1 # SOME DESCRIPTIVE TITLE
2 # Copyright (C) YEAR Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3 # This file is distributed under the same license as the PACKAGE package.
4 # FIRST AUTHOR <EMAIL@ADDRESS>, YEAR.
9 "Project-Id-Version: PACKAGE VERSION\n"
10 "POT-Creation-Date: 2012-08-10 15:21+0300\n"
11 "PO-Revision-Date: YEAR-MO-DA HO:MI+ZONE\n"
12 "Last-Translator: FULL NAME <EMAIL@ADDRESS>\n"
13 "Language-Team: LANGUAGE <LL@li.org>\n"
16 "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8\n"
17 "Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit\n"
19 #. type: Content of the copy entity
24 #. type: Attribute 'lang' of: <book>
29 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo><title>
34 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo>
36 msgid "<abbrev>\"freeculture\"</abbrev>"
39 #. type: Content of: <book><dedication><para>
40 #: freeculture.xml:24 freeculture.xml:180
42 "HOW BIG MEDIA USES TECHNOLOGY AND THE LAW TO LOCK DOWN CULTURE AND CONTROL "
46 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo>
48 msgid "<pubdate>2004-03-25</pubdate>"
51 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo><releaseinfo>
53 msgid "Version 2004-02-10"
56 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo><authorgroup><author><firstname>
61 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo><authorgroup><author><surname>
66 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo><subjectset><subject><subjectterm>
68 msgid "Intellectual property—United States."
71 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo><subjectset><subject><subjectterm>
73 msgid "Mass media—United States."
76 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo><subjectset><subject><subjectterm>
78 msgid "Technological innovations—United States."
81 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo><subjectset><subject><subjectterm>
83 msgid "Art—United States."
86 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo><publisher><address>
89 msgid "<city>New York</city>"
92 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo>
95 "<publisher> <publishername>The Penguin Press</publishername> <placeholder "
96 "type=\"address\" id=\"0\"/> </publisher> <copyright> <year>2004</year> "
97 "<holder>Lawrence Lessig</holder> </copyright>"
100 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo><legalnotice><para><inlinemediaobject>
101 #: freeculture.xml:69
103 "<imageobject> <imagedata fileref=\"images/cc.png\" contentdepth=\"3em\" "
104 "width=\"100%\" align=\"center\"/> </imageobject> <imageobject> <imagedata "
105 "fileref=\"images/cc.svg\" contentdepth=\"3em\" width=\"100%\" "
106 "align=\"center\"/> </imageobject>"
109 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo><legalnotice><para><inlinemediaobject><textobject><phrase>
110 #: freeculture.xml:76
111 msgid "Creative Commons, Some rights reserved"
114 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo><legalnotice><para>
115 #: freeculture.xml:68
116 msgid "<placeholder type=\"inlinemediaobject\" id=\"0\"/>"
119 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo><legalnotice><para>
120 #: freeculture.xml:82
122 "This version of <citetitle>Free Culture</citetitle> is licensed under a "
123 "Creative Commons license. This license permits non-commercial use of this "
124 "work, so long as attribution is given. For more information about the "
125 "license, click the icon above, or visit <ulink "
126 "url=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/1.0/\">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/1.0/</ulink>"
129 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo><abstract><title>
130 #: freeculture.xml:91
131 msgid "ABOUT THE AUTHOR"
134 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo><abstract><para>
135 #: freeculture.xml:93
137 "LAWRENCE LESSIG (<ulink "
138 "url=\"http://www.lessig.org\">http://www.lessig.org</ulink>), professor of "
139 "law and a John A. Wilson Distinguished Faculty Scholar at Stanford Law "
140 "School, is founder of the Stanford Center for Internet and Society and is "
141 "chairman of the Creative Commons (<ulink "
142 "url=\"http://creativecommons.org\">http://creativecommons.org</ulink>). The "
143 "author of The Future of Ideas (Random House, 2001) and Code: And Other Laws "
144 "of Cyberspace (Basic Books, 1999), Lessig is a member of the boards of the "
145 "Public Library of Science, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Public "
146 "Knowledge. He was the winner of the Free Software Foundation's Award for the "
147 "Advancement of Free Software, twice listed in BusinessWeek's <quote>e.biz "
148 "25,</quote> and named one of Scientific American's <quote>50 "
149 "visionaries.</quote> A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Cambridge "
150 "University, and Yale Law School, Lessig clerked for Judge Richard Posner of "
151 "the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals."
154 #. testing different ways to tag the cover page
156 #. <imageobject remap="s" role="front">
158 #. <imagedata fileref="images/cover_thumbnail.png" format="PNG" width="444" />
160 #. <imageobject remap="xs" role="front-small">
161 #. <imagedata fileref="images/cover_thumbnail.png" format="PNG" width="444" />
163 #. <imageobject remap="cs" role="thumbnail">
164 #. <imagedata fileref="images/cover_thumbnail.png" format="PNG" width="444" />
167 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo><mediaobject>
168 #: freeculture.xml:114
170 "<imageobject remap=\"lrg\" role=\"front-large\"> <imagedata "
171 "fileref=\"images/cover.png\" format=\"PNG\" width=\"444\" /> </imageobject>"
175 #. http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&DB=local&CMD=010a+2003063276&CNT=10+records+per+page
177 #. type: Content of: <book><bookinfo>
178 #: freeculture.xml:112
180 " <placeholder type=\"mediaobject\" id=\"0\"/> <biblioid "
181 "class=\"isbn\">1-59420-006-8</biblioid> <biblioid "
182 "class=\"libraryofcongress\">2003063276</biblioid>"
185 #. type: Content of: <book><dedication><para>
186 #: freeculture.xml:142
187 msgid "You can buy a copy of this book by clicking on one of the links below:"
190 #. type: Content of: <book><dedication><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
191 #: freeculture.xml:145
192 msgid "<ulink url=\"http://www.amazon.com/\">Amazon</ulink>"
195 #. type: Content of: <book><dedication><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
196 #: freeculture.xml:146
197 msgid "<ulink url=\"http://www.barnesandnoble.com/\">B&N</ulink>"
200 #. type: Content of: <book><dedication><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
201 #: freeculture.xml:147
202 msgid "<ulink url=\"http://www.penguin.com/\">Penguin</ulink>"
205 #. type: Content of: <book><dedication><para>
206 #: freeculture.xml:156
207 msgid "ALSO BY LAWRENCE LESSIG"
210 #. type: Content of: <book><dedication><para>
211 #: freeculture.xml:159
212 msgid "The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World"
215 #. type: Content of: <book><dedication><para>
216 #: freeculture.xml:162
217 msgid "Code: And Other Laws of Cyberspace"
220 #. type: Content of: <book><dedication><para>
221 #: freeculture.xml:169
222 msgid "THE PENGUIN PRESS, NEW YORK"
225 #. type: Content of: <book><dedication><para>
226 #: freeculture.xml:176
230 #. type: Content of: <book><dedication><para>
231 #: freeculture.xml:186
232 msgid "LAWRENCE LESSIG"
235 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
236 #: freeculture.xml:192
238 "THE PENGUIN PRESS, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 375 Hudson Street "
242 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
243 #: freeculture.xml:196
244 msgid "Copyright © Lawrence Lessig. All rights reserved."
247 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
248 #: freeculture.xml:199
250 "Excerpt from an editorial titled <quote>The Coming of Copyright "
251 "Perpetuity,</quote> <citetitle>The New York Times</citetitle>, January 16, "
252 "2003. Copyright © 2003 by The New York Times Co. Reprinted with "
256 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
257 #: freeculture.xml:204
259 "Cartoon in <xref linkend=\"fig-1711\"/> by Paul Conrad, copyright Tribune "
260 "Media Services, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission."
263 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
264 #: freeculture.xml:208
266 "Diagram in <xref linkend=\"fig-1761\"/> courtesy of the office of FCC "
267 "Commissioner, Michael J. Copps."
270 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
271 #: freeculture.xml:212
272 msgid "Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data"
275 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
276 #: freeculture.xml:215
278 "Lessig, Lawrence. Free culture : how big media uses technology and the law "
279 "to lock down culture and control creativity / Lawrence Lessig."
282 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
283 #: freeculture.xml:220
287 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
288 #: freeculture.xml:223
289 msgid "Includes index."
292 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
293 #: freeculture.xml:226
294 msgid "ISBN 1-59420-006-8 (hardcover)"
297 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
298 #: freeculture.xml:230
300 "1. Intellectual property—United States. 2. Mass media—United "
304 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
305 #: freeculture.xml:233
307 "3. Technological innovations—United States. 4. Art—United "
311 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
312 #: freeculture.xml:236
316 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
317 #: freeculture.xml:239
318 msgid "343.7309'9—dc22"
321 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
322 #: freeculture.xml:242
323 msgid "This book is printed on acid-free paper."
326 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
327 #: freeculture.xml:245
328 msgid "Printed in the United States of America"
331 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
332 #: freeculture.xml:248
333 msgid "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4"
336 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
337 #: freeculture.xml:251
338 msgid "Designed by Marysarah Quinn"
341 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
342 #: freeculture.xml:255
343 msgid "&translationblock;"
346 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
347 #: freeculture.xml:259
349 "Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this "
350 "publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval "
351 "system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, "
352 "photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission "
353 "of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book."
356 #. type: Content of: <book><colophon><para>
357 #: freeculture.xml:267
359 "The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or "
360 "via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and "
361 "punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and "
362 "do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted "
363 "materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated."
