Plain use of the web may cause copyright infringement in today’s legislative context. In the moment that an individual fetches a document and views it on their screen for more than a few seconds, a copy has been created. This is concrete evidence of how inappropriate the current interpretation of the law is, and the paradox that is created when applying the law to the creative use of modern technology. The creation of copies is an inherent feature of the technical design of the web, and necessary for the system to function appropriately. Thus, attempts to change the web technology to adapt to current copyright regulations will have negative side-effects on the technical design. However, one should not instantly assume that ordinary use of the web will subject the reader to suit. Current U.S. copyright analysis requires a review of the facts and law to determine if there is fair use.
Predictor: Norderhaug, Terje
Prediction, in context:In a paper presented at the third annual WWW Conference in 1995, Terje Norderhaug and Juliet M. Oberding of Media Design inProgress presented research titled, ÒDesigning a Web of Intellectual Property,Ó in which they assert that web technology undermines the protection of intellectual property. They write: ”Plain use of the web may cause copyright infringement in today’s legislative context. In the moment that an individual fetches a document and views it on their screen for more than a few seconds, a copy has been created. This is concrete evidence of how inappropriate the current interpretation of the law is, and the paradox that is created when applying the law to the creative use of modern technology. The creation of copies is an inherent feature of the technical design of the web, and necessary for the system to function appropriately. Thus, attempts to change the web technology to adapt to current copyright regulations will have negative side-effects on the technical design. However, one should not instantly assume that ordinary use of the web will subject the reader to suit. Current U.S. copyright analysis requires a review of the facts and law to determine if there is fair use.Ó
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: Copyright/Intellectual Property/Plagiarism
Name of publication: WWW Conference '95
Title, headline, chapter name: Designing a Web of Intellectual Property
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
www.igd.fhg.de/archive/1995_www95/proceedings/papers/95/webip.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne