The transformative Impact of the Internet on Copyright (and nearly everything else in the Law)

This talk will explore four transformative impacts that the Internet has had on copyright law. For one thing, copyright now applies to virtually everyone and to virtually everything people do on the Internet. Second, because it is difficult to control individual users’ conduct on the Internet, copyright enforcement efforts have largely focused on Internet service providers (ISPs), such as search engines and hosting services. Third, application of copyright law to Internet-based activities has given rise to many novel questions and some adaptations of existing doctrines. Fourth, copyright owners have come to rely on technical protection measures (TPMs) to control access to their works and to impede user infringements on the Internet. Furthermore, anti-circumvention laws prohibit not only bypassing TPMs, but also making and disseminating technologies designed to bypass the TPMs. While this talk cannot cover all of the transformative impacts that the Internet has had for the law, it will highlight some other ways in which the Internet has transformed governance and the role of law and policy in regulating human conduct.