366 #. type: Content of: <book><dedication><para>
367 #: freeculture.xml:279
369 "To Eric Eldred—whose work first drew me to this cause, and for whom it "
373 #. type: Content of: <book><lot><title>
374 #: freeculture.xml:287
375 msgid "List of figures"
378 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><title>
379 #: freeculture.xml:349
383 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><indexterm><primary>
384 #: freeculture.xml:351
388 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><para>
389 #: freeculture.xml:354
391 "<emphasis role=\"bold\">At the end</emphasis> of his review of my first "
392 "book, <citetitle>Code: And Other Laws of Cyberspace</citetitle>, David "
393 "Pogue, a brilliant writer and author of countless technical and "
394 "computer-related texts, wrote this:"
397 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
398 #: freeculture.xml:365
400 "David Pogue, <quote>Don't Just Chat, Do Something,</quote> <citetitle>New "
401 "York Times</citetitle>, 30 January 2000."
404 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><blockquote><para>
405 #: freeculture.xml:361
407 "Unlike actual law, Internet software has no capacity to punish. It doesn't "
408 "affect people who aren't online (and only a tiny minority of the world "
409 "population is). And if you don't like the Internet's system, you can always "
410 "flip off the modem.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
413 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><para>
414 #: freeculture.xml:370
416 "Pogue was skeptical of the core argument of the book—that software, or "
417 "<quote>code,</quote> functioned as a kind of law—and his review "
418 "suggested the happy thought that if life in cyberspace got bad, we could "
419 "always <quote>drizzle, drazzle, druzzle, drome</quote>-like simply flip a "
420 "switch and be back home. Turn off the modem, unplug the computer, and any "
421 "troubles that exist in <emphasis>that</emphasis> space wouldn't "
422 "<quote>affect</quote> us anymore."
426 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><para>
427 #: freeculture.xml:379
429 "Pogue might have been right in 1999—I'm skeptical, but maybe. But "
430 "even if he was right then, the point is not right now: <citetitle>Free "
431 "Culture</citetitle> is about the troubles the Internet causes even after the "
432 "modem is turned off. It is an argument about how the battles that now rage "
433 "regarding life on-line have fundamentally affected <quote>people who aren't "
434 "online.</quote> There is no switch that will insulate us from the Internet's "
438 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><para>
439 #: freeculture.xml:390
441 "But unlike <citetitle>Code</citetitle>, the argument here is not much about "
442 "the Internet itself. It is instead about the consequence of the Internet to "
443 "a part of our tradition that is much more fundamental, and, as hard as this "
444 "is for a geek-wanna-be to admit, much more important."
447 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><para><footnote><para>
448 #: freeculture.xml:402
450 "Richard M. Stallman, <citetitle>Free Software, Free Societies</citetitle> 57 "
451 "(Joshua Gay, ed. 2002)."
454 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><para>
455 #: freeculture.xml:397
457 "That tradition is the way our culture gets made. As I explain in the pages "
458 "that follow, we come from a tradition of <quote>free "
459 "culture</quote>—not <quote>free</quote> as in <quote>free beer</quote> "
460 "(to borrow a phrase from the founder of the free software "
461 "movement<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>), but <quote>free</quote> "
462 "as in <quote>free speech,</quote> <quote>free markets,</quote> <quote>free "
463 "trade,</quote> <quote>free enterprise,</quote> <quote>free will,</quote> and "
464 "<quote>free elections.</quote> A free culture supports and protects creators "
465 "and innovators. It does this directly by granting intellectual property "
466 "rights. But it does so indirectly by limiting the reach of those rights, to "
467 "guarantee that follow-on creators and innovators remain <emphasis>as free as "
468 "possible</emphasis> from the control of the past. A free culture is not a "
469 "culture without property, just as a free market is not a market in which "
470 "everything is free. The opposite of a free culture is a <quote>permission "
471 "culture</quote>—a culture in which creators get to create only with "
472 "the permission of the powerful, or of creators from the past."
475 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><para>
476 #: freeculture.xml:417
478 "If we understood this change, I believe we would resist it. Not "
479 "<quote>we</quote> on the Left or <quote>you</quote> on the Right, but we who "
480 "have no stake in the particular industries of culture that defined the "
481 "twentieth century. Whether you are on the Left or the Right, if you are in "
482 "this sense disinterested, then the story I tell here will trouble you. For "
483 "the changes I describe affect values that both sides of our political "
484 "culture deem fundamental."
487 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><indexterm><primary>
488 #: freeculture.xml:425 freeculture.xml:12914
489 msgid "CodePink Women in Peace"
492 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
493 #: freeculture.xml:436 freeculture.xml:446 freeculture.xml:12927
494 msgid "Safire, William"
497 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><para>
498 #: freeculture.xml:427
500 "We saw a glimpse of this bipartisan outrage in the early summer of 2003. As "
501 "the FCC considered changes in media ownership rules that would relax limits "
502 "on media concentration, an extraordinary coalition generated more than "
503 "700,000 letters to the FCC opposing the change. As William Safire described "
504 "marching <quote>uncomfortably alongside CodePink Women for Peace and the "
505 "National Rifle Association, between liberal Olympia Snowe and conservative "
506 "Ted Stevens,</quote> he formulated perhaps most simply just what was at "
507 "stake: the concentration of power. And as he asked, <placeholder "
508 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
511 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
512 #: freeculture.xml:444
514 "William Safire, <quote>The Great Media Gulp,</quote> <citetitle>New York "
515 "Times</citetitle>, 22 May 2003. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
518 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><blockquote><para>
519 #: freeculture.xml:440
521 "Does that sound unconservative? Not to me. The concentration of "
522 "power—political, corporate, media, cultural—should be anathema "
523 "to conservatives. The diffusion of power through local control, thereby "
524 "encouraging individual participation, is the essence of federalism and the "
525 "greatest expression of democracy.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
528 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><para>
529 #: freeculture.xml:451
531 "This idea is an element of the argument of <citetitle>Free "
532 "Culture</citetitle>, though my focus is not just on the concentration of "
533 "power produced by concentrations in ownership, but more importantly, if "
534 "because less visibly, on the concentration of power produced by a radical "
535 "change in the effective scope of the law. The law is changing; that change "
536 "is altering the way our culture gets made; that change should worry "
537 "you—whether or not you care about the Internet, and whether you're on "
538 "Safire's left or on his right. The inspiration for the title and for much "
539 "of the argument of this book comes from the work of Richard Stallman and the "
540 "Free Software Foundation. Indeed, as I reread Stallman's own work, "
541 "especially the essays in <citetitle>Free Software, Free Society</citetitle>, "
542 "I realize that all of the theoretical insights I develop here are insights "
543 "Stallman described decades ago. One could thus well argue that this work is "
544 "<quote>merely</quote> derivative."
548 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><para>
549 #: freeculture.xml:467
551 "I accept that criticism, if indeed it is a criticism. The work of a lawyer "
552 "is always derivative, and I mean to do nothing more in this book than to "
553 "remind a culture about a tradition that has always been its own. Like "
554 "Stallman, I defend that tradition on the basis of values. Like Stallman, I "
555 "believe those are the values of freedom. And like Stallman, I believe those "
556 "are values of our past that will need to be defended in our future. A free "
557 "culture has been our past, but it will only be our future if we change the "
558 "path we are on right now. Like Stallman's arguments for free software, an "
559 "argument for free culture stumbles on a confusion that is hard to avoid, and "
560 "even harder to understand. A free culture is not a culture without property; "
561 "it is not a culture in which artists don't get paid. A culture without "
562 "property, or in which creators can't get paid, is anarchy, not "
563 "freedom. Anarchy is not what I advance here."
566 #. type: Content of: <book><preface><para>
567 #: freeculture.xml:485
569 "Instead, the free culture that I defend in this book is a balance between "
570 "anarchy and control. A free culture, like a free market, is filled with "
571 "property. It is filled with rules of property and contract that get enforced "
572 "by the state. But just as a free market is perverted if its property becomes "
573 "feudal, so too can a free culture be queered by extremism in the property "
574 "rights that define it. That is what I fear about our culture today. It is "
575 "against that extremism that this book is written."
578 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><title>
579 #: freeculture.xml:500
583 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
584 #: freeculture.xml:502
586 "On December 17, 1903, on a windy North Carolina beach for just shy of one "
587 "hundred seconds, the Wright brothers demonstrated that a heavier-than-air, "
588 "self-propelled vehicle could fly. The moment was electric and its importance "
589 "widely understood. Almost immediately, there was an explosion of interest in "
590 "this newfound technology of manned flight, and a gaggle of innovators began "
594 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
595 #: freeculture.xml:514
597 "St. George Tucker, <citetitle>Blackstone's Commentaries</citetitle> 3 (South "
598 "Hackensack, N.J.: Rothman Reprints, 1969), 18."
601 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
602 #: freeculture.xml:510
604 "At the time the Wright brothers invented the airplane, American law held "
605 "that a property owner presumptively owned not just the surface of his land, "
606 "but all the land below, down to the center of the earth, and all the space "
607 "above, to <quote>an indefinite extent, upwards.</quote><placeholder "
608 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> For many years, scholars had puzzled about how "
609 "best to interpret the idea that rights in land ran to the heavens. Did that "
610 "mean that you owned the stars? Could you prosecute geese for their willful "
611 "and regular trespass?"
