TECHNOLOGICAL NEUTRALITY

“Technological neutrality” has emerged in recent Supreme Court jurisprudence as a guiding principle in the application of traditional copyright law to new digital contexts. The principle has been defined in a variety of competing ways, with disagreement about its meaning and effect being the central point of departure between the majority and minority rulings in the SODRAC case. How will the SODRAC case change or inform the application of technological neutrality in copyright law, both in respect of defining rights and their limits, and in the valuation of licenses at the Copyright Board? How might the decision impact other areas of law or policy beyond copyright?