header-logo header-logo

Book review: How to fix copyright

03 May 2012 / Jane Foulser McFarlane
Issue: 7512 / Categories: Blogs
printer mail-detail

William Patry, senior copyright counsel for Google Incorporated, not only has practical experience of copyright law in practice, he is also the author of several publications on the subject, including the eight volume treatise, Patry On Copyright.

Author: William Patry
Publisher: Oxford University Press (8 March 2012)
ISBN: 978-0-19-976009-1           Price: £13.99

In How to fix copyright, Patry sets out to identify the reasons why US copyright law is no longer effective to protect the rights of authors, artists and musicians in a global economy and why, in practical terms, such laws are in conflict with market forces and technology.

Copyright failings

Patry considers that Anglo-American copyright law is still firmly rooted in the 18th century, where artificial scarcity was an effective control on the dissemination of musical, artistic and literary works; fewer copies were distributed at a premium. In the modern world of digital abundance, where everyone has immediate access to everything, copyright law actually inhibits, rather than encourages creativity. Patry argues that, for example, extending the length of copyright

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
back-to-top-scroll