614 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
615 #: freeculture.xml:523
617 "Then came airplanes, and for the first time, this principle of American "
618 "law—deep within the foundations of our tradition, and acknowledged by "
619 "the most important legal thinkers of our past—mattered. If my land "
620 "reaches to the heavens, what happens when United flies over my field? Do I "
621 "have the right to banish it from my property? Am I allowed to enter into an "
622 "exclusive license with Delta Airlines? Could we set up an auction to decide "
623 "how much these rights are worth?"
626 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><indexterm><primary>
627 #: freeculture.xml:531 freeculture.xml:544 freeculture.xml:575 freeculture.xml:594 freeculture.xml:997 freeculture.xml:1014 freeculture.xml:1060 freeculture.xml:8900 freeculture.xml:12295 freeculture.xml:13018
628 msgid "Causby, Thomas Lee"
631 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><indexterm><primary>
632 #: freeculture.xml:532 freeculture.xml:545 freeculture.xml:576 freeculture.xml:595 freeculture.xml:998 freeculture.xml:1015 freeculture.xml:1061 freeculture.xml:8901 freeculture.xml:12296 freeculture.xml:13019
633 msgid "Causby, Tinie"
636 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
637 #: freeculture.xml:534
639 "In 1945, these questions became a federal case. When North Carolina farmers "
640 "Thomas Lee and Tinie Causby started losing chickens because of low-flying "
641 "military aircraft (the terrified chickens apparently flew into the barn "
642 "walls and died), the Causbys filed a lawsuit saying that the government was "
643 "trespassing on their land. The airplanes, of course, never touched the "
644 "surface of the Causbys' land. But if, as Blackstone, Kent, and Coke had "
645 "said, their land reached to <quote>an indefinite extent, upwards,</quote> "
646 "then the government was trespassing on their property, and the Causbys "
650 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
651 #: freeculture.xml:547
653 "The Supreme Court agreed to hear the Causbys' case. Congress had declared "
654 "the airways public, but if one's property really extended to the heavens, "
655 "then Congress's declaration could well have been an unconstitutional "
656 "<quote>taking</quote> of property without compensation. The Court "
657 "acknowledged that <quote>it is ancient doctrine that common law ownership of "
658 "the land extended to the periphery of the universe.</quote> But Justice "
659 "Douglas had no patience for ancient doctrine. In a single paragraph, "
660 "hundreds of years of property law were erased. As he wrote for the Court,"
663 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
664 #: freeculture.xml:567
666 "United States v. Causby, U.S. 328 (1946): 256, 261. The Court did find that "
667 "there could be a <quote>taking</quote> if the government's use of its land "
668 "effectively destroyed the value of the Causbys' land. This example was "
669 "suggested to me by Keith Aoki's wonderful piece, <quote>(Intellectual) "
670 "Property and Sovereignty: Notes Toward a Cultural Geography of "
671 "Authorship,</quote> <citetitle>Stanford Law Review</citetitle> 48 (1996): "
672 "1293, 1333. See also Paul Goldstein, <citetitle>Real Property</citetitle> "
673 "(Mineola, N.Y.: Foundation Press, 1984), 1112–13. <placeholder "
674 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
677 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><blockquote><para>
678 #: freeculture.xml:558
680 "[The] doctrine has no place in the modern world. The air is a public "
681 "highway, as Congress has declared. Were that not true, every "
682 "transcontinental flight would subject the operator to countless trespass "
683 "suits. Common sense revolts at the idea. To recognize such private claims to "
684 "the airspace would clog these highways, seriously interfere with their "
685 "control and development in the public interest, and transfer into private "
686 "ownership that to which only the public has a just claim.<placeholder "
687 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
690 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
691 #: freeculture.xml:581
692 msgid "<quote>Common sense revolts at the idea.</quote>"
696 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
697 #: freeculture.xml:584
699 "This is how the law usually works. Not often this abruptly or impatiently, "
700 "but eventually, this is how it works. It was Douglas's style not to "
701 "dither. Other justices would have blathered on for pages to reach the "
702 "conclusion that Douglas holds in a single line: <quote>Common sense revolts "
703 "at the idea.</quote> But whether it takes pages or a few words, it is the "
704 "special genius of a common law system, as ours is, that the law adjusts to "
705 "the technologies of the time. And as it adjusts, it changes. Ideas that were "
706 "as solid as rock in one age crumble in another."
709 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
710 #: freeculture.xml:597
712 "Or at least, this is how things happen when there's no one powerful on the "
713 "other side of the change. The Causbys were just farmers. And though there "
714 "were no doubt many like them who were upset by the growing traffic in the "
715 "air (though one hopes not many chickens flew themselves into walls), the "
716 "Causbys of the world would find it very hard to unite and stop the idea, and "
717 "the technology, that the Wright brothers had birthed. The Wright brothers "
718 "spat airplanes into the technological meme pool; the idea then spread like a "
719 "virus in a chicken coop; farmers like the Causbys found themselves "
720 "surrounded by <quote>what seemed reasonable</quote> given the technology "
721 "that the Wrights had produced. They could stand on their farms, dead "
722 "chickens in hand, and shake their fists at these newfangled technologies all "
723 "they wanted. They could call their representatives or even file a "
724 "lawsuit. But in the end, the force of what seems <quote>obvious</quote> to "
725 "everyone else—the power of <quote>common sense</quote>—would "
726 "prevail. Their <quote>private interest</quote> would not be allowed to "
727 "defeat an obvious public gain."
730 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
731 #: freeculture.xml:626
732 msgid "Bell, Alexander Graham"
735 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
736 #: freeculture.xml:627
737 msgid "Edison, Thomas"
740 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
741 #: freeculture.xml:628
742 msgid "Faraday, Michael"
745 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
746 #: freeculture.xml:615
748 "Edwin Howard Armstrong is one of America's forgotten inventor geniuses. He "
749 "came to the great American inventor scene just after the titans Thomas "
750 "Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. But his work in the area of radio "
751 "technology was perhaps the most important of any single inventor in the "
752 "first fifty years of radio. He was better educated than Michael Faraday, who "
753 "as a bookbinder's apprentice had discovered electric induction in 1831. But "
754 "he had the same intuition about how the world of radio worked, and on at "
755 "least three occasions, Armstrong invented profoundly important technologies "
756 "that advanced our understanding of radio. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
757 "id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/> <placeholder "
758 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"2\"/>"
761 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
762 #: freeculture.xml:631
764 "On the day after Christmas, 1933, four patents were issued to Armstrong for "
765 "his most significant invention—FM radio. Until then, consumer radio "
766 "had been amplitude-modulated (AM) radio. The theorists of the day had said "
767 "that frequency-modulated (FM) radio could never work. They were right about "
768 "FM radio in a narrow band of spectrum. But Armstrong discovered that "
769 "frequency-modulated radio in a wide band of spectrum would deliver an "
770 "astonishing fidelity of sound, with much less transmitter power and static."
773 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
774 #: freeculture.xml:641
776 "On November 5, 1935, he demonstrated the technology at a meeting of the "
777 "Institute of Radio Engineers at the Empire State Building in New York "
778 "City. He tuned his radio dial across a range of AM stations, until the radio "
779 "locked on a broadcast that he had arranged from seventeen miles away. The "
780 "radio fell totally silent, as if dead, and then with a clarity no one else "
781 "in that room had ever heard from an electrical device, it produced the sound "
782 "of an announcer's voice: <quote>This is amateur station W2AG at Yonkers, New "
783 "York, operating on frequency modulation at two and a half meters.</quote>"
786 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
787 #: freeculture.xml:652
788 msgid "The audience was hearing something no one had thought possible:"
791 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
792 #: freeculture.xml:663
794 "Lawrence Lessing, <citetitle>Man of High Fidelity: Edwin Howard "
795 "Armstrong</citetitle> (Philadelphia: J. B. Lipincott Company, 1956), 209."
798 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><blockquote><para>
799 #: freeculture.xml:656
801 "A glass of water was poured before the microphone in Yonkers; it sounded "
802 "like a glass of water being poured. … A paper was crumpled and torn; "
803 "it sounded like paper and not like a crackling forest fire. … Sousa "
804 "marches were played from records and a piano solo and guitar number were "
805 "performed. … The music was projected with a live-ness rarely if ever "
806 "heard before from a radio <quote>music box.</quote><placeholder "
807 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
811 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
812 #: freeculture.xml:669
814 "As our own common sense tells us, Armstrong had discovered a vastly superior "
815 "radio technology. But at the time of his invention, Armstrong was working "
816 "for RCA. RCA was the dominant player in the then dominant AM radio "
817 "market. By 1935, there were a thousand radio stations across the United "
818 "States, but the stations in large cities were all owned by a handful of "
822 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
823 #: freeculture.xml:683 freeculture.xml:703
824 msgid "Sarnoff, David"
827 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
828 #: freeculture.xml:678
830 "RCA's president, David Sarnoff, a friend of Armstrong's, was eager that "
831 "Armstrong discover a way to remove static from AM radio. So Sarnoff was "
832 "quite excited when Armstrong told him he had a device that removed static "
833 "from <quote>radio.</quote> But when Armstrong demonstrated his invention, "
834 "Sarnoff was not pleased. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
837 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
838 #: freeculture.xml:690
840 "See <quote>Saints: The Heroes and Geniuses of the Electronic Era,</quote> "
841 "First Electronic Church of America, at www.webstationone.com/fecha, "
842 "available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #1</ulink>."
