This paper examines copyright from an historical perspective, asserting that technology is and always has been the driving force behind copyright restrictions. In sixteenth-century England the printing press galvanized legislation. Today, technology, primarily in the form of the Internet, is once again a driving force behind a renewed and concerted effort by copyright owners to re-establish their territory. A timeline shows the progression of copyright as a censorship tool to a promotion-of-learning tool, and a table shows the theoretical issues still being debated about the proprietary versus regulatory nature of copyright. Confusion over the nature of copyright laws often leads to private laws made in total disregard of public law. The way copyright law is being interpreted by contemporary courts, the freedom to exchange ideas is moving toward extinction. The nature of copyright must be decided, and judicial decisions must rest on constitutional grounds. Otherwise, special interest groups wielding considerable economic power will continue turning copyright into a tool for guaranteeing a profit, sanctioned monopoly, and a universal tool for censorship. (Author/SWC)