The Challenges in the protection of copyright in digital works

Copyright grants the creator of an original work exclusive right to determine whether and under what conditions this original work may be used by others. Digital work is an umbrella term for computer based products which include computer programs and databases. We will be looking closely at copyright vis-a-vis digital works or computer programs with the complex challenges incidental to it. Rapid technological progress in information technologies poses new issues for copyright Law because copyright Law has not kept pace with technological changes. This work X-rays the two most critical challenges, inter alia, endemic in the protection of copyright in digital work. The first one is with respect to the inadequate and ineffectual legal protection of the creators of works in digital form which in turn does not encourage the further creation and dissemination of new creative works to the public. The second challenge to be discussed here is with respect to the hardship caused by the arduous process of obtaining permission to access and reproduce copyright materials in a multimedia form in a timely manner.