Title

A New Weapon against Piracy: Patent Protection as an Alternative Strategy for Enforcement of Digital Rights

Abstract

This article illustrates how patents and copyrights complement each other to provide a better defense for creative works. Copyrights protect expression, and patents protect underlying functions. Currently, the one-time strengths of copyrights are being eroded as courts allow new technologies to flourish which enable digital reproduction and piracy. This has encouraged companies and industries to move increasingly to patent protection and any company that fails to pursue this trend may be left behind. In sum, patents are a worthwhile strategy because they assist copyright owners in controlling the technology that enables infringement while copyrights alone would leave a company vulnerable in this dawning digital age.

Disciplines

Intellectual Property Law | Internet Law | Law and Society | Science and Technology Law

Date of this Version

October 2005