Copyright Protection Under A Digital Rights Management System

Author: LawSphereX

Category: Technology, Cyber & Privacy

Published: 2026-08-23T18:59:14.180Z

Updated: 2026-08-30T07:09:10.403Z

COPYRIGHT PROTECTION UNDER A DIGITAL RIGHTS

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Dewanshi Bhatt, Bennett University

ABSTRACT

Since the advent of the digital age, content production, delivery, and consumption have all experienced significant transformations. This shift has led to complicated issues with copyright protection, rights for users, and technological protections for intellectual property. Copyright law gives the right to disseminate an object in a way that benefits the original creators or the copyright holder. Copyright owners now have even more control over how their intellectual property is used because to the advent of Digital Right Management (DRM) solutions. DRM tools are used in situations where text copying and sharing are prohibited or when Netflix blocks users from using identical account from many locations at the same time. However, the Copyright Act of 1957 established several restrictions for copyright holders.

News reports, teaching, and private research are only a few of the activities that are exempt from the Principle of Fair Dealings under Indian law, especially Section 52 of the Act. This section was created to encourage scientific progress by making it easier for information to be shared for further research. It is argued that the implementation of DRM violates the Indian Constitution's provision of freedom of expression by undermining the principle of Fair Dealing. On the other hand, DRM advocates assert that protecting media authors' copyrights and the resulting profits is crucial. In order to determine whether the use of DRM techniques violates the principle of Fair Dealings as stipulated in the Copyright Act of 1957, the paper will examine both sides of the debate. Keywords: Fair transactions, Digital rights management, Copyright, Digital commodities, Digital technologies.

INTRODUCTION

Copyright is a type of right that falls under the umbrella of "intellectual property rights. " Property rights granted to creative works of human mind are implied by intellectual property. Therefore, copyright law plays a significant role in encouraging intellectual creation by protecting some of the creative output of human intellect. Promoting the production and sharing of creative works for the public good is the main goal of copyright legislation. By acknowledging authors' temporary exclusive rights, it provides a crucial foundation for promoting, enhancing, and sharing the nation's cultural legacy. The inventiveness of a country's citizens has a bigger influence on its social, economic, and political development. A nation's intellectual riches will increase as protection levels rise, which will also motivate authors to produce more.

Copyright is a legitimate ownership right that grants certain restrictive rights similar to those of the protected work, such as the ability to make copies of the work in any material form or structure, distribute copies of the work publicly, perform the work publicly, create a cinematograph or sound recording of the work, or exploit the work for profit. Copyright laws are well-known as a response to widespread corporate abuse of functions brought about by creative developments in print press tactics. With their advancements, new innovations put copyright insurance at risk. Another stage of potential and challenges for property protection on a national and international level was the emergence of the computerised climate.

Digital Rights Management (DRM) has gained popularity in the printing and information sectors because it has become increasingly challenging to manage intellectual property rights, particularly copyrights, in the content industries since the development of information technology. The publishing sector and all content industries are built on copyright, and DRM may promote mutually agreed licensing agreements and enhance copyright protection. COPYRIGHT RISK IN THE DIGITAL ERA The digital market has been made possible by information technology, and copyrighted works are currently available for sale in digital formats. However, the ability of copyright owners to safeguard their works in a digital environment is also seriously threatened.

Recent technological advancements have given rise to a variety of issues. An increasing number of files are being shared online as download speeds increase. For instance, it might be any digital content, including music, books, images, movies, and more. At the moment, just a few of these files can be shared lawfully. A person holding a product license can typically copy it, sell it, and distribute it to others worldwide in a matter of minutes with little difficulty. These transactions are difficult to identify and halt. Digital Rights Management (DRM) was created to prevent unapproved and unregulated product duplication. If the correct licensing template (key) is not provided, the DRM technology prevents the file from opening, or playing. Files cannot be opened, but you can still distribute and copy them to others. Furthermore, particular rights can be established.

For instance, if you purchase a song, you have the authority to hear to it on four occasions and make one copy of it within the following twelve days. It's an odd instance; however, the point is that there are no restrictions on specifications. "Digital rights management (DRM) is the chain of software and hardware services and technologies that restrict the use of digital media to authorised use and users and manage the implications of that use all through the entire life cycle of the content," according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) group. One type of content protection system is DRM. 1 More and more content is being provided online in digital format. Due of its ease of copying, a method of protection has to be developed. The goal of digital rights management (DRM) is to solve this issue within the triangle formed by law, economics, and technology.

