According to data from copyright-fingerprinting start-up Vobile, the number of copyright-infringing videos on some Chinese sites like Ku6 and Youku has jumped more than six-fold between September 2007 and September 2008, as seen in the first chart below.

FORBES

In 1999, Congress again extended the copyright term for pre-1978 works like Superman by another 20 years and gave authors a similar right to take back their works.

FORBES: Fighting For The Right To Superman's Copyright: More Brutal Than Anything Lex Luthor Could Have Imagined

Meanwhile, the rules are being tightened in Europe, where the European Parliament has endorsed a copyright directive that, like America's existing Digital Millennium Copyright Act, would give rights-holders more protection and consumers less choice.

ECONOMIST: The same old song

In November, the U.S. government seized more than 80 domain names of sites, like BitTorrent search engine Torrent-Finder, that it said were infringing copyright.

FORBES: BitTorrent Tops 100 Million Users