Criminal Copyright

Since the birth of criminal copyright in the nineteenth century, the copyright system has blurred the distinction between civil and criminal infringements.

Today, in many jurisdictions, infringement of copyrighted materials can result in punitive fines and even incarceration. In this illuminating book, Eldar Haber analyzes the circumstances, justifications, and ramifications of the criminalization process and tells the story of how a legal right in the private enforcement realm has become over-criminalized.

He traces the origins of criminal copyright legislation and follows the movement of copyright criminalization and enforcement on local and global scales. This important work should be read by anyone concerned with the future of copyright and intellectual property in the digital era.

• Provides a unique exploration of the process of copyright criminalization and a full taxonomy of when to criminalize behavior
• Offers insights on the future of criminal copyright in the digital age
• Discusses how day-to-day online activities, in many instances, would constitute a criminal offence
• Contributes to the legal history of copyright legislation in the US, UK, and the international community