First published in 1980, Copyright offers an explanation and an analysis of the wider implications of copyright as an instrument for ordering the flows of information and culture within and among societies. The book traces the development of copyright and related rights with emphasis on the policy aspects and on how copyright was influenced by and in its turn influenced the users of new information technology.

Significant discussion is devoted to the international aspects of copyright, its unique position in international law, and its role in the relations between industrialized and developing countries. Having provided a basic understanding of copyright principles and their implications, the authors then analyse how well or badly copyright is coping with the various information and communication technologies that have developed primarily in the twentieth century. Finally, they discuss how copyright operates in a modern technological society, the existing challenges to copyright, and its prospects for the future.