845 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><blockquote><para>
846 #: freeculture.xml:687
848 "I thought Armstrong would invent some kind of a filter to remove static from "
849 "our AM radio. I didn't think he'd start a revolution— start up a whole "
850 "damn new industry to compete with RCA.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
854 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
855 #: freeculture.xml:699
857 "Armstrong's invention threatened RCA's AM empire, so the company launched a "
858 "campaign to smother FM radio. While FM may have been a superior technology, "
859 "Sarnoff was a superior tactician. As one author described, <placeholder "
860 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
863 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
864 #: freeculture.xml:712
865 msgid "Lessing, 226."
868 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><blockquote><para>
869 #: freeculture.xml:707
871 "The forces for FM, largely engineering, could not overcome the weight of "
872 "strategy devised by the sales, patent, and legal offices to subdue this "
873 "threat to corporate position. For FM, if allowed to develop unrestrained, "
874 "posed … a complete reordering of radio power … and the "
875 "eventual overthrow of the carefully restricted AM system on which RCA had "
876 "grown to power.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
879 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
880 #: freeculture.xml:717
882 "RCA at first kept the technology in house, insisting that further tests were "
883 "needed. When, after two years of testing, Armstrong grew impatient, RCA "
884 "began to use its power with the government to stall FM radio's deployment "
885 "generally. In 1936, RCA hired the former head of the FCC and assigned him "
886 "the task of assuring that the FCC assign spectrum in a way that would "
887 "castrate FM—principally by moving FM radio to a different band of "
888 "spectrum. At first, these efforts failed. But when Armstrong and the nation "
889 "were distracted by World War II, RCA's work began to be more "
890 "successful. Soon after the war ended, the FCC announced a set of policies "
891 "that would have one clear effect: FM radio would be crippled. As Lawrence "
892 "Lessing described it,"
895 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
896 #: freeculture.xml:736
897 msgid "Lessing, 256."
900 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><blockquote><para>
901 #: freeculture.xml:732
903 "The series of body blows that FM radio received right after the war, in a "
904 "series of rulings manipulated through the FCC by the big radio interests, "
905 "were almost incredible in their force and deviousness.<placeholder "
906 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
909 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><indexterm><primary>
910 #: freeculture.xml:740
914 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
915 #: freeculture.xml:742
917 "To make room in the spectrum for RCA's latest gamble, television, FM radio "
918 "users were to be moved to a totally new spectrum band. The power of FM radio "
919 "stations was also cut, meaning FM could no longer be used to beam programs "
920 "from one part of the country to another. (This change was strongly "
921 "supported by AT&T, because the loss of FM relaying stations would mean "
922 "radio stations would have to buy wired links from AT&T.) The spread of "
923 "FM radio was thus choked, at least temporarily."
926 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
927 #: freeculture.xml:752
929 "Armstrong resisted RCA's efforts. In response, RCA resisted Armstrong's "
930 "patents. After incorporating FM technology into the emerging standard for "
931 "television, RCA declared the patents invalid—baselessly, and almost "
932 "fifteen years after they were issued. It thus refused to pay him "
933 "royalties. For six years, Armstrong fought an expensive war of litigation to "
934 "defend the patents. Finally, just as the patents expired, RCA offered a "
935 "settlement so low that it would not even cover Armstrong's lawyers' "
936 "fees. Defeated, broken, and now broke, in 1954 Armstrong wrote a short note "
937 "to his wife and then stepped out of a thirteenth-story window to his death."
941 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
942 #: freeculture.xml:764
944 "This is how the law sometimes works. Not often this tragically, and rarely "
945 "with heroic drama, but sometimes, this is how it works. From the beginning, "
946 "government and government agencies have been subject to capture. They are "
947 "more likely captured when a powerful interest is threatened by either a "
948 "legal or technical change. That powerful interest too often exerts its "
949 "influence within the government to get the government to protect it. The "
950 "rhetoric of this protection is of course always public spirited; the reality "
951 "is something different. Ideas that were as solid as rock in one age, but "
952 "that, left to themselves, would crumble in another, are sustained through "
953 "this subtle corruption of our political process. RCA had what the Causbys "
954 "did not: the power to stifle the effect of technological change."
957 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
958 #: freeculture.xml:786
960 "Amanda Lenhart, <quote>The Ever-Shifting Internet Population: A New Look at "
961 "Internet Access and the Digital Divide,</quote> Pew Internet and American "
962 "Life Project, 15 April 2003: 6, available at <ulink "
963 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #2</ulink>."
966 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
967 #: freeculture.xml:780
969 "There's no single inventor of the Internet. Nor is there any good date upon "
970 "which to mark its birth. Yet in a very short time, the Internet has become "
971 "part of ordinary American life. According to the Pew Internet and American "
972 "Life Project, 58 percent of Americans had access to the Internet in 2002, up "
973 "from 49 percent two years before.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> "
974 "That number could well exceed two thirds of the nation by the end of 2004."
977 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
978 #: freeculture.xml:795
980 "As the Internet has been integrated into ordinary life, it has changed "
981 "things. Some of these changes are technical—the Internet has made "
982 "communication faster, it has lowered the cost of gathering data, and so "
983 "on. These technical changes are not the focus of this book. They are "
984 "important. They are not well understood. But they are the sort of thing that "
985 "would simply go away if we all just switched the Internet off. They don't "
986 "affect people who don't use the Internet, or at least they don't affect them "
987 "directly. They are the proper subject of a book about the Internet. But this "
988 "is not a book about the Internet."
991 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
992 #: freeculture.xml:806
994 "Instead, this book is about an effect of the Internet beyond the Internet "
995 "itself: an effect upon how culture is made. My claim is that the Internet "
996 "has induced an important and unrecognized change in that process. That "
997 "change will radically transform a tradition that is as old as the Republic "
998 "itself. Most, if they recognized this change, would reject it. Yet most "
999 "don't even see the change that the Internet has introduced."
1002 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
1003 #: freeculture.xml:825
1004 msgid "Barlow, Joel"
1007 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
1008 #: freeculture.xml:826
1009 msgid "Webster, Noah"
1012 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1013 #: freeculture.xml:815
1015 "We can glimpse a sense of this change by distinguishing between commercial "
1016 "and noncommercial culture, and by mapping the law's regulation of each. By "
1017 "<quote>commercial culture</quote> I mean that part of our culture that is "
1018 "produced and sold or produced to be sold. By <quote>noncommercial "
1019 "culture</quote> I mean all the rest. When old men sat around parks or on "
1020 "street corners telling stories that kids and others consumed, that was "
1021 "noncommercial culture. When Noah Webster published his "
1022 "<quote>Reader,</quote> or Joel Barlow his poetry, that was commercial "
1023 "culture. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder "
1024 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
1027 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1028 #: freeculture.xml:829
1030 "At the beginning of our history, and for just about the whole of our "
1031 "tradition, noncommercial culture was essentially unregulated. Of course, if "
1032 "your stories were lewd, or if your song disturbed the peace, then the law "
1033 "might intervene. But the law was never directly concerned with the creation "
1034 "or spread of this form of culture, and it left this culture "
1035 "<quote>free.</quote> The ordinary ways in which ordinary individuals shared "
1036 "and transformed their culture—telling stories, reenacting scenes from "
1037 "plays or TV, participating in fan clubs, sharing music, making "
1038 "tapes—were left alone by the law."
1041 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
1042 #: freeculture.xml:854 freeculture.xml:1882 freeculture.xml:1893
1043 msgid "Brandeis, Louis D."
1046 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
1047 #: freeculture.xml:846
1049 "This is not the only purpose of copyright, though it is the overwhelmingly "
1050 "primary purpose of the copyright established in the federal constitution. "
1051 "State copyright law historically protected not just the commercial interest "
1052 "in publication, but also a privacy interest. By granting authors the "
1053 "exclusive right to first publication, state copyright law gave authors the "
1054 "power to control the spread of facts about them. See Samuel D. Warren and "
1055 "Louis D. Brandeis, <quote>The Right to Privacy,</quote> Harvard Law Review 4 "
1056 "(1890): 193, 198–200. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
1059 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1060 #: freeculture.xml:840
1062 "The focus of the law was on commercial creativity. At first slightly, then "
1063 "quite extensively, the law protected the incentives of creators by granting "
1064 "them exclusive rights to their creative work, so that they could sell those "
1065 "exclusive rights in a commercial marketplace.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
1066 "id=\"0\"/> This is also, of course, an important part of creativity and "
1067 "culture, and it has become an increasingly important part in America. But in "
1068 "no sense was it dominant within our tradition. It was instead just one part, "
1069 "a controlled part, balanced with the free."
1072 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
1073 #: freeculture.xml:866 freeculture.xml:9442
1074 msgid "Litman, Jessica"
1077 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
1078 #: freeculture.xml:864
1080 "See Jessica Litman, <citetitle>Digital Copyright</citetitle> (New York: "
1081 "Prometheus Books, 2001), ch. 13. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
1084 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1085 #: freeculture.xml:862
1087 "This rough divide between the free and the controlled has now been "
1088 "erased.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> The Internet has set the "
1089 "stage for this erasure and, pushed by big media, the law has now affected "
1090 "it. For the first time in our tradition, the ordinary ways in which "
1091 "individuals create and share culture fall within the reach of the regulation "
1092 "of the law, which has expanded to draw within its control a vast amount of "
1093 "culture and creativity that it never reached before. The technology that "
1094 "preserved the balance of our history—between uses of our culture that "
1095 "were free and uses of our culture that were only upon permission—has "
1096 "been undone. The consequence is that we are less and less a free culture, "
1097 "more and more a permission culture."
