Technological Protection Measures & the Law: Impacts on Research, Education & Preservation

This report is the first in a three-part series assessing the legal status and providing evidence on Technological Protection Measures (TPMs). This report provides a comparative doctrinal analysis of TPMs in the 27 Member States of the European Union plus key comparator jurisdictions including the UK. That document contains a detailed analysis of the status of TPMs and copyright exceptions, and different national approaches taken inside and outside of Europe to ensure access to works for beneficiaries of exceptions and limitations to copyright. Report 2 provides evidence on the effects of TPMs for researchers, libraries and archives, gathered from a survey of researchers and institutions. The results offer insight into specific impediments to research, education and preservation, as well as the outcomes of legal requests to rightsholders to provide access. Report 3 provides economic evidence of the costs of dealing with TPMs in the preservation of digital materials. Quantitative data are analysed from the MAME video game emulation project, revealing significant labour costs and missing use arising from the need to circumvent TPMs to preserve digital materials, an issue relevant to a range of digital preservation and research contexts.