How will network distribution and electronic publishing affect intellectual property rights?
One immediate challenge for information service provision over public networks is the definition and protection of intellectual property rights. Existing intellectual property law is far from adequate to handle digital materials. The standard motivation for copyright is that it will encourage the creation and distribution of new works. But if copies of digital works can be produced at zero cost and distributed with perfect fidelity, what will this do to the incentive to produce originals? Several writers have suggested that a new conception of the value of intellectual property, and a new focus on the locus of the value-added will be necessary. See, for example, [Barlow1994], and [Dyson1995].
