Postscript

Summary

Looking into multimedia is in fact like looking into the basic notions and principles of copyright.

The fact that copyright has recently undergone a process of change does not necessarily imply that it has been either invalidated or diminished in significance. It rather means that it is in the process of being transformed and therefore adaptations might need to be more radical than before.

In order for one to deal with potential new legislation on multimedia, one has necessarily to look back and base this new legislation on existing provisions in relevant areas. In that sense our legal past is both valuable and indispensable for the future. However, depending on the past does not necessarily mean that one should not look to the future. The future, however, brings with it bewilderment and confusion. It represents the threat (and challenge at the same time) of the unknown and the new. Once one has to depart from long and well-established principles for something new one feels rather uncomfortable. Yet, the ultimate role of law is to catch up with the developments in society if not to transform society itself. Law is there to serve people and their needs and both people and their needs are subject to development. In that sense the law needs to be revised if it is to survive the test of time. It is in relation to multimedia that copyright is called upon now to pass the test of time.