Self-help in the digital jungle

Self-help systems, protecting electronic content from unauthorized copying, are controversial, especially with copyright scholars who see them as endangering the fair use defense permitting certain forms of socially useful copying. Self-help systems, by harnessing both technology and the institution of contract instead of relegating contract providers to legal actions to enforce intellectual property rights, promise to expand the amount and diversity of content while reducing transactions and search costs. These systems also further moral rights of attribution and integrity. Such systems can evolve to accommodate fair users (especially through industry-wide standards setting), deter unauthorized copying through unobserved victim precaution, and strengthen social norms against such copying.