New Copyright for the Digital Age: Political Conflicts in Germany

Abstract

Based upon a found understanding, Digital Rights Management Systems (DRM) consist, particularly in the Business–to–Consumer commerce environment, of three interlocking components: technology, law and economics. Due to their integration into a social environment, several conflicts of interests arise that accompany the legal design of DRM systems. This article focuses on these conflicts using the example of the integration of the European Copyright Directive into the German Copyright Act. It thereby considers the interests, from a policy–analytical perspective, of the parties ac- tively involved, the concrete areas of conflict as well as the resulting effects on political decision–making processes and real-world implementations. The primary intention is to provide the reader with an overview of the interests of the parties actively involved.