ABSTRACT
Revenue from commercial transactions over the internet continues to increase rapidly; conventional bricks-and-mortar retailers including department stores and supermarkets all now offer online sales facilities, but many have suffered reduced footfall, and there have been many takeovers and closures. The major problem is the ‘sharing’ philosophy of many internet users, in particular the younger generation of so-called ‘digital natives’, who are often happy to upload material of their own and of others without expectation of payment and to access material from others on the same basis. In late 2008, the recording industry association of America abandoned its policy of pursuing individual infringers in favour of trying to persuade internet service providers to become more actively involved in the battle against internet piracy. Custom publishing escalated significantly in the USA from 1993 onwards, although it had appeared somewhat earlier in the Netherlands.
