This article maps the history of copyright over the past 250 years, and the changes that this legal field is currently undergoing. The article argues that until the advent of the internet, copyright increasingly supported centralized commercial control. However, the rise of the internet has challenged the feasibility of this centralized control. The authors argue that copyright's basic function must be changed in order to deal with the current reality of decentralized content and an ever-expanding marketplace of ideas.

This book explores the historical and legal frameworks governing intellectual property law. Moreover, this book describes how these assumptions and frameworks have been completely changed by the introduction of the internet and other media like DVDs and CDs. Various theoretical arguments, both for minimizing and maximizing IP protection, are explored in the context of current issues like webcasting and the legal definition of trespass in cyberspace. These practical applications help illuminate the complicated nature of IP in an increasingly digital world.