Copyright and Technology
- Digital technology introduces a new level of controversy into copyright policy.
- Inclusion of software as copyright subject matter on the recommendation of CONTU and then later with the EU Computer Programs Directive.
- Enactment of Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
- Controversy over the copyrightability of databases (Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone Service and contradictory cases); links to the debate over sui generis Database rights.
- Enactment of the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty; nations begin passing anti-circumvention laws.
Commentators such as Barlow (1994) have argued that digital copyright is fundamentally different and will remain persistently difficult to enforce; others such as Stallman (1996) have argued that the Internet deeply undermines the economic rationale for copyright in the first place. These perspectives may lead to the consideration of alternative compensation systems in place of exclusive rights for all types of information, including software, books, movies, and music.
Read more about this topic: History Of Copyright Law
Famous quotes containing the word technology:
“If we had a reliable way to label our toys good and bad, it would be easy to regulate technology wisely. But we can rarely see far enough ahead to know which road leads to damnation. Whoever concerns himself with big technology, either to push it forward or to stop it, is gambling in human lives.”
—Freeman Dyson (b. 1923)