This thesis examines the balance between copyright owners and users by studying the nature of the rights and exceptions related to transmission of copyrighted works over the internet, focusing on three different jurisdictions: Australia, Japan and the United States.The choice of Japan and the United States is based on consideration of the following elements: 1. Both countries possess advanced information technology; 2. Both countries too the lead in legislating for copyright protection in the digital environment; 3. Both countries have different legal systems. In the matter of statutory reaction of transmission of works over the internet, there is no uniform solution around the world as the divergent laws in the three chosen countries demonstrate.