Intellectual property and the public domain

Any digital information can be disseminated globally, irreversibly and instantly. Yet new copyright laws seek to curb and criminalise the creation of software which allows people fair use of information, promotes competition through compatibility, or employs fundamental ideas in mathematics on which restrictions have been sought through patenting.

Two philosophies are in conflict. Should digital data enjoy the protections of tangible property? Or should information be seen as a common resource because it is not depleted when shared?

> Implementing the European Union Copyright Directive
> The draft Directive on IPR enforcement
> The UK implementation of the EU Copyright Directive
> Software patents
> Response to EU Consultation on Digital Rights Management, Sept 2004
> Response to UK Consultation on the Second IPR Enforcement Directive, Sept 2005