"It is axiomatic to suggest that copyright and its utility in the digital environment are important issues. There is much debate of the role and appropriate parameters of copyright (how should copyright works be available and protected online and how should fair uses work in the online environment) where the availability of works is more international than ever before. The importance of the issues and the difficulties seem to have resulted in some aspects of the debate becoming significantly polarised and those at the poles are frequently uncompromising"-- Provided by publisher. "The digital age has prompted new questions about the role and function of copyright. Internationally, copyright has progressively increased its scope of protection over new technology and modes of distribution. Yet many copyright owners express dissatisfaction and consider that the system is not working for them. Many users of copyright material, and even some owners, consider that copyright gives too much protection and that copyright owners want too much. This book considers how copyright might evolve in the twenty-first century and how it might reach equilibrium between authors, owners, users and those who connect them"-- Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references and index.