区块链技术对数字作品权利穷竭原则的应用研究

Research on the Application of Blockchain Technology to the Exhaustion Doctrine in Digital Works

版权穷竭原则在网络环境中的适用面临着对发行行为和信息网络传播行为界限认定、流通过程中存在新增复制件的困境和难题。究其本质,数字作品线上交易就是采用网络传输技术、伴随着所有权移转的买卖行为且该交易构成了《著作权法》意义上的交易流通,应纳入发行行为范畴。流通过程中,复制件增加的难题可通过区块链技术加以限制,运用其具备的加密算法、智能合约等核心技术防止转让人保留原件或将其发送给多个受让人,从而保证数字作品复制件的“人为稀缺性”。不置可否,数字作品转售过程中的复制行为难以避免,因此在交易过程中必要的复制权应与发行权一并穷竭。综上,在此条件下权利穷竭原则应当被延伸至数字网络环境,以实现利益平衡。

The application of the doctrine of copyright exhaustion in the network environment is faced with the dilemma and problem of identifying the boundary between distribution behavior and information network dissemination behavior and adding new copies in the process of circulation.In essence,the online transaction of digital works adopts the network transmission technology,accompanied by the transfer of ownership,and the transaction constitutes the transaction circulation in the sense of the Copyright Law,which should be included in the category of issuing behavior.In the process of circulation,the problem of the increase of copies can be limited by blockchain technology,and the core technologies such as encryption algorithm and intelligent contract can be used to prevent the assignor from retaining the original or sending it to multiple assigns,so as to ensure the“artifi cial scarcity”of copies of digital works.Unequivocally,duplication in the process of resale of digital works is unavoidable,so the necessary reproduction rights in the transaction process should be exhausted together with the distribution rights.To sum up,under this condition,the exhaustion doctrine should be extended to the digital network environment to achieve a balance of interests.