Balanced intellectual property rights for the digital age: The new WIPO copyright treaty

The World Intellectual Property Organisation, an agency of the United Nations, adopted a copyright treaty at the end of 1996. Some of the provisions considered at the Diplomatic Conference, including those directed at temporary reproductions, the scope of permitted exceptions, and technological protection measures, had the potential to significantly impede the development of the Global Information Infrastructure. Ultimately, the Conference rejected the more extreme proposals, and produced a balanced treaty which will foster the rapid growth of the GII.