The Evolution and Equilibrium of Copyright in the Digital Age


Book Description

Examines how copyright can evolve without compromising the interests of authors, users and those who connect them.




Balancing Copyright Law in the Digital Age


Book Description

This book focuses on the thorny and highly topical issue of balancing copyright in the digital age. The idea for it sprang from the often heated debates among intellectual property scholars on the possibilities and the limits of copyright. Copyright law has been broadening its scope for decades now, and as a result it often clashes with other rights (frequently, fundamental rights), raising the question of which right prevails. The papers represent the product of intensive research by experts, who employ rigorous interpretative methodologies while keeping an eye on comparison and on the impacts of new technologies on law. The contributions concentrate on the "propertization" of copyright; on the principle of exhaustion of the distribution right; on the conflict between users' privacy and personal data needs; and on the balance between copyright and academic freedom. Starting from the difficulties inherently connected to the difficult task of balancing rights that respond to opposing interests, each essay analyzes techniques and arguments applied by institutional decision-makers in trying to solve this dilemma. Each author applies a specific methodology involving legal comparison, while taking into account the European framework for copyright and related rights. This work represents a unique piece of scholarship, in which a single issue is read through different lenses, demonstrating the need to reconcile copyright with other fundamental areas of law.




Digital Copyright


Book Description

Professor Litman's work stands out as well-researched, doctrinally solid, and always piercingly well-written.-JANE GINSBURG, Morton L. Janklow Professor of Literary and Artistic Property, Columbia UniversityLitman's work is distinctive in several respects: in her informed historical perspective on copyright law and its legislative policy; her remarkable ability to translate complicated copyright concepts and their implications into plain English; her willingness to study, understand, and take seriously what ordinary people think copyright law means; and her creativity in formulating alternatives to the copyright quagmire. -PAMELA SAMUELSON, Professor of Law and Information Management; Director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, University of California, BerkeleyIn 1998, copyright lobbyists succeeded in persuading Congress to enact laws greatly expanding copyright owners' control over individuals' private uses of their works. The efforts to enforce these new rights have resulted in highly publicized legal battles between established media and new upstarts.In this enlightening and well-argued book, law professor Jessica Litman questions whether copyright laws crafted by lawyers and their lobbyists really make sense for the vast majority of us. Should every interaction between ordinary consumers and copyright-protected works be restricted by law? Is it practical to enforce such laws, or expect consumers to obey them? What are the effects of such laws on the exchange of information in a free society?Litman's critique exposes the 1998 copyright law as an incoherent patchwork. She argues for reforms that reflect common sense and the way people actually behave in their daily digital interactions.This paperback edition includes an afterword that comments on recent developments, such as the end of the Napster story, the rise of peer-to-peer file sharing, the escalation of a full-fledged copyright war, the filing of lawsuits against thousands of individuals, and the June 2005 Supreme Court decision in the Grokster case.Jessica Litman (Ann Arbor, MI) is professor of law at Wayne State University and a widely recognized expert on copyright law.




Rights Limitation in Digital Age


Book Description

This book comprehensively discusses the effects of digital technology on the way work is disseminated and the resulting challenges concerning the fair use of copyright. It also analyzes so-called fairness by examining theories on the system of fair use, demonstrating the “system changes that will be brought about by technological changes” from the perspective of economics, i.e., the problem of modification faced by the system of fair use of copyright. Exploring the nature and function of fair use and repositioning the fair use system, the book proposes a better design for China’s system of limitation on copyright and a readjustment of the copyright system. Lastly, in addition to analyzing the reconfigurations of fair use from an economic standpoint, the book describes in detail the interactions between legal systems and cultures.




Copyright Law in the Digital World


Book Description

This book addresses the key issues, challenges and implications arising out of changes in the copyright law and corresponding judicial responses. Using concrete examples, the book does not assume any prior knowledge of copyright law, but brings together leading intellectual property researchers to consider the significant role of copyright law in shaping the needs of the modern digital world. It provides an insight into two distinct arenas: copyright and digital media. The exponential increase in the ability to multiply and disseminate information by digital means has sparked numerous conflicts pertaining to copyright – and in turn has prompted lawmakers to expand the scope of copyright protection in the digital age. Bearing in mind the new questions that the advent of the digital age has raised on the role and function of copyright, the book presents a collection of papers largely covering new frontiers and changing horizons especially in this area. The contributions intensively address core issues including the exhaustion principle, copyright and digital media, liability of hosting service providers, the originality requirement, accessibility to published works for the visually disabled, criminalization of copyright infringement, and software protection under copyright law, among others. Consisting of 14 papers, this book will be equally interesting to researchers, policymakers, practitioners and lawmakers, especially those active in the field of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).




