Analysis of Legal Framework Protecting Technological Copyright Protection Measures and Copyright Exceptions in Ethiopia: Lessons from United States and European Union Copyright Legislations

Abstract

Abstract The use of technological protection measures can play a vital role in preventing unauthorized uses and exploitations of exclusive economic rights by controlling copying or access to works and at the same time it can also prevent legitimate uses of exceptions and limitations permitted by law, unless a provision ensuring circumvention of the TPMs to access the works is adopted. Many legal systems including US and EU have granted legal protection to technological copyright protection measures applied by right holders to enforce and manage their rights along with appropriate copyright exceptions for legitimate user’s access to works without authorization. In Ethiopia existing copyright law is not clear and sufficient enough in providing appropriate legal provisions that deals with technological protection measures along with copyright exceptions. This becomes challenges for legitimate users of the exception permitted by law unless the scheme of mandatory exception to circumvention of TPMs incorporated into the existing legislations. This research study focuses only on the legal analysis of technological copyright protection measures and exceptions to copyright under Ethiopian law with US and EU copyright legislations approaches to draw lessons for improvement of law in Ethiopia. The research thesis study employ doctrinal research method in comparative analysis of legal documents to arrive at conclusion that the existing copyright legislation needs a reform in light of modern copyright legislation to balance between the rights of the copyright holders and the users access works in digital environment