Copyright Law in the Digital World : Challenges and Opportunities

This book addresses the key issues, challenges and implications arising out of changes in the copyright law and corresponding judicial responses. Using concrete examples, the book does not assume any prior knowledge of copyright law, but brings together leading intellectual property researchers to consider the significant role of copyright law in shaping the needs of the modern digital world. It provides an insight into two distinct arenas: copyright and digital media. 

The exponential increase in the ability to multiply and disseminate information by digital means has sparked numerous conflicts pertaining to copyright – and in turn has prompted lawmakers to expand the scope of copyright protection in the digital age. Bearing in mind the new questions that the advent of the digital age has raised on the role and function of copyright, the book presents a collection of papers largely covering new frontiers and changing horizons especially in this area. The contributions intensively address core issues including the exhaustion principle, copyright and digital media, liability of hosting service providers, the originality requirement, accessibility to published works for the visually disabled, criminalization of copyright infringement, and software protection under copyright law, among others. Consisting of 14 papers, this book will be equally interesting to researchers, policymakers, practitioners and lawmakers, especially those active in the field of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).

Manoj Kumar Sinha is the Director at the Indian Law Institute, New Delhi. He obtained his PhD in International Law from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, after attaining his LL.B. from the University of Delhi, India, and his LL.M. from the University of Nottingham, UK. His areas of specializations include human rights, international humanitarian and refugee law, international criminal law, international law, international institutions and constitutional law. He has published extensively in these areas in reputed Indian and international law journals. He currently serves on the editorial boards of various reputed national and international journals, as well as research bodies of many universities in India and abroad. 

Vandana Mahalwar is an Assistant Professor at the Indian Law Institute, New Delhi, India. Prior to this, she was an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, India. She holds a B.A.L., LL.B. (Gold Medal) and LL.M. (Gold Medal) from Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, India and obtained her PhD in Law from National Law University Delhi, India. With various publications in reputed journals to her credit, her current focus is on issues pertaining to right of publicity, character merchandising, and intellectual property laws.