Enforcing intellectual property law in the digital age means fighting ever more effective and powerful new modes of creation made possible in part by collaborative development through the Internet. There is a concerted offensive by multinational corporations, patent offices, specialized legal consultants, the United States government and the European Union, working together to reinforce and extend property rights. Philippe Aigrain provides analysis. See also Ignacio Ramonet "The Spider in the Web" http://mondediplo.com/2005/11/01internet .