In the rapidly growing information society, copyright law plays a central role in the creation, production, dissemination and use of creative material and the information it contains. In the past 15 years, the European Union has enacted no less than seven Directives aimed at harmonizing copyright throughout the internal market. "Concise European Copyright Law" aims to offer the reader a rapid understanding of all the provisions of copyright law in force in Europe, which have been enacted at the European and international levels and features: article-by-article commentary on the relevant European directives and international treaties in the field of copyright and neighbouring rights; short and straightforward explanations of the principles of law to be drawn from each provision; and, editors and authors who are prominent specialists (academics and practitioners) in the field of European and international copyright law. "Concise European Copyright Law" is part of "Concise IP", a series of five volumes of commentary on European intellectual property legislation edited by Professor Thomas Dreier, Professor Charles Gielen and Richard Hacon. The formula of this series is based on the successful German and Dutch formula 'KurzKommentar' and 'Tekst en Commentaar'.