基于ImplementingCopyrightLimitationsinRightsExpression.docVIP

Implementing Copyright Limitations in Rights Expression Languages Deirdre Mulligan and Aaron Burstein Abstract Rights expression languages (RELs) seek to provide the vocabulary and grammar necessary to express fine-grained, ex ante rules controlling the use of digital works. Drafters of RELs claim to search for a generic, content-neutral language to support expressions of rights in digital objects in a broad range of contexts. Generally modeled on access control languages, RELs are structured predominantly as permission languages - meaning that no rights exist in an object until they are affirmatively and specifically granted. Simply put, current RELs reduce the expression of legal rights which may be: a) given by the objects owner, b) conveyed clearly by a legal instrument, or c) asserted by the individual (and reviewed after the fact for legal validity); to the granting of permissions by the owner/rights holder of the digital object. Theoretically it is possible for a third-party (government) or the user to grant rights, however it is difficult to imagine either occurring for a mix of political and practical reasons. We acknowledge that the term rights in RELs encompasses more than legal rights. Nevertheless, when implemented to manage copyrighted works the rights defined in RELs will have the practical effect of supplanting legal rights. Thus in the context of copyrights, RELs and the DRMs in which they are deployed will replace the balance of rights holders and users rights with self-enforcing, machine readable rule sets reflecting the desires of copyright holders exclusively. The exclusivity likely to result from existing RELs and DRM is in contrast with the myriad limitations on exclusivity in the Copyright Act. To the extent DRM systems supplant the existing copyright rules with machine enforced licenses defined by copyright holders they will alter the copyright balance in the direction of copyright holder exclusivity. If RELs are to be agnostic as t