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Transnational copyright enforcement in the digital age: balancing rights holders and public access across jurisdictions

Crime, Law and Social Change

Published online on

Abstract

{"p"=>"Copyright enforcement in the age of digital platforms is a multi-jurisdictional dilemma for rights holders and access. Enforcement, awareness, and collaboration are acknowledged as vital, but to date, there is limited empirical research on how technology mediates these factors and impacts access outcomes, especially in multi-jurisdictional contexts. To investigate the impacts of enforcement strength, awareness, collaboration, and policy variation on access to copyright content, and specifically focused on the mediating role of technology adoption in transnational copyright enforcement. Survey data were collected from 300 participants in South China via Google Forms. The survey instrument included 25 items measured with a 5-point Likert scale covering awareness, enforcement, interaction, technology adoption, and access. Data were analyzed with SPSS descriptive statistics, correlation, regression, and mediation analysis to test hypotheses (H1–H5) based on the theoretical framework, and prepared for embedded silo analysis building on prior research. The study found significant positive relationships between all variables. Technology adoption reported the strongest relationships with access (r = 0.402, p < 0.01), and technology adoption mediated the relationships for enforcement, awareness, collaboration, and policy variation with access (p < 0.05). This mediation occurs as enforcement strength is operationalized through specific technological mechanisms, including DRM systems that regulate lawful access, AI-based content monitoring that improves detection efficiency, and blockchain-based verification that enhances attribution and cross-jurisdictional rights recognition. These technologies convert regulatory enforcement into practical and measurable access outcomes in transnational digital environments. Overall, the study results indicate that enforcement and awareness are still necessary, although the effect of these factors is enhanced by technology, and determines how rights protection protects equitable public access in multi-jurisdictional enforcement contexts."}