Digital Rights Management & Its Interaction With Net Neutrality

Article by: Akriti Dhagga, Intern, at Khurana and Khurana Advocates and IP Attorneys

The online platform offers ample opportunity for infringement of copyrights and it is but natural for copyright holders to react apprehensively and clamor for absolute regulation of the digital copyright market. However, the virtual world is a whole different ball game where standard rules fail to achieve the desired objective. Therefore, a mechanism was developed to counter unauthorized use and give more control to the copyright holder over the categories accessible and the type of usage and modification allowed, called Digital Rights Management (DRM). It was proposed through the WIPO Internet treaties of WIPO Cooperation Treaty (WCT) and WIPO Performers and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) to provide a flexible and globally enforceable mechanism of governing digital copyrights.