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Sterling, J.A.L. --- "Online Exploitation and Licensing: General Reporter’s Summary and Proposals for Discussion" [2010] ELECD 516; in Bently, Lionel; Suthersanen, Uma; Torremans, Paul (eds), "Global Copyright" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: Global Copyright

Editor(s): Bently, Lionel; Suthersanen, Uma; Torremans, Paul

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848447660

Section: Chapter 21

Section Title: Online Exploitation and Licensing: General Reporter’s Summary and Proposals for Discussion

Author(s): Sterling, J.A.L.

Number of pages: 6

Extract:

21. Online exploitation and licensing:
General Reporter's summary and
proposals for discussion
J.A.L. Sterling*

1 INTRODUCTION

In today's fascinating survey of the problems involved in the context of the
internet and digital libraries, education and related questions of admin-
istration and licensing, and the use of orphan material,1 we have been
made aware of gaps in national, regional and international copyright law.
One of the reasons for the problems is that we are using the copyright law
of the Gutenberg era of hard copies and territorial rights to deal with the
challenges of borderless communication in the electronic environment.
We have heard of a number of solutions or proposed solutions in the
European Community, US and Canada. These are specifically related
to the areas concerned. In the world of global communication, however,
I suggest that we need to seek global solutions which are not subject to
territorial restrictions.


2 THE BLACK HOLE IN THE COPYRIGHT
CONSTELLATION

There is in this area what may be called the black hole in the copyright
constellation. Rights of reproduction and communication to the public as
well as distribution of copies are in general assigned and exploited on a ter-
ritorial basis, according to traditional practices of the publishing industry,


* Professorial Fellow, Queen Mary Intellectual Property Institute, Centre for
Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary, University of London. j.a.l.sterling@qmul.
ac.uk. A French and Spanish translation of this chapter can be found on the website of
the ...