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Technological Protection Measures (Digital Locks)

*April 2020

This instructional module is not intended as legal advice. All Opening Up Copyright modules are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0) International license.

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WHAT IS A TPM?

Technological Protection Measures (TPMs)

= Digital Locks

?

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COPYRIGHT ACT, S. 41

s. 41

Technology

Device

Component

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THE NATURE OF TPMs

TPMs: “… ensure the effective control and management of copyrights in the digital sphere” (Hutchison, 2016, p. 123).

?

TPMs for

controlling access:

TPMs for

controlling use:

Cameron Hutchison

Digital Copyright Law (Irwin Law, 2016)

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EXAMPLES OF TPMs

TPMs for controlling access:

A) Username and password

C) Time limits

E) Encryption or scrambling

B) Registration keys

D) Limits on number of users

F) Paywalls or

subscriptions

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EXAMPLES OF TPMs

TPMs for controlling use:

A) Software or hardware with locks

C) Encryption systems

B) Labelling and watermarks

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DEFINING TPMs

s. 41

TPMs = Any effective technology

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COPYRIGHT IMPLICATIONS

Broad interpretations of “effective” could make many activities violations of the Copyright Act

You risk violating the Copyright Act

You risk violating the Copyright Act by intentionally circumventing any TPMs

You risk violating the Copyright Act by intentionally circumventing any TPMs to gain access

You risk violating the Copyright Act by intentionally circumventing any TPMs to gain access to copyrighted material

Or… exceptions!

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FAIR DEALING AND TPMs

Private Study

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EXCEPTIONS

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CONTROVERSY

RIGHTS OF CREATORS RIGHTS OF USERS

Recommendation 18

Allowing circumvention on legally-acquired devices when used for non-infringing purposes, such as the right to repair (INDU Committee, 2019, p. 69-71).

s. 41

The anti-circumvention provisions in the Copyright Act are controversial – especially with the court’s broad interpretations of what “effective” means for TPMs. Do these provisions upset the balance of creators’ rights and users’ rights, since it’s now possible to violate the Copyright Act without violating copyright? In other words, whether or not your use infringes the copyright of a work, by simply accessing a TPM protected work, you are violating the TPM provisions in the Copyright Act.

�It’s worth noting that the INDU Committee’s June 2019 report on the review of the Act recommended clearly allowing TPM circumvention on legally-acquired devices when they are used for non-infringing purposes. For example, one recommendation evokes the right to repair, stating that the Act should not prevent anyone from circumventing a TPM to lawfully conduct diagnosis, maintenance, and repair of mechanical equipment. Whether or not such recommendations are acted on when the Copyright Act is amended remains to be seen.

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CONTROVERSY

?

s. 41

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

You should now be able to:

Define the scope and provide examples of “technological protection measures” (TPMs) as they are defined in Canada’s Copyright Act

Understand how the Copyright Act protects TPMs from circumvention

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

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An example of a technological protection measure might be any of the following except:

A paywall
A username and password system
An encryption system
A bodyguard

Canada’s Copyright Act defines technological protection measures, or TPMs, as “any effective ________, ________, or ________” intended to control access to a work.

Technology
Wall
Device
Riddle
Nuisance
Component
Force field

QUESTIONS

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Users may rely on fair dealing as a valid defence to bypass or break a digital lock on copyright-protected material.

True
False

Users risk violating the Copyright Act by:

Circumventing any technological protection measure to gain access to copyright-protected material, whether or not they copy it
Looking for any technological protection measures that control access to a work
Revealing the presence of a technological protection measure that controls the use of a work
Yelling at kids to get off their lawn

QUESTIONS

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Copyright at SFU: Technological protection measures (TPM) fact sheet. (2015, August 13). Simon Fraser University Library. Retrieved April 18, 2020, from https://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/academic-integrity/copyright/technological-protection-measures

Crowne, E. (2017). Federal Court interprets Canada’s technological protection measures for the first time. Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 12(6), 459-61. https://doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpx071

De Beer, J. (2005). Constitutional jurisdiction over paracopyright laws. Irwin Law Journal, 4, 89-124. https://ssrn.com/abstract=814074

Geist, M. (2015, November 10). Flawed copyright case places spotlight on Canada’s digital lock problem. Michael Geist. http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2015/11/flawed-copyright-case-places-spotlight-on-canadas-digital-lock-problem/

Geist, M. (2017, March 3). Canadian DMCA in action: Court awards massive damages in first major anti-circumvention copyright ruling. Michael Geist. http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2017/03/canadian-dmca-in-action-court-issues-massive-damage-award-in-first-major-anti-circumvention-copyright-ruling/

REFERENCES AND RESOURCES

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Hutchison, C. (2016). Digital Copyright Law. Irwin Law.

IFPI. (2003, March). The WIPO treaties: Technological measures. https://web.archive.org/web/20180417033805/https://www.ifpi.org/content/library/wipo-treaties-technical-measures.pdf

Kerr, I. R., Maurushat, A., & Tacit, C. S. (2002). Technical protection measures: Tilting at copyright’s windmill. Ottawa Law Review, 34(1), 7-82. https://rdo-olr.org/technical-protection-measures-tilting-at-copyrights-windmill/

Sapp, H. (2005). North American anti-circumvention: Implementation of the WIPO internet treaties in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Computer Law Review & Technology Journal, 10(1), 1-40.

