Introduction: Technologies &
Copyright
Consider the simple act of browsing the Internet--the single most common activity for Web users. Viewing or reading a copyrighted work on the Internet requires that multiple copies of that work be made. Although "reading" is not one of the exclusive rights granted to copyright owners, reproduction and distribution are, raising the issue of whether incidental browsing leads to copyright infringement.
Under U.S. law, provisions for fair use, innocent infringement, or implied license protect much of what people do when they use a Web browser. However, the global nature of the Internet raises additional questions:
- Can we assume that other countries provide similar protections against liability?
- How far will the implied license concept be extended?
Traditional copyright law and international copyright treaties are unclear concerning these issues.
A number of special Internet technologies, ranging from linking and framing to metatags and caching have potential impact on questions of copyright and trademark infringement. This section looks briefly at the most common of these.
