ABSTRACT
This introductory chapter aims to set the scene for what follows by tracing the history of how the concept of copyright arose, some of the different copyright philosophies (including those of the United Kingdom and its major trading partners), and in particular the flurry of recent initiatives proposing copyright reform at international, multinational and national levels. To trade in intellectual property, it is essential that the work in question is protected by copyright and that a framework of mutual copyright protection is in place if the trading is to take place between different countries, perhaps with differing copyright regimes.
