There is a continuing debate on both sides of the Atlantic about the adequacy and appropriateness of IP laws to promote innovation and encourage the diffusion of knowledge. This collection of essays by academic lawyers, economists and IP judges from Europe and the US seeks to explore this debate.
The US has already implemented or put forward legislation such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (Ucita). To some, the effect of such laws is to potentially lock up information by protecting its encrypted format and licensing it on enforceable standard form terms preventing ‘fair use’. The UK and Europe now face a similar debate, as member states prepare to implement the latest EC copyright directive by the end of 2002. This book provides pointers for that debate.