A balance between technological potential, affordability, usability, privacy, and legally established rights is the best course of action. The suggested DRM architecture protects the content using a combination of technological techniques and financial loss threats. With an emphasis on areas that deal with and involve the administration of rights to information and usage control, DRM technologies aim to offer a system for the full content management lifecycle. Formally speaking, DRM entails the description, stacking, analysis, appraisal, trading purposes and tracking of the ownership rights over an organization's assets, both digital and physical, with both tangible and intangible worth. The digital management of privileges, whether they are in a digital or tangible form of a work, is covered by DRM (Iannella, 2001).

1 IDC group report p.3

The three components of the functional DRM system are content usage, content management, and content production. Creating media and establishing rights are both included in content creation. The dissemination of material and the exchange of rights are the focus of content management. Lastly, content utilisation is used to monitor content usage and ensure that those rights are upheld. Selling their digital media over computer networks is already a common assumption made by many digital service providers. However, electronic material can be readily illegally reproduced, altered, and disseminated to a wide variety of Internet users if digital rights are not well protected and managed. Rights management platforms are required to control content use rights and stop illegal access to electronic content in response to these risks to the intellectual property of digital content.

A DRM system must provide durable content protection against unauthorised access to content and allow access to only authorised users, according to Digital Rights Management requirements. OVERVIEW OF DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT (DRM) Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a technique that copyright holders can use to efficiently safeguard their digital property on the internet. Even though DRM frameworks are becoming increasingly robust, someone would still find a way to get around them, which would allow content to be freely appropriated without the owner's consent. The assistance of the law is crucial in preventing violations or circumventions of the DRM frameworks. In order to solve this problem, several nations have passed legislation that makes it illegal to get around DRM systems that are meant to protect the advanced rights of copyright holders.

By making it unlawful to go around innovative procedures to guarantee computerised content, these regulations protect the rights. In the latter half of the 1980s, the first presentation of DRM was given. At that time and in the mid-1990s, some of the companies that are still in operation today were founded. In any case, the last five years have seen the rise of the majority of current DRM organisations. Numerous innovation foundations are accompanied by the organisations developing DRM. Some start out in the security industry. Two prominent global corporations are IBM and Microsoft. A lot of them are side projects (like Xerox's Content Guard). Others originate from the media sector, such as the entertainment, web, pay TV, programming authorisation, or distribution of innovations (e. g. Adobe). One of the very few pure DRM invention organisations is Intertrust (1990).

2 Generally speaking, the DRM advancements are newer than the sellers. A "fine equilibrium among the requirements of the material's owner on one side and the content client or client on the other" is how one may describe DRM. 3 Users won't ever see that the DRM is operating in the background, even if it functions as it should. The client won't be able to see it unless permissions have been misused. 4 Due to the rapid advancement of technology, it is now very easy for people to copy, modify, or distribute documents. Illicit record sharing is on the rise, causing businesses to lose billions of dollars every year. MP3s (Moving Picture Experts Group sound layer 3) are one example of illegally distributed records that are widely distributed, which has increased the need for DRM. Most material providers today require DRM for the monetary reasons mentioned above.

Important companies within the movie and record industries are included here, along with online banks and book distributors. You may argue that every company that meticulously manufactures anything or requires safe verification and actions is affected. SYSYTEM FOR DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT The worries of copyright-asserting people and organisations have grown exponentially with the growth of modern media and easily accessible electronic change agents, especially in the music and film industries. Modernised media records can be copied an infinite number of times without losing quality, whereas traditional media records undoubtedly deteriorate with each copy age and occasionally even with normal use.

Clients can now switch from media (which could theoretically be protected) in a physical, basic, or broadcast structure to a far-reaching, electronic design (a process known as tearing) for later audit or flexibility thanks to the rise of PCs as nuclear family components. Coupled with online and widely used record-sharing devices, this has made it much easier for unauthorised copies of restricted progressed media to be distributed (also known as automated burglary).