World Intellectual Property Organization. (n.d.). WIPO copyright treaty (WCT). Retrieved from https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/wct/

Yolles, A. (2012). In defence of a defence: A demonstrable legitimate and non-infringing purpose as a full defence to anti-circumvention legislation. Canadian Journal of Law and Technology, 10(1), 75-88. https://ojs.library.dal.ca/CJLT/article/view/4832

REFERENCES AND RESOURCES

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Copyright Act, RSC 1985, c C-42. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-42/page-1.html

CASES AND LEGISLATION

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iconsphere. (2016). Video block. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/video-block-485863/

Ahmad Taufik. (2018). Disconnected printer. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/disconnected-printer-2191368/

Berkah Icon. (2019). Website link. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/website-link-2755326/

Adrien Coquet. (2018). Unlock. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/unlock-1862800/

Nadir Balcikli. (2016). Copyright. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/copyright-453533/

Government of Canada. (2018). Official rendition of the coat of arms of Canada. Converted to svg by Zscout370. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arms_of_Canada#/media/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Canada.svg

Egon Låstad. (2016). Note-taking. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/note-taking-665382/

IMAGE AND SOUND REFERENCES

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Iconathon. (2019). Gamer. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/gamer-2909380/

Adrien Coquet. (2019). Access. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/access-2448901/

Kimmi Studio. (2017). Shield. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/shield-874630/

Adrien Coquet. (2019). Password. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/password-2631120/

Mohamad Arif Prasetyo. (2017). Private document. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/private-document-1405844/

Vectors Point. (2019). Encryption. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/encryption-2761067/

mikicon. (2016). Person. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/person-737678/

Ralf Schmitzer. (2016). Prison. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/prison-427669/

IMAGE AND SOUND REFERENCES

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Ominisis. (2016). [Jail cell closing sound]. Freesound. CC 0. https://freesound.org/people/Omnisis/sounds/336888/

parkjisun. (2016). Handcuffs. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/handcuffs-304420/

ScottHurly. (2016). Locking Handcuffs. Freesound. CC BY-NC. https://freesound.org/people/ScottHurly/sounds/366563/

Samoilova Liudmila. (2017). Password. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/password-1361915/

Laymik. (2017). Ebook. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/ebook-1352685/

Nithinan Tatah. (2019). Capacity. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/capacity-2857996/

VectorBakery. (2017). Clock. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/clock-1387785/

Cuby Design. (2018). Subscription model. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/subscription-model-1562815/

IMAGE AND SOUND REFERENCES

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ibrandify. (2019). Label. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/label-3213464/

Kan Kingpetcharat. (2018). Data security. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/data-security-1757359/

Thomas Deckert. (2019). Confused. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/confused-2536418/

Federal Court. (2007). [Federal Court’s Coat of Arms]. https://www.fct-cf.gc.ca/en/pages/the-federal-courts-coat-of-arms

James Strange. (2018). CD. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/cd-1618119/

popcornarts. (2019). Floppy Disk. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/floppy-disk-3040140/

Edwin PM. (2018). Lock. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/lock-1786028/

Kick. (2017). Scale. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/scale-1320645/

Mr. Minuvi. (2017). Nintendo Wii. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/nintendo-wii-942076/

IMAGE AND SOUND REFERENCES

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Rflor. (2015). Police investigation. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/police-investigation-286692/

Arthur Bauer. (2018). Interoperate. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/interoperate-1624548/

Eliricon. (2017). Big data. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/big-data-1434542/

Gregor Cresnar. (2018). Help. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/help-1616214/

Montu Yadav. (2015). Broadcast. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/broadcast-201837/

OCHA Visual. (2012). Emergency telecommunications. The Noun Project. https://thenounproject.com/icon/emergency-telecommunications-4213/

AVAM. (2019). Computer repair. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/computer-repair-3455747/

IMAGE AND SOUND REFERENCES

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Kholifah. (2024). Network security. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/network-security-6744214/

Jason D. Rowley. (2016). Debate. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/debate-435001/

DinosoftLabs. (2017). Magnifying glass. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/magnifying-glass-802240/

Statutory review of the Copyright Act [Screenshot of cover page]. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/421/INDU/Reports/RP10537003/indurp16/indurp16-e.pdf

Vectors Point. (2020). Gears. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/gears-3240686/

emel çelik. (2015). Wrench. The Noun Project. CC BY. https://thenounproject.com/icon/wrench-192666/

IMAGE AND SOUND REFERENCES

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Closing Slides Music: Rybak, Nazar. (n.d.). Corporate Inspired. HookSounds. CC BY. http://www.hooksounds.com

Unattributed materials are contributions from the Opening Up Copyright Project Team and placed in the Public Domain.

IMAGE AND SOUND REFERENCES

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University of Alberta. (2020). Technological Protection Measures (Digital Locks). Opening Up Copyright Instructional Module. https://sites.library.ualberta.ca/copyright/

LICENSING AND ATTRIBUTION

Suggested Citation:

For the project overview and complete list of modules please visit the project website at: https://sites.library.ualberta.ca/copyright/

Questions, comments, and suggestions should be directed to: ouc@ualberta.ca

This module is made available and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

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CONTRIBUTORS

Copyright Office

Technologies in Education

Centre for Teaching and Learning

University of Alberta Library

School of Library and Information Studies

Adrian Sheppard

Amanda Wakaruk

Mireille Smith

Anwen Burk

Cosette Lemelin

Graeme Pate

Krysta McNutt

Michelle Brailey

Luc Fagnan

Julia Guy

Michael B. McNally

Kris Joseph

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The Opening Up Copyright (OUC) module series is made available by the University of Alberta Copyright Office.

OUC modules have been produced with the assistance of funding at the University of Alberta through its Centre for Teaching and Learning's Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF) (2017-21) and OER Grant Program (2020), and through a Support for the Advancement of Scholarship (SAS) grant (2021).