IHS White Paper: Digital Rights Management
- Mitigating the Risk of Copyright Infringement
Copyright violations have extended its hand unto the world of standards users, as the courts and Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs) are cracking down on copyright infringement. The emergence of the Internet has not only increased the commonality of standards copyright violations, but also created among standards users the expectation and demand for quick access to standards documents that are easily copied, shared, and redistributed. In lieu of a Maryland Federal District Court verdict of $19.7 million against a firm for copyright infringement, SDOs are no longer accepting fault in regard to copyright violations on behalf of their Intellectual Property (IP), common to standards users in this age of digital technology.
This paper explores:
- Three groups of standards copyright violators (defiant; generally unaware; specifically uninformed)
- How standards copyright violations are being confronted by SDOs
- How concerned standards users can continue to leverage the convenience of digitally delivered standards while minimizing their vulnerability to copyright violations
Copyrights protect the ownership rights of those who create original works. The challenge today for standards users is maximizing the usage of digital documentation and minimizing risks of copyright infringement.
While copyright agreements for paper-based standards may sometimes be less complex than for digital documents, standards users are unlikely to give up the time and cost saving benefits of digital standards, such as immediate availability and searchability, by turning the clock back to paper-based documents.
As such, the current challenge for standards users is optimizing the benefits of digitally based standards while finding the help they need to navigate the minefield of electronic copyright.
Download this paper to learn how to take advantage of the services of standards distributors that effectively provide standards users with copyright violation protection while reducing the amount of time and effort associated with standards research and procurement.
Related topics:
- The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
- Common Digital Rights Management Technology