1100 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1101 #: freeculture.xml:881
1103 "This change gets justified as necessary to protect commercial creativity. "
1104 "And indeed, protectionism is precisely its motivation. But the protectionism "
1105 "that justifies the changes that I will describe below is not the limited and "
1106 "balanced sort that has defined the law in the past. This is not a "
1107 "protectionism to protect artists. It is instead a protectionism to protect "
1108 "certain forms of business. Corporations threatened by the potential of the "
1109 "Internet to change the way both commercial and noncommercial culture are "
1110 "made and shared have united to induce lawmakers to use the law to protect "
1111 "them. It is the story of RCA and Armstrong; it is the dream of the Causbys."
1114 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1115 #: freeculture.xml:894
1117 "For the Internet has unleashed an extraordinary possibility for many to "
1118 "participate in the process of building and cultivating a culture that "
1119 "reaches far beyond local boundaries. That power has changed the marketplace "
1120 "for making and cultivating culture generally, and that change in turn "
1121 "threatens established content industries. The Internet is thus to the "
1122 "industries that built and distributed content in the twentieth century what "
1123 "FM radio was to AM radio, or what the truck was to the railroad industry of "
1124 "the nineteenth century: the beginning of the end, or at least a substantial "
1125 "transformation. Digital technologies, tied to the Internet, could produce a "
1126 "vastly more competitive and vibrant market for building and cultivating "
1127 "culture; that market could include a much wider and more diverse range of "
1128 "creators; those creators could produce and distribute a much more vibrant "
1129 "range of creativity; and depending upon a few important factors, those "
1130 "creators could earn more on average from this system than creators do "
1131 "today—all so long as the RCAs of our day don't use the law to protect "
1132 "themselves against this competition."
1135 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1136 #: freeculture.xml:913
1138 "Yet, as I argue in the pages that follow, that is precisely what is "
1139 "happening in our culture today. These modern-day equivalents of the early "
1140 "twentieth-century radio or nineteenth-century railroads are using their "
1141 "power to get the law to protect them against this new, more efficient, more "
1142 "vibrant technology for building culture. They are succeeding in their plan "
1143 "to remake the Internet before the Internet remakes them."
1146 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
1147 #: freeculture.xml:930
1149 "Amy Harmon, <quote>Black Hawk Download: Moving Beyond Music, Pirates Use New "
1150 "Tools to Turn the Net into an Illicit Video Club,</quote> <citetitle>New "
1151 "York Times</citetitle>, 17 January 2002."
1154 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1155 #: freeculture.xml:922
1157 "It doesn't seem this way to many. The battles over copyright and the "
1158 "Internet seem remote to most. To the few who follow them, they seem mainly "
1159 "about a much simpler brace of questions—whether <quote>piracy</quote> "
1160 "will be permitted, and whether <quote>property</quote> will be "
1161 "protected. The <quote>war</quote> that has been waged against the "
1162 "technologies of the Internet—what Motion Picture Association of "
1163 "America (MPAA) president Jack Valenti calls his <quote>own terrorist "
1164 "war</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>—has been framed "
1165 "as a battle about the rule of law and respect for property. To know which "
1166 "side to take in this war, most think that we need only decide whether we're "
1167 "for property or against it."
1170 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1171 #: freeculture.xml:939
1173 "If those really were the choices, then I would be with Jack Valenti and the "
1174 "content industry. I, too, am a believer in property, and especially in the "
1175 "importance of what Mr. Valenti nicely calls <quote>creative "
1176 "property.</quote> I believe that <quote>piracy</quote> is wrong, and that "
1177 "the law, properly tuned, should punish <quote>piracy,</quote> whether on or "
1181 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1182 #: freeculture.xml:947
1184 "But those simple beliefs mask a much more fundamental question and a much "
1185 "more dramatic change. My fear is that unless we come to see this change, the "
1186 "war to rid the world of Internet <quote>pirates</quote> will also rid our "
1187 "culture of values that have been integral to our tradition from the start."
1190 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
1191 #: freeculture.xml:961 freeculture.xml:14289
1192 msgid "Netanel, Neil Weinstock"
1195 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
1196 #: freeculture.xml:959
1198 "Neil W. Netanel, <quote>Copyright and a Democratic Civil Society,</quote> "
1199 "<citetitle>Yale Law Journal</citetitle> 106 (1996): 283. <placeholder "
1200 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
1203 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1204 #: freeculture.xml:953
1206 "These values built a tradition that, for at least the first 180 years of our "
1207 "Republic, guaranteed creators the right to build freely upon their past, and "
1208 "protected creators and innovators from either state or private control. The "
1209 "First Amendment protected creators against state control. And as Professor "
1210 "Neil Netanel powerfully argues,<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> "
1211 "copyright law, properly balanced, protected creators against private "
1212 "control. Our tradition was thus neither Soviet nor the tradition of "
1213 "patrons. It instead carved out a wide berth within which creators could "
1214 "cultivate and extend our culture."
1217 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1218 #: freeculture.xml:969
1220 "Yet the law's response to the Internet, when tied to changes in the "
1221 "technology of the Internet itself, has massively increased the effective "
1222 "regulation of creativity in America. To build upon or critique the culture "
1223 "around us one must ask, Oliver Twist–like, for permission first. "
1224 "Permission is, of course, often granted—but it is not often granted to "
1225 "the critical or the independent. We have built a kind of cultural nobility; "
1226 "those within the noble class live easily; those outside it don't. But it is "
1227 "nobility of any form that is alien to our tradition."
1230 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1231 #: freeculture.xml:981
1233 "The story that follows is about this war. Is it not about the "
1234 "<quote>centrality of technology</quote> to ordinary life. I don't believe in "
1235 "gods, digital or otherwise. Nor is it an effort to demonize any individual "
1236 "or group, for neither do I believe in a devil, corporate or otherwise. It is "
1237 "not a morality tale. Nor is it a call to jihad against an industry."
1240 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1241 #: freeculture.xml:989
1243 "It is instead an effort to understand a hopelessly destructive war inspired "
1244 "by the technologies of the Internet but reaching far beyond its code. And by "
1245 "understanding this battle, it is an effort to map peace. There is no good "
1246 "reason for the current struggle around Internet technologies to "
1247 "continue. There will be great harm to our tradition and culture if it is "
1248 "allowed to continue unchecked. We must come to understand the source of this "
1249 "war. We must resolve it soon."
1252 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1253 #: freeculture.xml:1000
1255 "Like the Causbys' battle, this war is, in part, about "
1256 "<quote>property.</quote> The property of this war is not as tangible as the "
1257 "Causbys', and no innocent chicken has yet to lose its life. Yet the ideas "
1258 "surrounding this <quote>property</quote> are as obvious to most as the "
1259 "Causbys' claim about the sacredness of their farm was to them. We are the "
1260 "Causbys. Most of us take for granted the extraordinarily powerful claims "
1261 "that the owners of <quote>intellectual property</quote> now assert. Most of "
1262 "us, like the Causbys, treat these claims as obvious. And hence we, like the "
1263 "Causbys, object when a new technology interferes with this property. It is "
1264 "as plain to us as it was to them that the new technologies of the Internet "
1265 "are <quote>trespassing</quote> upon legitimate claims of "
1266 "<quote>property.</quote> It is as plain to us as it was to them that the law "
1267 "should intervene to stop this trespass."
1271 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1272 #: freeculture.xml:1017
1274 "And thus, when geeks and technologists defend their Armstrong or Wright "
1275 "brothers technology, most of us are simply unsympathetic. Common sense does "
1276 "not revolt. Unlike in the case of the unlucky Causbys, common sense is on "
1277 "the side of the property owners in this war. Unlike the lucky Wright "
1278 "brothers, the Internet has not inspired a revolution on its side."
1281 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1282 #: freeculture.xml:1027
1284 "My hope is to push this common sense along. I have become increasingly "
1285 "amazed by the power of this idea of intellectual property and, more "
1286 "importantly, its power to disable critical thought by policy makers and "
1287 "citizens. There has never been a time in our history when more of our "
1288 "<quote>culture</quote> was as <quote>owned</quote> as it is now. And yet "
1289 "there has never been a time when the concentration of power to control the "
1290 "<emphasis>uses</emphasis> of culture has been as unquestioningly accepted as "
1294 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1295 #: freeculture.xml:1037
1297 "The puzzle is, Why? Is it because we have come to understand a truth about "
1298 "the value and importance of absolute property over ideas and culture? Is it "
1299 "because we have discovered that our tradition of rejecting such an absolute "
1303 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1304 #: freeculture.xml:1043
1306 "Or is it because the idea of absolute property over ideas and culture "
1307 "benefits the RCAs of our time and fits our own unreflective intuitions?"
1310 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1311 #: freeculture.xml:1047
1313 "Is the radical shift away from our tradition of free culture an instance of "
1314 "America correcting a mistake from its past, as we did after a bloody war "
1315 "with slavery, and as we are slowly doing with inequality? Or is the radical "
1316 "shift away from our tradition of free culture yet another example of a "
1317 "political system captured by a few powerful special interests?"
1320 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1321 #: freeculture.xml:1054
1323 "Does common sense lead to the extremes on this question because common sense "
1324 "actually believes in these extremes? Or does common sense stand silent in "
1325 "the face of these extremes because, as with Armstrong versus RCA, the more "
1326 "powerful side has ensured that it has the more powerful view?"
