Abstract
Digital technology has had a profound impact on copyright law. The implementation of the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the enforcement of technological protection measures have led to disparate forms of copyright protection for digital and analogue media. The balance between authors’ rights and the right of the public to access copyright works has been distorted. 
 
 Copyright law is playing an ever-increasing crucial role in the Information Society. Developing countries are especially disadvantaged by diminished access to works. In this article it is argued that adherence to the principle of functional equivalence in implementing the anti-circumvention provisions of the WCT will ensure that the copyright balance is maintained and will advance the development agenda
Highlights
The Internet has changed from a quiet means of communication among academic and scientific research circles to a major global data pipeline through which large amounts of 'locked' intellectual property and proprietary information are moved
Technological protection systems include anti-copy devices, access control, electronic envelopes, proprietary viewer software, encryption, passwords, watermarking, fingerprinting, metering and monitoring of usage and remuneration systems.[7]. This approach is bolstered by the WIPO Copyright Treaty[8] which entered into force on 6 March 2002
It has been noted that the WCT, and in particular the anti-circumvention provisions, have had a 'transformative' impact on the scope of copyright law as it had over-reached and created 'super-copyright' or 'para-copyright'
Summary
The Internet has changed from a quiet means of communication among academic and scientific research circles to a major global data pipeline through which large amounts of 'locked' intellectual property and proprietary information are moved. Whereas earlier technologies such as photocopying and taping allowed mechanical copying by individual consumers, they did so in limited quantities, required considerable time and investment and produced copies of relatively poor quality. The Internet and digital technology provide opportunities and pose threats to public and private interests in intellectual property rights. Limitations and exceptions are defined narrowly and cannot adapt so to changing technologies.[6]
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