The need for a new Copyright Act: a case study in law reform The Herchel Smith Intellectual Property Lecture 2014

There were three United Kingdom Copyright Acts in the twentieth century. It is now 26 years since the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 was passed. The major thesis of this lecture is that it is time for a new Copyright Act. The minor thesis is that we need to re-think our approach to copyright law reform. Both theses are illustrated by the history of UK copyright legislation over the last 140 years.