With peer-to-peer file sharing constantly making headlines, the book has added relevance. 29)įorecast: This book will have a wider appeal than Lessig's previous works, and author appearances in New York and San Francisco could attract buyers. 'Free Cultures are cultures that leave a great deal open for others to build upon,' he writes. In addition to offering a brilliant argument, Lessig also suggests a few solutions, including the Creative Commons licensing venture (an online licensing venture that streamlines the rights process for creators), as well as legislative solutions. Lessig also offers a very personal look into his failed Supreme Court bid to overturn the Copyright Term Extension Act, a law that added 20 years to copyright protections largely to protect Mickey Mouse from the public domain. Information technology student Jesse Jordan, for example, was forced to hand over his life savings to settle a lawsuit brought by the music industry-for merely fixing a glitch in an Internet search engine. He debunks the myth that draconian new copyright enforcement is needed to combat the entertainment industry's expanded definition of piracy, and chillingly assesses the direct and collateral damage of the copyright war. In clear, well-paced prose, Lessig illustrates how corporations attempt to stifle innovations, from FM radio and the instant camera to peer-to-peer technology. This event took place on October 3, 2006. Here Lessig argues that copyright as designed by the Framers has become dangerously unbalanced, favoring the interests of corporate giants over the interests of citizens and would-be innovators. Lawrence Lessig, author of 'Free Culture,' visits Googles New York office as part of the AuthorsGoogle series.

Copyright law in the digital age has become a hot topic, thanks to millions of music downloaders and the controversial, high-profile legal efforts of the music industry to stop them. ) comes this expertly argued, alarming and surprisingly entertaining look at the current copyright wars. From Stanford law professor Lessig ( Code

Free culture by lawrence lessig