The internet facilitates the swift copying and exchange of digital material. Hyperlinking and framing can result in new and novel possibilities for infringement of copyright. Works protected by copyright, such as music and videos, can be easily transferred in peer-to-peer dealings. Such transfers have become the target of copyright owners. This chapter explores these issues and developments and the contiguity between copyright and electronic commerce. It is not intended to state the law relating to copyright, other than a brief overview. The advent of electronic commerce and the internet have necessitated a rethink of intellectual property issues by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the courts and the legislature. The proliferation of material on the internet – written, aural and graphic – has posed new questions and resulted in the creation of new rights internationally. The next chapter addresses the interplay between electronic commerce and intellectual property rights in trade marks, patents and circuit layouts.

The nature of copyright

Intellectual property comprises state-sanctioned rights entitling the holder of such rights to a limited monopoly on exploiting and controlling the property for a predetermined period of time. The state gains the benefit of, for example, literary and musical works, new inventions, medicines, research, designs and innovation. Inventors, writers, composers and designers have the incentive of potential rewards for their efforts. Their works, patents and designs will form part of the public domain when the predetermined period expires.