The Evolution and Equilibrium of Copyright in the Digital Age

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

Copyright must evolve to support the opportunities and demands of the digital age, while balancing the interests of authors, owners, intermediaries and users of all types (including libraries, researchers and creators). This book contributes to the copyright debate and provides pathways for a structured policy discussion on copyright reform.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.