The history and theory of copying and of copies has attracted very little attention compared with writing, printing, telecommunications, and computing. That is unfortunate because copies and copying (which have the same root as copiousness!) have had a very large impact. Imagine adjusting to life without any copies.
Seemingly a simple and commonplace word, “copy” is like “information” and “relevance”: The meaning is obvious until you try to be precise. “Copy” has multiple meanings; it becomes quite complex when analyzed; and its goes a long way towards providing a unifying theory for much of information science and technology.