C/L/231. "Copyright first developed in the early modern period as a response to the growth of the printing technology that facilitated the rapid multiplication and distribution of copies of written works", (MacQueen, Waelde & Laurie, 2007: 41).Discuss the extent to which the development of copyright has continued as a response to new technology, and evaluate whether this development is consistent with the underlying rationale for copyright

The paper looks at a number of issues relating to intellectual property law examining the growth of copyright and its response to technological development. The issues of patents and entitlement are discussed with reference to a case study in which entitlement in a patent is disputed between an employee and employer, and the patentability of an invention is argued.