Digital Rights Challenges in a World of Technological Convergence

The convergence of communication, caused in part by the convergence of media and digital content, is a continuing phenomenon. Many intellectual property challenges loom in this environment. This paper focuses on the situation in the Unites States. The peculiar features inherent in digital content that exacerbate the intellectual property problem, such as non-permanent, multiple, and heterogeneous media are discussed. A few US cases that illustrate some of the problems in this area are also examined. The paper concludes by looking at the multiple goals of digital content collections and the problem of intellectual property.