Copyright in the Digital Era


Book Description

Over the course of several decades, copyright protection has been expanded and extended through legislative changes occasioned by national and international developments. The content and technology industries affected by copyright and its exceptions, and in some cases balancing the two, have become increasingly important as sources of economic growth, relatively high-paying jobs, and exports. Since the expansion of digital technology in the mid-1990s, they have undergone a technological revolution that has disrupted long-established modes of creating, distributing, and using works ranging from literature and news to film and music to scientific publications and computer software. In the United States and internationally, these disruptive changes have given rise to a strident debate over copyright's proper scope and terms and means of its enforcement-a debate between those who believe the digital revolution is progressively undermining the copyright protection essential to encourage the funding, creation, and distribution of new works and those who believe that enhancements to copyright are inhibiting technological innovation and free expression. Copyright in the Digital Era: Building Evidence for Policy examines a range of questions regarding copyright policy by using a variety of methods, such as case studies, international and sectoral comparisons, and experiments and surveys. This report is especially critical in light of digital age developments that may, for example, change the incentive calculus for various actors in the copyright system, impact the costs of voluntary copyright transactions, pose new enforcement challenges, and change the optimal balance between copyright protection and exceptions.




Music Law in the Digital Age


Book Description

(Berklee Press). With the free-form exchange of music files and musical ideas online, understanding copyright laws has become essential to career success in the new music marketplace. This cutting-edge, plain-language guide shows you how copyright law drives the contemporary music industry. By looking at the law and its recent history, you will understand the new issues introduced by the digital age, as well as continuing issues of traditional copyright law. Whether you are an artist, lawyer, entertainment Web site administrator, record label executive, student, or other participant in the music industry, this book will help you understand how copyright law affects you, helping you use the law to your benefit. * How do you get fair compensation for your work and avoid making costly mistakes? * Can you control who is selling your music on their website? * Is it legal to create mash-ups? * What qualifies as fair use? * How do you clear another artist's samples to use in your own recordings? * What is the Creative Commons/Copyleft movement? * How do you clear music for use in an online music service or store? * Who decides who gets paid how much and by whom? You will learn the answers to these questions as well as: * The basics of copyright law, looking at the Copyright Act while explaining it in plain language * How revenue streams for music are generated under copyright law * The reasoning behind high-profile court decisions related to copyright violations *What licenses are needed for the legal online delivery of music * The intricacies of using music on sites like YouTube, Pandora, and Spotify * Deficiencies in current copyright law and new business model ideas




Understanding Copyright


Book Description

Digital technology has forever changed the way media is created, accessed, shared and regulated, raising serious questions about copyright for artists and fans, media companies and internet intermediaries, activists and governments. Taking a rounded view of the debates that have emerged over copyright in the digital age, this book: Looks across a broad range of industries including music, television and film to consider issues of media power and policy. Features engaging examples that have taken centre stage in the copyright debate, including high profile legal cases against Napster and The Pirate Bay, anti-piracy campaigns, the Creative Commons movement, and public protests against the expansion of copyright enforcement. Considers both the dominant voices, such as industry associations, and those who struggle to be heard, including ordinary media users, drawing on important studies into copyright from around the world. Offering media students and scholars a comprehensive overview of the contemporary issues surrounding intellectual property through the struggle over copyright, Understanding Copyright explores why disagreement is rife and how the policymaking process might accommodate a wider range of views.




Copyright in the Age of Online Access


Book Description

" In addition to proving virtually impossible, online enforcement of copyright may be undesirable because it risks encroaching upon fundamental rights and freedoms. However, the problem remains that creators are often not fairly remunerated for the online use of their works. This book addresses the urgent need to study pragmatic legal solutions that enable Internet users to access works in the digital environment, while assuring remuneration to rights holders and promoting the development of the information society. This study examines legalisation schemes that favour remunerated access over exclusivity and enforcement for large-scale online use by individuals. It investigates whether and to what extent these schemes (referred to as alternative compensation systems) are admissible under EU copyright law and consistent with its objectives, responding to such questions as the following in depth: - What existing copyright schemes provide an alternative to the exclusive right in copyright law? - What online rights apply to the activities of Internet users? - What types of models exist for the legalisation of online use of copyright works? - How can the public interest shape the scope of protection of copyright? - Can and should we legalise non-commercial file sharing and online use in EU copyright law? The book carefully examines these questions in light of EU primary law, relevant directives (with a focus on the InfoSoc Directive), case law (especially that of the CJEU), and legal literature in the field of copyright. The analysis culminates with a proposed blueprint for a compensated limitation for non-commercial individual use that is consistent with EU copyright law. As a thoroughly researched and balanced response to the urgent need to rethink EU copyright law in light of its lack of social acceptance and technological adequacy, this book will be of inestimable value to lawyers, policymakers, and scholars in the field, as well as to interest groups involved in discussions for reform and modernisation of EU digital copyright law. "




The Copyright Zone


Book Description

If you license or publish images, this guide is as indispensable as your camera. It provides specific information on the legal rights of photographers, illustrators, artists, covering intellectual property, copyright, and business concerns in an easy-to-read, accessible manner. The Copyright Zone, Second Edition covers: what is and isn’t copyrightable, copyright registration, fair use, model releases, contracts and invoices, pricing and negotiation, and much more. Presented in a fun and easy to digest style, Jack Reznicki and Ed Greenberg, LLC help explain the need-to-know facts of the confusing world of legal jargon and technicalities through real world case studies, personal asides, and the clear writing style that has made their blog Thecopyrightzone.com and monthly column by the same name in Photoshop User magazine two industry favorites. The second edition of this well-reviewed text has almost doubled in size to ensure that every legal issue you need to know about as a photographer or artist is covered and enjoyable to learn!