‘Rimmer brings the tension between law and technology to life in this important and accessible work. Digital Copyright and the Consumer Revolution helps makes sense of the global maze of caselaw and copyright reform that extend from San Francisco to Sydney. The book provides a terrific guide to the world’s thorniest digital legal issues as Rimmer demonstrates how the consumer interest is frequently lost in the crossfire.’ – Professor Michael A. Geist, the Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-Commerce Law, the University of Ottawa, Canada

This book documents and evaluates the growing consumer revolution against digital copyright law, and makes a unique theoretical contribution to the debate surrounding this issue.

With a focus on recent US copyright law, the book charts the consumer rebellion against the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act 1998 (US) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998 (US). The author explores the significance of key judicial rulings and considers legal controversies over new technologies, such as the iPod, TiVo, Sony Playstation II, Google Book Search, and peer-to-peer networks. The book also highlights cultural developments, such as the emergence of digital sampling and mash-ups, the construction of the BBC Creative Archive, and the evolution of the Creative Commons.

Digital Copyright and the Consumer Revolution will be of prime interest to academics, law students and lawyers interested in the ramifications of copyright law, as well as policymakers given its focus upon recent legislative developments and reform proposals. The book will also appeal to librarians, information managers, creative artists, consumers, technology developers, and other users of copyright material.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. The dead poets society: copyright term and the public domain

2. Remote control: time-shifting and space-shifting

3. The privateers of the information age: copyright law and peer-to-peer networks

4. The grey album: copyright law, digital sampling, and mash-ups

5. Grand turismo in the high court: copyright law and technological protection measures

6. Agent smith and the matrix: copyright law and intermediary liability

7. Google: search or destroy?

8. Remix culture: the creative commons and its discontents

Conclusion. A consumer's manifesto: the declaration of innovation independence

Reviews:

"This book, which has a structure that flows with concinnity and concision, makes it easy to navigate some of the most complicated and controversial issues surrounding copyright law and the digital age. Rimmer makes a cogent argument for a growing consumer revolution against digital copyright law, depicting how the interests of the consumer can often be overshadowed in the legal arena."

Lisa Wong, Osgoode Hall Law Journal

"Rimmer’s Hands Off My iPod is a comprehensive and detailed analysis of current problems facing copyright holders as they struggle (and often fumble) to find a balance between profiting off their property and keeping the newly-powerful, increasingly agile user happy."

Adam Sulewski, Journal of High Technology Law

‘This book provides food for two schools of thought: those who are trying to predict how the new economy will affect legislation, and those who are keen to stay one step ahead of the (post)modern infringer.’

Matthew Packer, IP Review

"This engaging account of US copyright law (and copyright wars) is thorough and informative... The author’s interest in copyright law, is, as he says, ‘a longstanding one’, fostered predominantly in Australian academic institutions. His deep understanding of the subject matter, as well as his profound empathy with consumers, are evident throughout the work; the book will, no doubt, foster a similar interest in another generation of copyright law scholars."

Louise Buckingham, Copyright Reporter

"Digital Copyright and the Consumer Revolution... is a crucial vade mecum on the ever evolving "global maze of case law and copyright reform."

Colin Steele, Australian Library Journal