從區塊鏈技術探究著作權登記之爭議

Exploring the Copyright Registration Disputes from a Blockchain Technology Perspective

區塊鏈技術問世，科技業者希冀應用區塊鏈技術解決著作權歸屬混亂、授權取得不易、授權金分配不明等問題。近年區塊鏈應用實例，美國攝影產業龍頭柯達公司打造KodakOne的線上數位照片著作權登記平台，包括日本音樂著作集管團體JASRAC利用該技術紀錄著作相關資訊以供日後計算分潤，我國KKFARM創立數位音樂發行平台和Muzeum區塊鏈創意產業協定，建構音樂著作發行、登記、授權和分潤的完整生態系。然而，利用區塊鏈認證服務進行著作權登記，一旦源頭作品真偽不易管控，恐易衍生爭議。我國和美國採創作保護主義，不強制著作權人申辦著作權登記。我國在1998年全面廢除著作權登記制度，不過至今仍有呼籲恢復登記制度的聲浪。美國仍保有自願登記制度，而且美國著作權法第411條（a）項規定，著作權人必須先向美國著作權局進行著作權登記，才能提起民事侵權訴訟，並同時在著作權法中提供多項重要的訴訟優勢和邊境防阻機制，藉以鼓勵登記和活絡著作交易。何時符合登記要件是美國著作權人維權的重要時點，2019年美國最高法院Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC案作出著作權法採「登記生效制」而非「申請生效制」的司法見解。利用區塊鏈具有去中心化、數據難以篡改、防偽，並且可追根溯源等特點，著作權人可把「區塊鏈+數位著作權」作為數位資產管理的一種新機制，透過民間和官方資源結合，解決過往耗時、費力的行政管理程序衍生的弊端，加速數位資產管理機制之建構和解決數位身分驗證問題，不僅因應現今照片即時網路授權交易需求，區塊鏈存證紀錄亦不失為日後涉訟時證明無侵權故意的數位證據。

With the advent of blockchain technology, the technology industry hopes to use blockchain technology to solve the problems of copyright ownership, licensing, and royalty distribution. Kodak, the leading company in the U.S. photography industry, introduced blockchain technology to create KodakOne's online digital photo copyright registration platform. KodakOne has become the best example of copyright registration and licensing management in recent years. However, if the source of the copyrighted works is difficult to authenticate, it is likely to cause disputes when blockchain is used as an authentication service for copyright registration. In Taiwan and the United States, copyright exists automatically from the moment a work is created. Formal registration is not required to receive copyright protection. While the copyright registration system was abolished in 1998 in Taiwan, there are voices advocating for the restoration of the registration system. In general, copyright registration is voluntary in the United States, but Article 411 (a) of the U.S. Copyright Law provides that copyright owners must first register their copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office before they can initiate a civil infringement lawsuit. The U.S. Copyright Law also provides numerous litigation benefits and border protections to encourage copyright registration and efficient trading of copyrighted works. The question of when an official copyright registration actually occurs is important for the copyright owner to assert his/her rights. The U.S. Supreme Court resolved the issue in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC. by holding that copyright registration occurs after a copyright owner has received approval or denial of their application from the Copyright Register. Because blockchain has unique features of decentralization, nontampering, security and traceability, copyright owners use ''blockchain + digital copyright'' as a new mechanism for digital asset management. Through the combination of private and official resources, blockchain technology solves the problems derived from the time-consuming and laborious administrative procedures in the past. In addition, blockchain technology also accelerates digital asset management mechanisms and resolves the issues of digital identity verification. The blockchain online digital photo copyright registration platform not only serves the needs of real-time online photo licensing, but also provides evidence to prove that there is no intention to infringe when litigation is involved later on.