Stefan Bechtold

This talk will present a roadmap of emerging legal problems in the area of Digital Rights Management (DRM) that are less frequently discussed in legal and policy circles. The talk will cover issues such as

  • the implications of DRM for competition in the DRM technology market itself and in downstream markets (using examples from antitrust and patent law as well as from various technology platforms)
  • the relationship between DRM, fair use, and innovation (using rights locker architectures, dynamic DRM systems and DRM technology license agreements as examples)
  • the alleged dichotomy between DRM and copyright levy systems which is currently a fiercely debated issue in Europe, and
  • recent efforts by the private sector and by legislators to standardize and mandate DRM technology (TCPA, Palladium, "Hollings bill")

While the talk highlights several new problems created by DRM, it also attempts to show that it is futile to condemn DRM altogether. Indeed, DRM offers many tools by which some of the problems raised by DRM opponents can be solved. In particular, DRM technology is much more plastic and neutral than many DRM critics acknowledge. Monday, February 24, 2003
12:15-1:15 pm
Moot Court Room
Stanford University Law School
Lunch will be provided
All Welcome

Speaker Bio:

Stefan Bechtold graduated from the University of Tübingen Law School, Germany, in 1999. In 1999 and 2000, he was a Visiting Scholar at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law. In 2001, he received a J.S.D. (Dr. iur.) from the University of Tübingen Law School. Supported by a Fulbright scholarship, he received a master's degree (J.S.M.) from Stanford Law School in 2002. Since 1997, he has been working as a research assistant to Professor Wernhard Möschel at the University of Tübingen Law School. Mr. Bechtold is the author of numerous publications in the area of cyberlaw and intellectual property, including a 450 page book on the implications of digital rights management. Since 1997, he has been maintaining the Link Controversy Page, a web page on legal questions of hyperlinks, frames and inline images. He is a member of the editorial board of Artikel5.de, a German web site about protecting freedom of speech in broadcast media and in cyberspace. In addition, Mr. Bechtold has composed numerous orchestra and chamber music works which have been awarded several composition prizes and have been repeatedly performed and broadcast.

Add new comment