I just finished reading Lawrence Lessig's groundbreaking work Free Culture, and I am convinced that the revolution against oppressive copyright is now in full swing. This well-written and extremely informative book, which is provided here in full for free, lays out the contours of the debate over file sharing on the internet, and makes a persuasive argument for backing off the current aggressive stance toward copyright being pursued by the Recording Industry Association of America and, unfortunately, Congress. In a nutshell, Lessig argues that the internet is a changing technology, and that imposing overly restrictive copyright policies on file sharing at this point is unnecessary and oppressive. He points to the different types of information now available online, and shows how blanket restrictions designed to protect copyrighted material would also prohibit access to lots of information NOT protected by copyright, which in the long run would hamper creativity. His arguments are numerous and persuasive, and I seriously recommend this to anyone who is even slightly interested in the paradigm shift we are currently witnessing online. Whether you believe these guys or these guys, there is no question that this is an important debate that will have deep repercussions throughout our culture. Check out Lessig's blog here, and for a good example of the issues involved, read this post on a related copyright question.
Friday, October 22, 2004
piracy bad, access good
I just finished reading Lawrence Lessig's groundbreaking work Free Culture, and I am convinced that the revolution against oppressive copyright is now in full swing. This well-written and extremely informative book, which is provided here in full for free, lays out the contours of the debate over file sharing on the internet, and makes a persuasive argument for backing off the current aggressive stance toward copyright being pursued by the Recording Industry Association of America and, unfortunately, Congress. In a nutshell, Lessig argues that the internet is a changing technology, and that imposing overly restrictive copyright policies on file sharing at this point is unnecessary and oppressive. He points to the different types of information now available online, and shows how blanket restrictions designed to protect copyrighted material would also prohibit access to lots of information NOT protected by copyright, which in the long run would hamper creativity. His arguments are numerous and persuasive, and I seriously recommend this to anyone who is even slightly interested in the paradigm shift we are currently witnessing online. Whether you believe these guys or these guys, there is no question that this is an important debate that will have deep repercussions throughout our culture. Check out Lessig's blog here, and for a good example of the issues involved, read this post on a related copyright question.
