Copyright Law in the Digital Age

I know I'm a nerd, but copyright law has always fascinated me. It's not just that I despise the DMCA and its infringement on fair use, but I'm intrigued by the way these ancient laws protecting creativity are being twisted and bent in a digital age.

Take this copyright infringement case against National Geographic. National Geographic has released a CD-ROM library called The Complete National Geographic. The CDs are filled with stories and pictures from previous National Geographic magazines. The case has been brought by a photographer wanting royalties for his work.

My gut reaction is that photographers and writers should get royalties for such compilations both because such a reproduction would have been unanticipated and the CDs constitute a new product. According to the law.com article, the courts have split over this, and it is likely that this case (or one like it) will head before the Supreme Court in the coming years.