Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights at the National and International Levels under Criminal Legislation

Abstract

Most national legislations, as well as international law, have addressed the protection of intellectual property against piracy, counterfeiting, and forgery since the nineteenth century. National and international legal systems have even resorted to criminal policy in this field due to its severity and its role in achieving general deterrence. However, is the application of this criminal policy suitable for the digital environment, which has become the primary platform relied upon by intellectual property owners to disseminate their electronic works? If criminal policy is indeed applicable to the protection of digital works in the digital environment characterized by complexity and by technologies intrinsically linked to intellectual property what is the legal nature of criminal protection for digital works in the digital environment, what is the scope of its intervention, and to what extent is it effective in strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights in the digital environment? These are the issues examined in this article entitled: Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights at the National and International Levels under Criminal Legislation.