2 International Data Corporation, group report, p.8

3 Ibid.

4 International Data Corporation, group report, p.11

“Digital rights management (DRM): The chain of hardware and software services and technologies confining the use of digital content to authorised use and users and managing any consequences of that use throughout the entire life cycle of the content. DRM is one kind of content protection technology. ”5 In 1983, Japanese designer Ryuichi Moriya6 improved the first implementation of digital rights management (DRM) into a software service system (SSS), which was then super-distributed. Because SSS is encrypted, the copyright holder is unable to send additional authorised instalments or use certain tools. The fundamental tenet of the SSS, and thus the super availability, should be that the distribution of the jumbled, enhanced items should be entirely unhindered, and that the consumers of those items will both be permitted and obliged to redistribute them.

Technological protection measures [TPM]7, also known as advanced rights management (DRM) methods, are a collection of access control advances designed to restrict the use of exclusive equipment and copyrighted content. 8 DRM developments aim to regulate the use, modification, and distribution of copyrighted works (such as interactive media and programming), as well as the systems within devices that permit these regulations. 9 The use of inventions and structures to limit the use of protected advanced materials is known as digital rights management, or DRM. DRM devices are designed to protect the rights of copyright holders and prevent unauthorised distribution or alteration. It is a long-standing wonder to take or reproduce the ideas or creations of others. In any case, recent technological advancements have significantly simplified theft.

It only takes a few mouse clicks to share or download numerous protected images, accounts, and audio files from the Internet—always without legitimate authorisation. This behaviour is extensive and lavish,

5 International Data Corporation (IDC) Group Report, p.3.

6 Available at

Patent application 58-186100 (Publication #60-077218), Software Control System, Japan Patent Office, 5 October 1983, Ryoichi Mori, applicant. Reported by Industrial Property Digital Library (last visited on September16, 2020). 7 Available at: "The pros, cons, and future of DRM". Cbc.ca. 7 August 2009. Digital locks – also known as digital rights management (DRM) technologies or technological protection measures (TPM) (last visited on January 7,2020). 8 Available at: Computer Forensics: Investigating Network Intrusions and Cybercrime. Cengage Learning pp. 9–

26. ISBN 978-1435483521 (last visited on September 16, 2020)

9 Available at

"Fact Sheet: Digital Rights Management and have to do: Technical Protection Measures" (last visited on July 29, 2020). ranging from Napster to snooping and "getting" goods. Online burglaries cost the US economy about $30 billion annually, according to another analysis from the U. S. Office of Commerce. Although modernised content is protected by copyright laws, it is difficult to detect online criminal activity. Therefore, DRM is a proactive method to ensure advanced content by creating barriers to accessing it no matter what. DRM can be managed in a variety of ways, and there are never-ending efforts to create new tactics. To restrict access or use, different DRM devices employ encryption or PC code inserted into the high-level content. These mechanical parts can handle the things that can be accessed or shown, such as events, gadgets, people, or time periods.

Digital Rights Management, or DRM, encompasses many methods for protecting sophisticated materials from theft, burglary, or unauthorised access. DRM insurance for online books typically takes the form of encryption-based systems, watermarks, and secret phrases in the distribution industry to prevent theft. The type of record being released, the intended audience, and the specific dispersion method all influence how secure a distributor requires their digital books to be. IP must be protected by DRM systems, but they should also be beneficial and uniform for the client. A DRM setup that ensures substance but is cumbersome and intrusive for the client may ultimately harm transactions.

The following are some of the several digital rights management technologies: Restricted Activations for Installs After the item is established, this is completed by needing an internet introduction through the merchant's employee. Assume that a '3 user in specific' item is an enemy of malicious programming for the sake of this model. This would mean that the client would have to start it online each time it arrived on a PC framework. Due to the worker checking the number of PCs from which it was activated, the client may put the product in just three PCs at a time. This limits the number of customers who can use it. The OTT phases and associated estimate plans provide as an example of this. Netflix offers a variety of subscriptions that clearly indicate how many devices are allowed, ranging from one to four.

Additionally, there are restrictions on who may obtain and save disconnected from certain levels. In the unlikely event that the stage detects any unauthorised use, it generates a disclaimer for the vast majority of users. They track use and maintain control as a result. 10 Tampering With Software Many merchants purposefully introduce sluggish bugs into their computer games and programs, which would activate whenever the item is believed of being stolen. For example, if the PC is connected to the internet and the item secretly establishes a connection with the employee, the game will intentionally start to crash. In Windows XP and Windows 7, Microsoft Windows also implemented this feature, which would cause the work area backdrop to darken and the volume symbol to be fastened whenever the operating system was found to have been stolen.

