Copyright: Intellectual Property in the Information Age (Paperback or Softback)

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.

Edward W. Ploman, a Swedish expert in international communications, was the Vice-Rector of the Global Learning Division of the United Nations University. He was Executive Director of the International Institute of Communications in London from 1972–1981. He had worked in various capacities for the European Broadcasting Union, the United Nations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other bodies.

L. Clark Hamilton worked for the Library of Congress as the Chief of the Computer Applications Office where, eventually, he rose to the position of Deputy Register of Copyrights. He specialized in the development of legal information retrieval systems. In 1980, Clark retired from the Library of Congress and was recalled to active duty in the Air Force working with the Pentagon and DIA. He was a member of the American Bar Association.