Includes bibliographical references (pages 129-147) and index.

Introduction: understanding copyright in the digital age -- A brief history of copyright: where we are and how we got here -- Copyright and the creative economy: how the cultural industries exert influence -- Technologies and corporations in the middle: how Internet intermediaries are drawn into the debate -- Creative workers and copyright: how current and future creators benefit from cultural labour -- Consumers, criminals, patrons, pirates: how users connect to copyright -- Copyright policy: how policy represents (or fails to represent) different groups -- The future of copyright: how we can learn from the debate.

How cultural property is created, governed, protected, circulated and accessed raises serious questions for individuals, activists and governments. Taking a rounded view of the debates and perspectives that have emerged as essential to the struggle over copyright in the digital age, this book: * Looks across a broad range of industries including music, television and film to consider the issues of media power and policy. * Is packed with gripping examples and case studies, including pirate bay, Google books, Metallica v Napster, Aaron Swartz/JSTOR and megaupload.com * Features boxed case studies and guided further reading lists. Edited with authority and insight, this book offers students and scholars of cultural and media industries, new media and social media a comprehensive overview of the contemporary issues surrounding intellectual property.