Continuous Online Verification To use persistent online authentication always-on-DRM, the user must stay online and connected to the server. This is particularly common with video games which even in singleplayer mode require players to be connected to the server in order to play. However, there is a significant drawback to this: if there is an issue with the internet connection, the device becomes useless. Keys To Products For a PC application, a product key also known as an item key is a unique programming-based key. It confirms that the software copy is exceptional. In addition to letters, item keys also move numbers. During the program's foundation, the client continually enters this progression, which is subsequently handed to an affirmation work.

As shown by a mathematical figure, this limit regulates the fundamental progression and attempts to arrange the outcomes according to several actual game strategies. This has undoubtedly been the most popular way to verify an item. The customer would receive an item key after purchasing the application, which they would need to insert when launching Available at: https://www. ftc. gov/sites/default/files/documents/public_statements/different-perspectivedrm/rosch-berkeley-drm20speech-mar9-2007. pdf (last visited on September 15, 2020). it. Each clone of the program has a different key; therefore, the worker would check it later to find a match. If a match is found, the object is not cast into action. Digital Rights Management For Businesses It combines encryption with access and identity management.

The protection that permits various access and alteration policies for various entities is combined with the encrypted material. The gadget and access location have no bearing on the protection. It is mostly used to protect documents, including AutoCAD files, PDFs, and Microsoft Word documents. Framework For Content Scrambling It combines encryption, access to the board, and personality. The material is encoded and paired with the assurance that allows for different techniques to access and adjustment for different components. Access area and device security are independent. Its primary function is to retrieve documents, such as Microsoft Word, PDF, AutoCAD, and so on. Streaming Services in DRM Streaming services like Netflix, Comcast, Amazon Prime, and others use DRM.

These services use products like Microsoft PlayReady, Xinfinity, and others that are media record duplicate anticipation improvements that include the concept of space (a collection of devices with a location with a similar client that may have similar licenses), set up allow (the permits inserted with the substance), and so on. In general, they are stage-free and convenient. UNDER COPYRIGHT LAW AMENDMENT The world community created the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) in order to modernise the copyright system. Additionally, the treaty provides legal certainty for the technological measures used by authors in advanced digital transmission, thereby upgrading the creators' rights. The innovation that safeguards online content is known as innovative methods.

In 2012, India made an update to Indian Copyright Law pertaining to the management of digital rights in reaction to the two online treaties, namely WCT and WPPT. Online digital content is protected by a variety of DRM systems.

Digital rights management gained legal protection in both national and international statutes following the ratification of the two internet treaties. The contracting parties are required by Articles 11 and 12 of the WCT and Articles 18 and 19 of the WPPT to implement effective measures for the protection of digital content on the internet in accordance with their national laws. In 2012, India enacted a modification in accordance with these two internet treaties. Nevertheless, it appears that the amendment is ineffective in safeguarding digital content found online. In addition, there are several urgent problems that still require addressing, such as DRM and privacy and DRM and copyright societies.

Enforcing strict regulations against DRM framework circumvention, which might completely prevent piracy, encourages the development of important expressions in developed countries but denies people in poor countries like India access to data, information, and entertainment. Because of the Internet's and the web's indistinct nature, it cannot be divided into different domains like land to create different principles for different countries based on each nation's level of development. A structure that would benefit the entire planet should be accepted in such a situation. It would be beneficial for the world as a whole to have strong legal protection against DRM framework circumvention after considering the requirements of developed as well as developing nations, as this would encourage creativity in useful expressions that would be beneficial to humanity.

There wouldn't be any data, information, or entertainment if there was no creation. Therefore, it is preferable to support and encourage creation rather than halt it altogether by enforcing anti-circumvention legislation in India and everywhere else in the world. The Copyright Amendment Act, 2012 in India made Sections 65A and 65B available to address ETM and DRM circumvention. According to Section 65A, if someone evades any practical mechanical measures put in place to protect any of the rights guaranteed by the Act and it is found that they violate such rights, they will be subject to a fine and maybe up to two years in prison.

