The 1911 Copyright Act, often termed the 'Imperial Copyright Act', changed the jurisprudential landscape in respect of copyright law, not only in the United Kingdom but also within the then Empire. This book offers a bird's eye perspective of why and how the first global copyright law launched a new order, often termed the 'common law copyright system'.This carefully researched and reflective work draws upon some of the best scholarship from Australia, Canada, India, Israel, Jamaica, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and United Kingdom. The authors - academics and practitioners alike - situate the Imperial Copyright Act 1911 within their national laws, both historically and legally. In doing so, the book queries the extent to which the ethos and legacy of the 1911 Copyright Act remains within indigenous laws.

A Shifting Empire offers a unique global, historical view of copyright development and will be a valuable resource for policymakers, academic scholars and members of international copyright associations.

Contributors include: T.G. Agitha, M.D. Birnhack, D. Daley, Y. Gendreau, N.S. Gopalakrishnan, N.-L.W. Loon, G. McLay, S. Ricketson, U. Suthersanen