1330 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1331 #: freeculture.xml:1063
1333 "I don't mean to be mysterious. My own views are resolved. I believe it was "
1334 "right for common sense to revolt against the extremism of the Causbys. I "
1335 "believe it would be right for common sense to revolt against the extreme "
1336 "claims made today on behalf of <quote>intellectual property.</quote> What "
1337 "the law demands today is increasingly as silly as a sheriff arresting an "
1338 "airplane for trespass. But the consequences of this silliness will be much "
1342 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1343 #: freeculture.xml:1073
1345 "The struggle that rages just now centers on two ideas: <quote>piracy</quote> "
1346 "and <quote>property.</quote> My aim in this book's next two parts is to "
1347 "explore these two ideas."
1350 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1351 #: freeculture.xml:1078
1353 "My method is not the usual method of an academic. I don't want to plunge you "
1354 "into a complex argument, buttressed with references to obscure French "
1355 "theorists—however natural that is for the weird sort we academics have "
1356 "become. Instead I begin in each part with a collection of stories that set a "
1357 "context within which these apparently simple ideas can be more fully "
1361 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1362 #: freeculture.xml:1086
1364 "The two sections set up the core claim of this book: that while the Internet "
1365 "has indeed produced something fantastic and new, our government, pushed by "
1366 "big media to respond to this <quote>something new,</quote> is destroying "
1367 "something very old. Rather than understanding the changes the Internet might "
1368 "permit, and rather than taking time to let <quote>common sense</quote> "
1369 "resolve how best to respond, we are allowing those most threatened by the "
1370 "changes to use their power to change the law—and more importantly, to "
1371 "use their power to change something fundamental about who we have always "
1375 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
1376 #: freeculture.xml:1097
1378 "We allow this, I believe, not because it is right, and not because most of "
1379 "us really believe in these changes. We allow it because the interests most "
1380 "threatened are among the most powerful players in our depressingly "
1381 "compromised process of making law. This book is the story of one more "
1382 "consequence of this form of corruption—a consequence to which most of "
1383 "us remain oblivious."
1386 #. type: Content of: <book><part><title>
1387 #: freeculture.xml:1107
1388 msgid "<quote>PIRACY</quote>"
1391 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
1392 #: freeculture.xml:1111 freeculture.xml:4767
1393 msgid "Mansfield, William Murray, Lord"
1396 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
1397 #: freeculture.xml:1114
1399 "Since the inception of the law regulating creative property, there has been "
1400 "a war against <quote>piracy.</quote> The precise contours of this concept, "
1401 "<quote>piracy,</quote> are hard to sketch, but the animating injustice is "
1402 "easy to capture. As Lord Mansfield wrote in a case that extended the reach "
1403 "of English copyright law to include sheet music,"
1407 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
1408 #: freeculture.xml:1126
1410 "<citetitle>Bach</citetitle> v. <citetitle>Longman</citetitle>, 98 "
1411 "Eng. Rep. 1274 (1777) (Mansfield)."
1414 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><blockquote><para>
1415 #: freeculture.xml:1122
1417 "A person may use the copy by playing it, but he has no right to rob the "
1418 "author of the profit, by multiplying copies and disposing of them for his "
1419 "own use.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
1423 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
1424 #: freeculture.xml:1132
1426 "Today we are in the middle of another <quote>war</quote> against "
1427 "<quote>piracy.</quote> The Internet has provoked this war. The Internet "
1428 "makes possible the efficient spread of content. Peer-to-peer (p2p) file "
1429 "sharing is among the most efficient of the efficient technologies the "
1430 "Internet enables. Using distributed intelligence, p2p systems facilitate the "
1431 "easy spread of content in a way unimagined a generation ago."
1434 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
1435 #: freeculture.xml:1141
1437 "This efficiency does not respect the traditional lines of copyright. The "
1438 "network doesn't discriminate between the sharing of copyrighted and "
1439 "uncopyrighted content. Thus has there been a vast amount of sharing of "
1440 "copyrighted content. That sharing in turn has excited the war, as copyright "
1441 "owners fear the sharing will <quote>rob the author of the profit.</quote>"
1444 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
1445 #: freeculture.xml:1149
1447 "The warriors have turned to the courts, to the legislatures, and "
1448 "increasingly to technology to defend their <quote>property</quote> against "
1449 "this <quote>piracy.</quote> A generation of Americans, the warriors warn, is "
1450 "being raised to believe that <quote>property</quote> should be "
1451 "<quote>free.</quote> Forget tattoos, never mind body piercing—our kids "
1452 "are becoming <emphasis>thieves</emphasis>!"
1455 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
1456 #: freeculture.xml:1157
1458 "There's no doubt that <quote>piracy</quote> is wrong, and that pirates "
1459 "should be punished. But before we summon the executioners, we should put "
1460 "this notion of <quote>piracy</quote> in some context. For as the concept is "
1461 "increasingly used, at its core is an extraordinary idea that is almost "
1465 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
1466 #: freeculture.xml:1163
1467 msgid "The idea goes something like this:"
1470 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><blockquote><para>
1471 #: freeculture.xml:1167
1473 "Creative work has value; whenever I use, or take, or build upon the creative "
1474 "work of others, I am taking from them something of value. Whenever I take "
1475 "something of value from someone else, I should have their permission. The "
1476 "taking of something of value from someone else without permission is "
1477 "wrong. It is a form of piracy."
1480 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><indexterm><primary>
1481 #: freeculture.xml:1175
1482 msgid "Dreyfuss, Rochelle"
1486 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para><footnote><para>
1487 #: freeculture.xml:1181
1489 "See Rochelle Dreyfuss, <quote>Expressive Genericity: Trademarks as Language "
1490 "in the Pepsi Generation,</quote> <citetitle>Notre Dame Law "
1491 "Review</citetitle> 65 (1990): 397."
1494 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
1495 #: freeculture.xml:1194 freeculture.xml:6869
1496 msgid "Zittrain, Jonathan"
1499 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para><footnote><para>
1500 #: freeculture.xml:1189
1502 "Lisa Bannon, <quote>The Birds May Sing, but Campers Can't Unless They Pay "
1503 "Up,</quote> <citetitle>Wall Street Journal</citetitle>, 21 August 1996, "
1504 "available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #3</ulink>; "
1505 "Jonathan Zittrain, <quote>Calling Off the Copyright War: In Battle of "
1506 "Property vs. Free Speech, No One Wins,</quote> <citetitle>Boston "
1507 "Globe</citetitle>, 24 November 2002. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
1511 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
1512 #: freeculture.xml:1177
1514 "This view runs deep within the current debates. It is what NYU law professor "
1515 "Rochelle Dreyfuss criticizes as the <quote>if value, then right</quote> "
1516 "theory of creative property<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> "
1517 "—if there is value, then someone must have a right to that value. It "
1518 "is the perspective that led a composers' rights organization, ASCAP, to sue "
1519 "the Girl Scouts for failing to pay for the songs that girls sang around Girl "
1520 "Scout campfires.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/> There was "
1521 "<quote>value</quote> (the songs) so there must have been a "
1522 "<quote>right</quote>—even against the Girl Scouts."
1525 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><indexterm><primary>
1526 #: freeculture.xml:1199
1531 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
1532 #: freeculture.xml:1201
1534 "This idea is certainly a possible understanding of how creative property "
1535 "should work. It might well be a possible design for a system of law "
1536 "protecting creative property. But the <quote>if value, then right</quote> "
1537 "theory of creative property has never been America's theory of creative "
1538 "property. It has never taken hold within our law."
1541 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
1542 #: freeculture.xml:1209
1544 "Instead, in our tradition, intellectual property is an instrument. It sets "
1545 "the groundwork for a richly creative society but remains subservient to the "
1546 "value of creativity. The current debate has this turned around. We have "
1547 "become so concerned with protecting the instrument that we are losing sight "
1551 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
1552 #: freeculture.xml:1216
1554 "The source of this confusion is a distinction that the law no longer takes "
1555 "care to draw—the distinction between republishing someone's work on "
1556 "the one hand and building upon or transforming that work on the "
1557 "other. Copyright law at its birth had only publishing as its concern; "
1558 "copyright law today regulates both."
1561 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
1562 #: freeculture.xml:1223
1564 "Before the technologies of the Internet, this conflation didn't matter all "
1565 "that much. The technologies of publishing were expensive; that meant the "
1566 "vast majority of publishing was commercial. Commercial entities could bear "
1567 "the burden of the law—even the burden of the Byzantine complexity that "
1568 "copyright law has become. It was just one more expense of doing business."
1571 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
1572 #: freeculture.xml:1230 freeculture.xml:1261
1573 msgid "Florida, Richard"
1576 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
1577 #: freeculture.xml:1231 freeculture.xml:1262
1578 msgid "Rise of the Creative Class, The (Florida)"
1581 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para><footnote><para>
1582 #: freeculture.xml:1253
1584 "In <citetitle>The Rise of the Creative Class</citetitle> (New York: Basic "
1585 "Books, 2002), Richard Florida documents a shift in the nature of labor "
1586 "toward a labor of creativity. His work, however, doesn't directly address "
1587 "the legal conditions under which that creativity is enabled or stifled. I "
1588 "certainly agree with him about the importance and significance of this "
1589 "change, but I also believe the conditions under which it will be enabled are "
1590 "much more tenuous. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder "
1591 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
1594 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
1595 #: freeculture.xml:1233
1597 "But with the birth of the Internet, this natural limit to the reach of the "
1598 "law has disappeared. The law controls not just the creativity of commercial "
1599 "creators but effectively that of anyone. Although that expansion would not "
1600 "matter much if copyright law regulated only <quote>copying,</quote> when the "
1601 "law regulates as broadly and obscurely as it does, the extension matters a "
1602 "lot. The burden of this law now vastly outweighs any original "
1603 "benefit—certainly as it affects noncommercial creativity, and "
1604 "increasingly as it affects commercial creativity as well. Thus, as we'll see "
1605 "more clearly in the chapters below, the law's role is less and less to "
1606 "support creativity, and more and more to protect certain industries against "
1607 "competition. Just at the time digital technology could unleash an "
1608 "extraordinary range of commercial and noncommercial creativity, the law "
1609 "burdens this creativity with insanely complex and vague rules and with the "
1610 "threat of obscenely severe penalties. We may be seeing, as Richard Florida "
1611 "writes, the <quote>Rise of the Creative Class.</quote><placeholder "
1612 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Unfortunately, we are also seeing an "
1613 "extraordinary rise of regulation of this creative class."
