The spectacular success of electronic commerce in recent years has seen an explosion in the availability of information and entertainment products on the Internet. This distribution of `content' is expected to continue as one of the major sources of growth on the Internet in the years ahead, raising concerns over the protection of content owners' rights. While the complex copyright problems of the Internet have generated plenty of literature and legislative initiatives, many important issues still remain unresolved. Rights holders in the online marketplace thus remain vulnerable to digital piracy and other forms of unauthorised use. Concerns over the effectiveness of the copyright system in a digital environment have inspired content providers to look for alternative protection regimes or strategies. These alternatives, such as the protection afforded by contract law and information technology, comprise important elements of the Electronic Copyright Management System (ECMS), a fully automated system of secure distribution, rights management, monitoring and payment of copyright-protected content currently being developed. Perhaps the largest multidisciplinary study conducted on ECMS to date is the IMPRIMATUR project, which was subsidised by the European Commission's Esprit Programme, and for which the Institute for Information Law of the University of Amsterdam (IViR) produced a series of legal studies. This volume collects six fully revised and updated studies relating to copyright and electronic commerce which have resulted from the IViR's research. As well as examining the legal issues crucial to the development of electronic copyright management systems, the contributions address issues with wider implications for the law of copyright in general. Other aspects of information law are also considered, such as defamation, data protection, privacy and freedom of expression and information, as are general questions of contract and tort law.

The presence of a robust public domain is an essential precondition for cultural, social and economic development and for a healthy democratic process. But the public domain is under pressure as a result of the ongoing march towards an information economy. Items of information, which in the old-economy had little or no economic value, such as factual data, personal data, genetic information and pure ideas, have acquired independent economic value in the current information age, and consequently become the object of property rights making the information a tradable commodity. How and to what extent does the commodification of information affect the free flow of information and the integrity of the public domain? Does the freedom of expression and information, guaranteed inter alia in the European Convention on Human Rights, call for active state intervention to 'save' the public domain? What means - both legal and practical - are available or might be conceived to guarantee and foster a robust public domain? These were the main questions that were addressed in a major collaborative research project led by the Institute for Information Law of the University of Amsterdam (IViR) in co-operation with the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society (TILT) of Tilburg University, and funded by ITeR, the Dutch National Program for Information Technology and Law. Thirteen contributions from academia worldwide make up the present book, addressing the future of the public domain from a different angle. In addition, all authors were invited to reflect upon the notion and role of the public domain in the context of information law and policy. Should this concept be limited to that of a 'negative' image of (intellectual) property protection, i.e. all publicly available information not subject to a property right, and therefore freely (i.e. gratis) available, or should a broader approach be taken, e.g. all information available from public sources at affordable cost? Should information policies be aimed at maximizing the public domain or optimizing information flows? To what extent are these aims congruent? This book takes a broader, 'information law' oriented approach towards the question of preserving the public domain, in which a wide range of interrelated legal questions converge. Issues treated in this book include: economic analysis of the public domain; fundamental rights analysis of the public domain; impact of the application of technological protection measures and contractual restrictions on the public domain; the impact of the expansion of copyright, database right and patent rights on the public domain; the impact of the commodification of private data, government information, indigenous knowledge on the public domain; and the capacity of the Open Source and Creative Commons Movements to preserve the integrity of the public domain. "The Future of the Public Domain" is an important work for all those interested or involved in the regulation of the knowledge economy. Legal scholars, academic and research institutions, corporate counsel, lawyers, government policymakers and regulators - all these and more will benefit enormously from the thoughtful and incisive discussions presented here.

Nobody likes today's copyright law. Widespread unauthorized use of copyright material proliferates with impunity, while citizens and users protest that intrusive copyright and related rights law stifle cultural expression. Equipment manufacturers and intermediaries complain about yet more 'security' features that complicate their products and services and encumber marketing, while content owners desperately want enforcement to work. And of course it is crucial that whatever regulatory instruments come into play must not age prematurely in Internet time. The European Union faces the daunting challenge of articulating coherent copyright policies that satisfy these contradictory multiple demands. Yet the legal framework must conform to the European Union's remit of fostering economic growth in a common market, while respecting the national traditions of its still growing family of Member States. Clearly, an extraordinary balancing act is called for if justice is to be done to all of the private and public interests affected. So how has the European acquis communautaire scored on these issues so far? In this groundbreaking study the Institute for Information Law of the University of Amsterdam brings its extensive academic expertise to bear on this question. The authors scrutinize the present law as laid down in the seven copyright and related rights directives, against the background of the relevant international standards of the Berne Convention, the TRIPs agreement, and the WIPO Internet Treaties. They map out in detail the degree to which certain areas of copyright have been harmonized as they expose the gaps and inconsistencies in the acquis and the urgent unresolved issues that persist. They identify the EU's ambitions in relation to its present and future competences (following the Lisbon Reform) to regulate copyright, and to its Better Regulation agenda. Following a comprehensive analysis of almost two decades of regulatory intervention, they move on the salient current trends that point toward a more coherent and balanced European copyright law. This book will be welcomed by all those interested or involved in the regulation of copyright and related rights law. Legal scholars, academic and research institutions, corporate counsel, lawyers, government policymakers, and regulators - all these and more will benefit enormously from the profound analysis presented here.

International Copyright surveys and analyzes the legal doctrines affecting copyright practice around the world, in both transactional and litigation settings. It provides a step-by-step methodology for advising clients involved in exploiting creative works in or from foreign countries. Written by two of the most esteemed experts of copyright law in the United States and Europe, this volume is a unique synthesis of copyright law and practice, taking into account the Berne Convention, the TRIPs Agreement, the ongoing harmonization of copyright in the European Union, and the impact of the Internet. National copyright rules on protectible subject matter, ownership, term, and rights are covered in detail and compared from country to country, as are topics on moral rights and neighboring rights. Separate sections cover such important topics as territoriality, national treatment and choice of law, as well as the treaty and trade arrangements that underlie substantive copyright norms.

International Copyright: Principles, Law, and Practice surveys and analyzes the legal doctrines affecting copyright practice around the world, in both transactional and litigation settings. It provides a step-by-step methodology for advising clients involved in exploiting creative works in or from foreign countries. Written by two of the most esteemed experts of copyright law in the United States and Europe, this volume is a unique synthesis of copyright law and practice, taking into account the Berne Convention, the TRIPs Agreement, the ongoing harmonization of copyright in the European Union, and the impact of the Internet. National copyright rules on protectible subject matter, ownership, term, and rights are covered in detail and compared from country to country, as are topics on moral rights and neighboring rights. Separate sections cover such important topics as territoriality, national treatment and choice of law, as well as the treaty and trade arrangements that underlie substantive copyright norms.

This book is essential for all those with an active interest in the challenges to copyright posed by the Internet and the emerging information superhighway. It contains a unique collection of papers, written by the world's foremost copyright scholars and practitioners, presented at the colloquium on The Future of Copyright in a Digital Environment in Amsterdam on July 6-7, 1995. This colloquium was organized by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences (KNAW) and the Institute for Information Law at the University of Amsterdam. The collection of papers is the first to cover the complete range of problems involved, including the scope of protected rights on the information superhighway, the application of exemptions and limitations, the collective administration of rights, resolving conflicts of law in an environment where territoriality is obsolete, alternatives to copyright protection and designing copyright for the future. This book will prove a useful source of information for all those investigating the profound impact of the emerging digital environment on copyright law.