According to Section 65B of the Indian Copyright Act, anyone who wilfully removes or alters any board information without authorisation, distributes, imports for distribution, broadcasts, or grants copies of any piece of work or execution to people without authorisation with the knowledge that electronic rights have been removed or altered without authorisation, or does so in any other way, faces up to two years in prison and the possibility of paying a fine. For anything similar, there are other standard therapies available. Since artists employ DRM frameworks to prevent piracy of their work, these agreements are very helpful to the music, game, and electronic distribution sectors. 11

RECOMMENDATIONS

The following actions could be performed to improve the provisions and their implementation: • The legal structure of Indian copyright law plans to protect the interests of creators through penal and civil provisions, but it is not without problems and obstacles that must be removed. • The implementation of the provisions is a major concern, and better administrative machinery must be built immediately to enforce the legislation's provisions, which calls for well-oiled enforcement machinery. • In order to discover and enforce copyright crimes, a specialised police force that is welltrained and equipped is required. Additionally, the court perspective regarding copyright violations needs to alter. • There are still misunderstandings, barriers to accessing the courts, a gradual expansion of the copyright threshold, and a delay in the resolution of any cases that make it to court.

Compensation and access to the adjudicatory apparatus need to be strengthened, and this can be accomplished more effectively if copyright or the intellectual property tribunals with experts in the fields are established around the nation. • Because of the Internet's widespread use, global enforcement must be taken into account. This will, in part, demand harmonising local laws regarding enforcement measures and making it easier to protect copyright across borders in the digital age. Effective worldwide and national execution of author and other right holder protection

11 S.R. Subramanya and Byung K. Yi, “Digital Rights Management”, 0278-6648

is hampered by differences in fundamental conceptions and country systems safeguarding copyright and associated rights. • The European Community's harmonisation program's experience and accomplishments show how significant provisions from many national systems might be combined. It is argued that the only effective method to address the issues raised by the activity of copyright and associated rights in the international environment generated by the World Wide Web and other global communication networks is to have a unified legislative approach. • Future planning should be predicated on steps towards a global copyright regulation that will incorporate harmonised rules on all key issues.

It is suggested that the guidelines of the Berne Convention, when combined with those of other pertinent international instruments and regional instruments, can serve as the foundation for an united global system of copyright. • Finally, because pirates are employing new technology in the digital world to violate copyright and associated rights, the owners of these liberties should respond to the infringer's acts with their own resources. The Engel bird exclaims, "since man learnt to shoot while missing, I am also learning to fly without perching," as famous novelist Chinua Achebe famously stated. • Recent revisions to India's copyright laws have undoubtedly created opportunities for unique business models to be developed and structured employing inventive legal abilities to help sectors adapt to the changes.

It is imperative that nations strictly adhere to the rules of the management of digital rights and monitor infringement of copyright in the digital sphere, since they are held accountable for the inadequate protection and enforcement measures. If they are not addressed once more, the content industries may eventually fail, making society the ultimate loser.

CONCLUSION

Throughout the 500 years that copyright has been around in one form or another, the law has continuously lagged behind in adapting to the changing circumstances brought about by technical advancements. For example, it required over two hundred years to construct the legislation granting creators' rights to their works between the invention of the printing press and the Statute of Anne's codification. Though it hasn't kept up with innovation, law enforcement has been responding to technical advancements more quickly over time. Legal responses to a technology that was already over ten years old were the WCT and the DMCA that followed. Therefore, it is unrealistic to anticipate that the law will eventually catch up to technology and be able to preserve the best possible balance between the interests of the public and the copyright.

Therefore, I suggest that the copyrights adjust to the emerging technologies by figuring out new ways to make money off of their creations. One thing history has shown us is that technology will advance in ways we cannot predict, and it is unrealistic to anticipate the law to be ready for such developments. It has not yet been demonstrated that the influence of technology will lower the financial viability of creative works. The quantity of new works that are being released has also increased. On the contrary, technology has made it possible to enhance penetration, speed up manufacturing, and take advantage of new markets. Companies are creating novel approaches to business to create alternate revenue sources and adjusting their operations to the changing technological environment.

In order to prevent online materials from being easily pirated, managing digital rights technology is also always developing. However, legal remedies are finding it difficult to adapt to the evolving landscape. Although secondary responsibility in copyright infringement has been established in a number of cases, technology is still advancing and precedent is no longer a reliable source of law in these kinds of situations due to the constantly shifting legal landscape. The copyright rights may need to be completely reevaluated, and the new regime should take into consideration the significant environmental changes in order to create new regulations that would restore equilibrium in the public's favour and not impede justifiable technological advancements.