'A dazzling history of the future – Hamish McRae has given us a tour de force' - Tim Harford _______________ A bold and illuminating vision of the future, from one of Europe’s foremost speakers on global trends in economics, business and society What will the world look like in 2050? How will complex forces of change – demography, the environment, finance, technology and ideas about governance – affect our global society? And how, with so many unknowns, should we think about the future? One of Europe’s foremost voices on global trends in economics, business and society, Hamish McRae takes us on an exhilarating journey through the next thirty years. Drawing on decades of research, and combining economic judgement with historical perspective, Hamish weighs up the opportunities and dangers we face, analysing the economic tectonic plates of the past and present in order to help us chart a map of the future. A bold and vital vision of our planet, The World in 2050 is an essential projection for anyone worried about what the future holds. For if we understand how our world is changing, we will be in a better position to secure our future in the decades to come.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Traditional copyright law strikes a delicate balance between an author's control of original material and society's interest in the free flow of ideas, information, and commerce. In today's digitally networked environment, this balance has shifted dramatically to one side, as powerful rights holders contractually impose terms and conditions of use far beyond the bounds set by copyright law. This vitally significant book explores this conflict from its gestation through its current manifestations to its future lineaments and potential consequences. Focusing on statutory copyright limitations that enshrine constitutional rights such as freedom of expression and privacy, foster dissemination of knowledge, safeguard competition, and protect authors from market failure, Copyright Limitations and Contracts clearly explains the rationale for these limitations and questions the legality of overriding them by contractual means. The author finds a complex array of factors clouding the emergence of coherent rules in the matter, among them the nature of the contract (e.g. fully negotiated vs. "shrinkwrap"), the respective interests of the parties involved, and the legislated policy of particular regimes. She points out that the United States' new Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA), which is likely to be adopted be many U.S. States and influence similar legislation in many other countries, leaves this crucial issue essentially unresolved. Among the author's many startling insights is that, contrary to the commonly held notion that the Internet is a bastion of free speech, in fact it is now possible (via encryption technology) for the first time in human history to exerciseabsolute control over copyrighted material, even under circumstances of global mass distribution. As we become more and more aware that the intersection of copyright and contract reveals one of the deepest and most far-reaching contradictions of our time, this illuminating analysis will be of extraordinary value to jurists in every area of public and private law.