In 1996，the World Intellectual Property Organization （ WIPO ）adopted the Copyright Treaty. In Article 11 it decreed that contracting parties have to“provide adequate legal protection and effective legal remedies against the circumvention of effective technological measures that are used by authors in connection with the exercise of their rights”， and to“restrict acts， in respect of their performances or phonograms， which are not authorized by the performers or the producers of phonograms concerned or permitted by law”. The Article， therefore， provides the adoption of a legal framework to protect technological means of control over use； for example， copy protection encryption against circumvention by third parties. In a quite similar way， Article 18 of the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty declares the same provision.
To comply with the WIPO treaties， both Europe and the United States enacted very similar anti-circumvention provisions.The new treaties provided the fundamental background to the efforts of the United States and European Community to find their solutions to the issues of intellectual property rights in the digital age. In 1998， the United States implemented the Digital Millennium Copyright Act （ hereinafter DMCA） introducing new anti-circumvention provisions， while， some years later， Europe enacted Directive 2001/29/EC on the Harmonization of Certain Aspects of Copyrightand Related Rights in the Information Society （ hereinafter EUCD or European Copyright Directive） .
U.S. legal and regulatory framework on digital media：
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
The most significant digital media legislation in the U.S. is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This paragraph considers the main provisions of the DMCA as they relate to digital media.
The Act was signed into law by former President Clinton on October 28， 1998 and its main purpose was to implement the United States treaty obligations under the two 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization （ WIPO） treaties： the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. It also contains supplementary provisions addressing related matters. The enactmentof the DMCA added the Chapter 12 to Title17 of the U.S. Code.
The DMCA is divided into five titles：
Title I，the“WIPO Copyright and Performances and Phonograms Treaties Implementation Act of 1998”， implements the WIPO treaties.
Title II， the“On-line Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act”， creates limitations on the liability of on-line service providers for copyright infringement when engaging in certain types of activities.
Title III， the“Computer Maintenance Competition Assurance Act”， creates an exemption for making a copy of a computer program by activating a computer for purposes of maintenance or repair.
Title IV contains five miscellaneous provisions， relating to the functions of the Copyright Office， distance education， the exceptions in the Copyright Act for libraries and for making ephemeral recordings，“webcasting”of sound recordings on the Internet， and the applicability of collective bargaining agreement obligations in the case of transfers of rights in motion pictures.
Title V， the“Vessel Hull Design Protection Act”， creates a new form of protection for the design of vessel hulls.
The general approach taken by the DMCA is to make circumvention of technological protection measures illegal except under certain conditions.
In brief， the DMCA①makes it a crime to circumvent anti-piracy measures incorporated into most commercial software；②does permit the cracking of copyright protection devices，however，to conductencryption research，assess product interoperability， and test computer security systems；③provides exemptions from anticircumvention provisions for non-profit libraries， archives， and educational institutions under particular conditions；④prohibits the manufacture， sale， or distribution of code cracking devices used to illegally copy software；⑤protects Internet service providers from copyright infringement liability for simply transmitting information；⑥obliges Internet service providers to remove material from users web sites that appears to constitute copyright infringement；⑦limits the liability of non-profitinstitutions of higher education—when theyserveason-lineserviceproviders andundercertain circumstances—for copyright infringement by faculty members or graduate students；⑧requires that“webcasters”pay licensing fees to record companies preventing misappropriation of content and determining royalties to be paid to artists for their works.
EC legal and regulatory framework on digital media：
the European Copyright Directive
The so called EUCD is modeled on， and designed to implement the WIPO 1996 Copyright Treaty and the Performances and Phonograms Treaty.
The principal declared aim of the Directive is to adapt legislation on copyright and related rights to technological developments and particularly to the information society. The objective is to transpose at Community level the main international obligations deriving from the two Treaties concerning copyright and related rights， adopted in December 1996 in the framework of the World Intellectual Property Organization（ WIPO） .