he long term, intellectual property protection will in all likelihood prove to be the more important concern." Later in the document, as we move slowly towards the details of the proposed technological solutions, the authors (whose individual names are not supplied) seem to be maintaining a healthy and realistic amount of caution about the relationships between technology and law: Too often, discussion surrounding digital copyright protection fails to take into account the physical and practical limitations imposed by the Internet itself. . . . The IT industry is concerned that attempts to legislate sanctions to digital copyright protection and infringement may ignore technical realities. The physical operation and working dynamics of this "network of networks" defy traditional legal notions of enforcement [and] boundaries. . . . It is important to recognize that the actual functionalities of the Internet, just like the laws of gravity, cannot be legislated.But, not far away from these words, we find a burst of enthusiasm for the tools which are supposed to solve the problems of intellectual property in cyberspace: When copyright holders and content providers begin to utilize the many and varied technological tools that can serve to protect video, audio, and text-based intellectual property distributed in a digitized form over the Internet . . . most of the problems expressed during [recent] debates will be silenced. There are already some technology tools today, and many more in development, that can securely label intellectual property and provide the means for those who have control and have been given notification of the infringement to monitor, take down, and/or block infringing material. . . . Technology can provide solutions for these needs. Technological solutions exist today and improved means are being developed to better protect digital works through varying combinations of hardware and software. Copyright owners and content ...
