DIGITAL PLATFORMS, COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT, AND ODR: RETHINKING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ENFORCEMENT IN THE INTERNET AGE

Abstract

The development of digital platforms has created new challenges for copyright governance. Digital platforms enable the rapid creation, distribution, and use of content; however, they also facilitate large-scale copyright infringement. Owing to their nature, traditional methods of enforcing copyright through courts and tribunals are often slow, expensive, and ill-suited to addressing cross-border digital disputes. This article explores the increasing use of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) as a mechanism for resolving copyright disputes arising on digital platforms. Using a combination of doctrinal analysis and comparative examination of platform governance systems, cross-jurisdictional enforcement models, and emerging ODR practices, the study argues that ODR provides a practical and effective means of resolving large-scale digital copyright disputes. However, it contends that efficiency alone is insufficient to ensure legitimate outcomes. The article proposes a six-pillar framework for Digital Justice and Procedural Legitimacy, comprising procedural fairness, transparency, independent oversight, cross-border accessibility, equitable treatment of rights holders and users, and compatibility with formal legal structures. It argues that these elements are essential to ensuring effective, enforceable, and rights-respecting copyright enforcement in the digital era.