Updating copyright and intellectual property laws to meet the challenges of the networked environment has been a key focus for Congress, the courts, and state legislatures for several years. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, peer-to-peer file sharing and digital rights management, and legislation to create additional protections for databases have dominated the agenda. Debate and consideration of a large number of copyright and intellectual property bills and court cases has occupied ARL staff this year.
