuals and groups. This development has also given rise to new legal phenomena, one of which concerns the protection of copyright in digital works, including digital images, electronic books (e-books), graphics, tables, films, music, songs, and other forms of digital works.
At present, copyright protection for digital works is primarily approached through legal protection of technical or technological protection measures. In the field of information technology, these protection measures are commonly known as Digital Rights Management (DRM). Such technology can serve as a means of protecting intellectual property on the internet, including digital works.
The legal framework governing technological protection measures must be properly formulated. The regulation of copyright protection for such technologies is, among other things, significantly influenced by the adoption of an appropriate copyright protection doctrine. “I suggest that all legislation regulating technological protection measures should adopt an appropriate copyright protection doctrine,” said Dr. Budi Agus Riswandi, S.H., M.Hum., during his open doctoral examination at Building I of the Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), on Monday (25/7). The Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) consultant successfully defended his dissertation entitled “Copyright Protection of Digital Works: A Study on the Adoption of Copyright Protection Doctrines for Technological Protection Measures in Indonesian Copyright Legislation.”
Budi Agus Riswandi explained that the most appropriate doctrine to be applied is the social control planning doctrine. According to him, this doctrine does not merely prioritize the benefits of copyright protection for the broader public. “It also takes into account the interests of creators and copyright holders,” he added.
In Indonesia, the adoption of copyright protection doctrines is not only regulated under Law No. 28 of 2014 on Copyright (Copyright Law) but is also addressed in several other laws. In practice, however, the copyright protection provisions contained in different laws have adopted different copyright protection doctrines, potentially resulting in inconsistencies between legal norms. “This has the potential to create social and economic tensions,” Budi Agus Riswandi concluded.
