With the reference materials collected from the Untied States, Japan, England, and Germany, the III in put forth several recommendations for the revision of the Copyright Law in August 1995: 1. Revise the definition of Reproduction. Article 3(5) of the Copyright Law defines Reproduction as printing, copying, sound recording, video recording, photographing, transcribing, or other tangible reproductions. 2. Add digital Work as a work eligible for multimedia protection. 3. Multimedia copyright owners may agree not to enforce certain moral rights. 4. The owners of digital works should enjoy the same economic rights, such as, rental, reproduction, public recitation, presentation, performance, and broadcasting. 5. Terms of protection for digital works should be 50 years as well. There is no doubt that Taiwan government has paid lots of effort in the reformation to its copyright system. However, while this progress has been well recognized by the international community, protection for works of foreign nationals is based on reciprocity. Due to the current diplomatic situation, only a limited number of countries and territories, such as the U.S., U.K., Switzerland, Hong Kong, Spain, and Korea have copyright relations with Taiwan. That is to say, of more than 180 countries in the world, only six of them have reciprocal copyright relation with Taiwan. Global Effect An International Twist to Copyright Taiwan government tries its best to conform its Copyright Law to international Standard. With the active participation and application to join the WTO, Taiwan will have to comply with and will enjoy the benefits of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). In preparation for WTO accession, a draft amendment law has been prepared. These amendments of the Copyright Law will be processed together with the Omnibus Bill for the Amendment of
Relevant Laws for Taiwan’s Accession to the WTO in the coming legislative session. With the exception of retroactive protection issues that are still being clarified, this amendment has been reviewed and approved by the Cabinet. They will be given priority status in the legislative process. Beside Taiwan, other foreign governments also concern with the U.S. dominance of the Internet and the cultural influence of the U.S.-based media companies are bringing with their borders. They are wary about how the Western domination of Global copyright policies will affect them. Many countries know they will need to rely on foreign investment and expertise to develop software and Internet technologies and reap the benefit of the information age, but they are also very concerned about maintaining their political, social, and cultural rights and sovereignty. In terms of international copyright issues, it is very difficult to maintain the delicate balance between protecting authors and inventors and the free flow of ideas and information among common users. Advocates of increased protection for copyrighted work argue that advancements in technology have upset the balance that existed before the digital age. They claim that in order to make the Internet safe for international commerce and expressive activities, laws need to be tightened to add protection for copyrighted works. Copyright holders assert that the digital technologies unfairly place their economic interests in danger. To restore the balance, they insist on modifying copyright law to reestablish the balance as it existed before the Internet. Through extensive lobbying efforts in Congress, copyright holders have attempted to influence legislation in the U.S., and have extended their efforts oversea to create increased domestic and global protection for their products. Opponents argue that new copyright regulations
will only extend the reach of corporation into cyberspace where new laws will unnecessarily restrict access to information. Instead of protecting the status quo, critics say giant software and media companies have banded together and represented their interests to governing bodies, such as WIPO, without public input and exclusive of the general users in the negotiations. Other controversial developments in international copyright law occurred in December 1996, at the WIPO meeting in Geneva. At the conclusion of the conference, public interest groups were still troubled about a copyright management provision of the proposed treaty that called for adequate and effective legal remedies against parties who violate or allow others to violate copyright protection system. Most conference participants, including the Clinton Administration, representatives for the online industry and copyright owners, expressed satisfaction with the outcome. The conference was heavily bias for U.S. corporate interests, including Time Warner, Viacom, and The Walt Disney Company, for whom international copyright is critical. Conclusion Addressing copyright issues in an electronic age represents a huge challenge. The size and scope of the copyright problems are unlikely anything society has dealt with in the past. The basic question is how to design frameworks that will protect access and fair use while ensuring that the incentive to produce and make intellectual and artistic work available in the Cyberspace. Too much regulation in either direction could have disparaging results.
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