Copyright Exceptions: The Digital Impact

Copyright Exceptions: The Digital Impact Copyright ‘exceptions’ or ‘users’ rights’ have become a highly controversial aspect of copyright law. Most recently, member states of the European Union have been forced to amend their systems of exceptions so as to comply with the Information Society Directive. Taking the newly amended UK legislation as a case study, this book examines why copyright exceptions are necessary and the forces that have shaped the present legislative regime in the United Kingdom. It seeks to further our understanding of the exceptions by combining detailed doctrinal analysis with insights gained from a range of other sources. The principal argument of the book is that the United Kingdom’s current system of ‘permitted acts’ is much too restrictive and hence is in urgent need of reform, and that paradoxically the Information Society Directive points the way towards a much more satisfactory approach. is Reader in Law at the University of Queensland, and Associate Director of the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture. He worked previously at the Australian National University and at King’s College, London. is Director of Culturenet Cymru at the National Library of Wales. She was previously Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Cambridge Studies in Intellectual Property Rights As its economic potential has rapidly expanded, intellectual property has become a subject of front-rank legal importance. Cambridge Studies in Intellectual Property Rights is a series of monograph studies of major current issues in intellectual property. Each volume will contain a mix of international, European, comparative and national law, making this a highly significant series for practitioners, judges and academic researchers in many countries. Series editor Professor William R. Cornish, University of Cambridge Advisory editors Professor Fran¸cois Dessemontet, University of Lausanne Professor Paul Goldstein, Stanford University The Hon. Sir Justice Robin Jacob, The High Court, England and Wales A list of books in the series can be found at the end of this volume. Copyright Exceptions: The Digital Impact Robert Burrell Allison Coleman The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge, CB2 2RU, UK 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011–4211, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Aus