>That doesn't seem to deal with either international standards or the internet.

UK law is based on European law in this area, so I'd be surprised if other European countries are much different. Once the Aussies and Kiwis and wake up they can check out their laws.

Comparing the site below:
http://ahds.ac.uk/bkgd/copyrightfaq.html#faq3
to Tsuwm's USA site it looks like the broad brush strokes are similar, including the same concept of "fair dealing". Interestingly (or not), I note that the lifetime of the copyright for literary works (including e-mail!) is 70 years after death of the author, compared to 50 years in the USA (and was until recently based on the date of the published work). There are clearly differences in detail but the basic concept on which the law is based is similar.

Literary Works: Written works Includes lyrics, tables, compilations, computer programmes, letters, memoranda, e-mail and WWW pages. Authors life plus 70 years after death. Anonymous/corporation authors: 70 years from year of publication. Special rules for unpublished works