Copyright Infringement

This year's Special Volume of the Comparative Law Yearbook of International Business concentrates on the topic of copyright infringement. Copyright infringement is an ever-growing problem, made worse by the constant flow of technological advances. The most important of these, of course, is the ability to make copies of copyright material. The last half of the century has seen the development of more and more sophisticated means of communication, both for work and entertainment purposes. Technology has moved on from the days of vinyl records and large mainframe computers, when the copying of material was not a possibility for the public at large. Now, almost every home has a cassette recorder, a video recorder and a personal computer, enabling their users to record music, television or film and to download information either from disk, CD-ROM or direct from the Internet. In addition, this has led to many people making a highly profitable business out of piracy. As well as music, film and video, any goods carrying a well-known brand name are copied and distributed unlawfully. The trade in counterfeit goods is so enormous that companies face lost revenues of billions of dollars each year.

The extent of copyright protection differs throughout the world, with varying requirements for the registration of copyright and periods for its term of protection, though there are attempts to harmonize legislation in this area by, for example, European Union Directives. The difficulties in proving ownership of copyright and the ease with which goods and information can be copied make this an extremely problematic area in terms of regulation and enforcement. Although new security devices are being developed to combat this phenomenon, there will always be those who make it their business to find ways of by-passing them.

This book gives an overview of the present legal situation regarding copyright infringement in various countries throughout the world. Its contributors are leading practitioners in the field of intellectual property law, making this an extremely useful source of information for anyone advising clients in, or just wanting to learn more about, this area.

The General Editor Dennis Campbell, is Director of the Center for lnternational Legal Studies, Salzburg, Austria. He is assisted by a distinguished Board of Advisers drawn from leading academics and practitioners in Europe, North America and the Far East.