Drawing the Boundary between Copyright and Contract: Copyright Preemption of Software License Terms

Supply of Software: Copyright and Contract Issues

When copyright law developed producing infringing copies was a matter which was made very difficult as a result of the expense and expertise required. Advances in modern technology such as the photocopier, the cassette tape recorder, CD writers and DVD recording machines have made copying a cheap and fast process. Computer technology has produced a new environment which not only facilitates the...

The interface between copyright and contract: Suggestions for the future

In the UK, copyright law provides a property right to authors for works that meet certain criteria. Contracts can be used to help a right holder exploit that property right. Copyright has been alleged to provide a balance between the interests of right holders and other stake holders. Whilst there is much debate as to what that balance is, there is evidence that the use of contracts could nonet...

A Web Ontology for Copyright Contract Management

Digitisation and the Internet carry new opportunities and threats to content markets, but traditional Digital Rights Management does not suffice to face them. The main problems are the lack of interoperability, the ignorance of user rights and implementation costs. Our proposal is to take copyright into account as a way to establish a common interoperability ground and means to incorporate user...

Contracts, Copyright and Preemption in a Digital World

Copyright in the networked world: gray copyright

Purpose – This paper uses an inductive approach to define “gray copyright.” It is needed to describe those situations in which the practical degree of copyright protection can best be measured in shades of risk rather than in simple terms of black and white. Design/methodology/approach – Two methods are used. One is an inductive definition builds up the term’s meaning example by example and lay...