Media Rights and Intellectual Property

This critical study highlights the ways in which issues of intellectual property are driving the contemporary media economy, from disputes over downloading music from the Internet to negotiations over David Beckham's image rights. As Richard Haynes demonstrates, the media industry exploits copyright and trademarks in new and seemingly boundless ways, whether it's the blockbuster movie "Harry Potter" or the successful children's television program "Bob the Builder." The book focuses on: *The underlying importance of intellectual property rights to the media industry *The impact of digitalization on the protection of copyright *The response of the music industry to digital distribution and copyright piracy *The emergence of celebrity image rights *Issues of copyright and the Internet