1616 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
1617 #: freeculture.xml:1268
1619 "These burdens make no sense in our tradition. We should begin by "
1620 "understanding that tradition a bit more and by placing in their proper "
1621 "context the current battles about behavior labeled <quote>piracy.</quote>"
1624 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><title>
1625 #: freeculture.xml:1276
1626 msgid "CHAPTER ONE: Creators"
1629 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
1630 #: freeculture.xml:1278
1631 msgid "animated cartoons"
1634 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1635 #: freeculture.xml:1281
1637 "In 1928, a cartoon character was born. An early Mickey Mouse made his debut "
1638 "in May of that year, in a silent flop called <citetitle>Plane "
1639 "Crazy</citetitle>. In November, in New York City's Colony Theater, in the "
1640 "first widely distributed cartoon synchronized with sound, "
1641 "<citetitle>Steamboat Willie</citetitle> brought to life the character that "
1642 "would become Mickey Mouse."
1645 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1646 #: freeculture.xml:1288
1648 "Synchronized sound had been introduced to film a year earlier in the movie "
1649 "<citetitle>The Jazz Singer</citetitle>. That success led Walt Disney to copy "
1650 "the technique and mix sound with cartoons. No one knew whether it would work "
1651 "or, if it did work, whether it would win an audience. But when Disney ran a "
1652 "test in the summer of 1928, the results were unambiguous. As Disney "
1653 "describes that first experiment,"
1657 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
1658 #: freeculture.xml:1297
1660 "A couple of my boys could read music, and one of them could play a mouth "
1661 "organ. We put them in a room where they could not see the screen and "
1662 "arranged to pipe their sound into the room where our wives and friends were "
1663 "going to see the picture."
1666 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
1667 #: freeculture.xml:1304
1669 "The boys worked from a music and sound-effects score. After several false "
1670 "starts, sound and action got off with the gun. The mouth organist played the "
1671 "tune, the rest of us in the sound department bammed tin pans and blew slide "
1672 "whistles on the beat. The synchronization was pretty close."
1676 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
1677 #: freeculture.xml:1317
1679 "Leonard Maltin, <citetitle>Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated "
1680 "Cartoons</citetitle> (New York: Penguin Books, 1987), 34–35."
1683 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
1684 #: freeculture.xml:1311
1686 "The effect on our little audience was nothing less than electric. They "
1687 "responded almost instinctively to this union of sound and motion. I thought "
1688 "they were kidding me. So they put me in the audience and ran the action "
1689 "again. It was terrible, but it was wonderful! And it was something "
1690 "new!<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
1693 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
1694 #: freeculture.xml:1326
1698 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1699 #: freeculture.xml:1323
1701 "Disney's then partner, and one of animation's most extraordinary talents, Ub "
1702 "Iwerks, put it more strongly: <quote>I have never been so thrilled in my "
1703 "life. Nothing since has ever equaled it.</quote> <placeholder "
1704 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
1707 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1708 #: freeculture.xml:1329
1710 "Disney had created something very new, based upon something relatively "
1711 "new. Synchronized sound brought life to a form of creativity that had "
1712 "rarely—except in Disney's hands—been anything more than filler "
1713 "for other films. Throughout animation's early history, it was Disney's "
1714 "invention that set the standard that others struggled to match. And quite "
1715 "often, Disney's great genius, his spark of creativity, was built upon the "
1719 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1720 #: freeculture.xml:1338
1722 "This much is familiar. What you might not know is that 1928 also marks "
1723 "another important transition. In that year, a comic (as opposed to cartoon) "
1724 "genius created his last independently produced silent film. That genius was "
1725 "Buster Keaton. The film was <citetitle>Steamboat Bill, Jr</citetitle>."
1728 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1729 #: freeculture.xml:1344
1731 "Keaton was born into a vaudeville family in 1895. In the era of silent film, "
1732 "he had mastered using broad physical comedy as a way to spark uncontrollable "
1733 "laughter from his audience. <citetitle>Steamboat Bill, Jr</citetitle>. was a "
1734 "classic of this form, famous among film buffs for its incredible stunts. "
1735 "The film was classic Keaton—wildly popular and among the best of its "
1740 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
1741 #: freeculture.xml:1358
1743 "I am grateful to David Gerstein and his careful history, described at <ulink "
1744 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #4</ulink>. According to Dave "
1745 "Smith of the Disney Archives, Disney paid royalties to use the music for "
1746 "five songs in <citetitle>Steamboat Willie</citetitle>: <quote>Steamboat "
1747 "Bill,</quote> <quote>The Simpleton</quote> (Delille), <quote>Mischief "
1748 "Makers</quote> (Carbonara), <quote>Joyful Hurry No. 1</quote> (Baron), and "
1749 "<quote>Gawky Rube</quote> (Lakay). A sixth song, <quote>The Turkey in the "
1750 "Straw,</quote> was already in the public domain. Letter from David Smith to "
1751 "Harry Surden, 10 July 2003, on file with author."
1754 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1755 #: freeculture.xml:1352
1757 "<citetitle>Steamboat Bill, Jr</citetitle>. appeared before Disney's cartoon "
1758 "Steamboat Willie. The coincidence of titles is not coincidental. Steamboat "
1759 "Willie is a direct cartoon parody of Steamboat Bill,<placeholder "
1760 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> and both are built upon a common song as a "
1761 "source. It is not just from the invention of synchronized sound in "
1762 "<citetitle>The Jazz Singer</citetitle> that we get <citetitle>Steamboat "
1763 "Willie</citetitle>. It is also from Buster Keaton's invention of Steamboat "
1764 "Bill, Jr., itself inspired by the song <quote>Steamboat Bill,</quote> that "
1765 "we get Steamboat Willie, and then from Steamboat Willie, Mickey Mouse."
1769 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
1770 #: freeculture.xml:1379
1772 "He was also a fan of the public domain. See Chris Sprigman, <quote>The Mouse "
1773 "that Ate the Public Domain,</quote> Findlaw, 5 March 2002, at <ulink "
1774 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #5</ulink>."
1777 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1778 #: freeculture.xml:1375
1780 "This <quote>borrowing</quote> was nothing unique, either for Disney or for "
1781 "the industry. Disney was always parroting the feature-length mainstream "
1782 "films of his day.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> So did many "
1783 "others. Early cartoons are filled with knockoffs—slight variations on "
1784 "winning themes; retellings of ancient stories. The key to success was the "
1785 "brilliance of the differences. With Disney, it was sound that gave his "
1786 "animation its spark. Later, it was the quality of his work relative to the "
1787 "production-line cartoons with which he competed. Yet these additions were "
1788 "built upon a base that was borrowed. Disney added to the work of others "
1789 "before him, creating something new out of something just barely old."
1792 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1793 #: freeculture.xml:1394
1795 "Sometimes this borrowing was slight. Sometimes it was significant. Think "
1796 "about the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. If you're as oblivious as I "
1797 "was, you're likely to think that these tales are happy, sweet stories, "
1798 "appropriate for any child at bedtime. In fact, the Grimm fairy tales are, "
1799 "well, for us, grim. It is a rare and perhaps overly ambitious parent who "
1800 "would dare to read these bloody, moralistic stories to his or her child, at "
1801 "bedtime or anytime."
1805 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1806 #: freeculture.xml:1403
1808 "Disney took these stories and retold them in a way that carried them into a "
1809 "new age. He animated the stories, with both characters and light. Without "
1810 "removing the elements of fear and danger altogether, he made funny what was "
1811 "dark and injected a genuine emotion of compassion where before there was "
1812 "fear. And not just with the work of the Brothers Grimm. Indeed, the catalog "
1813 "of Disney work drawing upon the work of others is astonishing when set "
1814 "together: <citetitle>Snow White</citetitle> (1937), "
1815 "<citetitle>Fantasia</citetitle> (1940), <citetitle>Pinocchio</citetitle> "
1816 "(1940), <citetitle>Dumbo</citetitle> (1941), <citetitle>Bambi</citetitle> "
1817 "(1942), <citetitle>Song of the South</citetitle> (1946), "
1818 "<citetitle>Cinderella</citetitle> (1950), <citetitle>Alice in "
1819 "Wonderland</citetitle> (1951), <citetitle>Robin Hood</citetitle> (1952), "
1820 "<citetitle>Peter Pan</citetitle> (1953), <citetitle>Lady and the "
1821 "Tramp</citetitle> (1955), <citetitle>Mulan</citetitle> (1998), "
1822 "<citetitle>Sleeping Beauty</citetitle> (1959), <citetitle>101 "
1823 "Dalmatians</citetitle> (1961), <citetitle>The Sword in the Stone</citetitle> "
1824 "(1963), and <citetitle>The Jungle Book</citetitle> (1967)—not to "
1825 "mention a recent example that we should perhaps quickly forget, "
1826 "<citetitle>Treasure Planet</citetitle> (2003). In all of these cases, Disney "
1827 "(or Disney, Inc.) ripped creativity from the culture around him, mixed that "
1828 "creativity with his own extraordinary talent, and then burned that mix into "
1829 "the soul of his culture. Rip, mix, and burn."
