The law of copyright will celebrate its tricentennial in thirteen years time. First introduced in England in 1709 in response to the invention of printing, its history has been one of constant development to keep pace with significant changes in technology. In the 1990s, copyright is more topical than ever. The potential for worldwide distribution of multi-media works over the emerging Global Information Infrastructure is the latest challenge facing the copyright system. This situation has prompted ambitious programmes for copyright reform and harmonisation at national level and within the Berne Union and the European Union. It is timely therefore to reexamine the basic justifications for copyright.

The first two legislative texts on copyright, the UK Statute of Anne 1709 and the Copyright Clause of the US Constitution 1787, embodied the concept that providing copyright protection for authors for a limited time would encourage and promote learning and progress and thus act for the public good.