COSC3360H 11/11/1999 Intellectual Property in the Information Age, by Dr. Roberta Katz, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Netscape Communications Corporation. Outline: The technological changes associated with the Information Age have caused us to revise many of our traditional methods of interacting and doing business. For holders of intellectual property rights, some of these changes have been beneficial, but other changes have been troubling. Our courts and legislative bodies have been struggling mightily to understand the new technologies in order to move the law relating to intellectual property to reflect contemporary and anticipated future realities. Dr. Katz outlines the basics of how law has historically responded to culturally changes and then summarizes the current state of these various developments as they continue to rise in importance while being in a constant state of flux. Summary: A. Introduction 1. Comprehensive economical and social changes 2. Rethinking our methods of interactions including education and business. 3. New communities and new friends over the Internet. 4. Laws as means of Societal Handshake for collective agreementa on what we want to value and protect. 5. Laws do not fit fast changing reality. 6. First Principles: Underlying foundation for laws. Balance between individual rights/freedom and society's right/order. 7. Jurisdiction: Which state should be in charge. B. Intellectual property: Copyright. 1. Original goal of copyright. To give authors special rights to protect and promote writings, including protection against unauthorized copying and unauthorized performance. 2. Basic problem: How to apply Industrial age laws to Information age reality. 3. Three reasons copyright got hot in recent years. Easy information access thru Internet. Physical structure of Internet resulting in Caching and packet transmission. Everyone can easily become author or publisher. 4. Expressions of ideas and the idea itself are protected. 5. Where most battles are waged: Courts: Contents owners vs. ISP/OSP on whom to blame for violations. Congress: Among various interest groups including Hollywood interest And Internet industry. WIPO (World IP Organization under UN) Convention. 6. Major conflict: Contents owners: want more copyright protection. Internet industry: want expanding role and capability of Internet. 7. Compromise is needed. New laws to implement technical solutions to these conflicts. By finding ways to use technology to allow Contents owners To preclude unauthorized downloading/copying from website