1832 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1833 #: freeculture.xml:1426
1835 "This is a kind of creativity. It is a creativity that we should remember and "
1836 "celebrate. There are some who would say that there is no creativity except "
1837 "this kind. We don't need to go that far to recognize its importance. We "
1838 "could call this <quote>Disney creativity,</quote> though that would be a bit "
1839 "misleading. It is, more precisely, <quote>Walt Disney "
1840 "creativity</quote>—a form of expression and genius that builds upon "
1841 "the culture around us and makes it something different."
1845 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
1846 #: freeculture.xml:1440
1848 "Until 1976, copyright law granted an author the possibility of two terms: an "
1849 "initial term and a renewal term. I have calculated the "
1850 "<quote>average</quote> term by determining the weighted average of total "
1851 "registrations for any particular year, and the proportion renewing. Thus, if "
1852 "100 copyrights are registered in year 1, and only 15 are renewed, and the "
1853 "renewal term is 28 years, then the average term is 32.2 years. For the "
1854 "renewal data and other relevant data, see the Web site associated with this "
1855 "book, available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link "
1859 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1860 #: freeculture.xml:1434
1862 "In 1928, the culture that Disney was free to draw upon was relatively "
1863 "fresh. The public domain in 1928 was not very old and was therefore quite "
1864 "vibrant. The average term of copyright was just around thirty "
1865 "years—for that minority of creative work that was in fact "
1866 "copyrighted.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> That means that for "
1867 "thirty years, on average, the authors or copyright holders of a creative "
1868 "work had an <quote>exclusive right</quote> to control certain uses of the "
1869 "work. To use this copyrighted work in limited ways required the permission "
1870 "of the copyright owner."
1873 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1874 #: freeculture.xml:1457
1876 "At the end of a copyright term, a work passes into the public domain. No "
1877 "permission is then needed to draw upon or use that work. No permission and, "
1878 "hence, no lawyers. The public domain is a <quote>lawyer-free zone.</quote> "
1879 "Thus, most of the content from the nineteenth century was free for Disney to "
1880 "use and build upon in 1928. It was free for anyone— whether connected "
1881 "or not, whether rich or not, whether approved or not—to use and build "
1886 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1887 #: freeculture.xml:1466
1889 "This is the ways things always were—until quite recently. For most of "
1890 "our history, the public domain was just over the horizon. From until 1978, "
1891 "the average copyright term was never more than thirty-two years, meaning "
1892 "that most culture just a generation and a half old was free for anyone to "
1893 "build upon without the permission of anyone else. Today's equivalent would "
1894 "be for creative work from the 1960s and 1970s to now be free for the next "
1895 "Walt Disney to build upon without permission. Yet today, the public domain "
1896 "is presumptive only for content from before the Great Depression."
1899 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1900 #: freeculture.xml:1479
1902 "Of course, Walt Disney had no monopoly on <quote>Walt Disney "
1903 "creativity.</quote> Nor does America. The norm of free culture has, until "
1904 "recently, and except within totalitarian nations, been broadly exploited and "
1908 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1909 #: freeculture.xml:1485
1911 "Consider, for example, a form of creativity that seems strange to many "
1912 "Americans but that is inescapable within Japanese culture: "
1913 "<citetitle>manga</citetitle>, or comics. The Japanese are fanatics about "
1914 "comics. Some 40 percent of publications are comics, and 30 percent of "
1915 "publication revenue derives from comics. They are everywhere in Japanese "
1916 "society, at every magazine stand, carried by a large proportion of commuters "
1917 "on Japan's extraordinary system of public transportation."
1920 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1921 #: freeculture.xml:1494
1923 "Americans tend to look down upon this form of culture. That's an "
1924 "unattractive characteristic of ours. We're likely to misunderstand much "
1925 "about manga, because few of us have ever read anything close to the stories "
1926 "that these <quote>graphic novels</quote> tell. For the Japanese, manga cover "
1927 "every aspect of social life. For us, comics are <quote>men in "
1928 "tights.</quote> And anyway, it's not as if the New York subways are filled "
1929 "with readers of Joyce or even Hemingway. People of different cultures "
1930 "distract themselves in different ways, the Japanese in this interestingly "
1934 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1935 #: freeculture.xml:1505
1937 "But my purpose here is not to understand manga. It is to describe a variant "
1938 "on manga that from a lawyer's perspective is quite odd, but from a Disney "
1939 "perspective is quite familiar."
1943 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1944 #: freeculture.xml:1510
1946 "This is the phenomenon of <citetitle>doujinshi</citetitle>. Doujinshi are "
1947 "also comics, but they are a kind of copycat comic. A rich ethic governs the "
1948 "creation of doujinshi. It is not doujinshi if it is "
1949 "<emphasis>just</emphasis> a copy; the artist must make a contribution to the "
1950 "art he copies, by transforming it either subtly or significantly. A "
1951 "doujinshi comic can thus take a mainstream comic and develop it "
1952 "differently—with a different story line. Or the comic can keep the "
1953 "character in character but change its look slightly. There is no formula for "
1954 "what makes the doujinshi sufficiently <quote>different.</quote> But they "
1955 "must be different if they are to be considered true doujinshi. Indeed, there "
1956 "are committees that review doujinshi for inclusion within shows and reject "
1957 "any copycat comic that is merely a copy."
1960 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1961 #: freeculture.xml:1525
1963 "These copycat comics are not a tiny part of the manga market. They are "
1964 "huge. More than 33,000 <quote>circles</quote> of creators from across Japan "
1965 "produce these bits of Walt Disney creativity. More than 450,000 Japanese "
1966 "come together twice a year, in the largest public gathering in the country, "
1967 "to exchange and sell them. This market exists in parallel to the mainstream "
1968 "commercial manga market. In some ways, it obviously competes with that "
1969 "market, but there is no sustained effort by those who control the commercial "
1970 "manga market to shut the doujinshi market down. It flourishes, despite the "
1971 "competition and despite the law."
1974 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
1975 #: freeculture.xml:1536
1977 "The most puzzling feature of the doujinshi market, for those trained in the "
1978 "law, at least, is that it is allowed to exist at all. Under Japanese "
1979 "copyright law, which in this respect (on paper) mirrors American copyright "
1980 "law, the doujinshi market is an illegal one. Doujinshi are plainly "
1981 "<quote>derivative works.</quote> There is no general practice by doujinshi "
1982 "artists of securing the permission of the manga creators. Instead, the "
1983 "practice is simply to take and modify the creations of others, as Walt "
1984 "Disney did with <citetitle>Steamboat Bill, Jr</citetitle>. Under both "
1985 "Japanese and American law, that <quote>taking</quote> without the permission "
1986 "of the original copyright owner is illegal. It is an infringement of the "
1987 "original copyright to make a copy or a derivative work without the original "
1988 "copyright owner's permission."
1991 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
1992 #: freeculture.xml:1550
1993 msgid "Winick, Judd"
1997 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
1998 #: freeculture.xml:1563
2000 "For an excellent history, see Scott McCloud, <citetitle>Reinventing "
2001 "Comics</citetitle> (New York: Perennial, 2000)."
2004 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2005 #: freeculture.xml:1553
2007 "Yet this illegal market exists and indeed flourishes in Japan, and in the "
2008 "view of many, it is precisely because it exists that Japanese manga "
2009 "flourish. As American graphic novelist Judd Winick said to me, <quote>The "
2010 "early days of comics in America are very much like what's going on in Japan "
2011 "now. … American comics were born out of copying each other. … "
2012 "That's how [the artists] learn to draw—by going into comic books and "
2013 "not tracing them, but looking at them and copying them</quote> and building "
2014 "from them.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
2017 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2018 #: freeculture.xml:1568
2020 "American comics now are quite different, Winick explains, in part because of "
2021 "the legal difficulty of adapting comics the way doujinshi are "
2022 "allowed. Speaking of Superman, Winick told me, <quote>there are these rules "
2023 "and you have to stick to them.</quote> There are things Superman "
2024 "<quote>cannot</quote> do. <quote>As a creator, it's frustrating having to "
2025 "stick to some parameters which are fifty years old.</quote>"
2029 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
2030 #: freeculture.xml:1585
2032 "See Salil K. Mehra, <quote>Copyright and Comics in Japan: Does Law Explain "
2033 "Why All the Comics My Kid Watches Are Japanese Imports?</quote> "
2034 "<citetitle>Rutgers Law Review</citetitle> 55 (2002): 155, "
2035 "182. <quote>[T]here might be a collective economic rationality that would "
2036 "lead manga and anime artists to forgo bringing legal actions for "
2037 "infringement. One hypothesis is that all manga artists may be better off "
2038 "collectively if they set aside their individual self-interest and decide not "
2039 "to press their legal rights. This is essentially a prisoner's dilemma "
2043 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2044 #: freeculture.xml:1577
2046 "The norm in Japan mitigates this legal difficulty. Some say it is precisely "
2047 "the benefit accruing to the Japanese manga market that explains the "
2048 "mitigation. Temple University law professor Salil Mehra, for example, "
2049 "hypothesizes that the manga market accepts these technical violations "
2050 "because they spur the manga market to be more wealthy and "
2051 "productive. Everyone would be worse off if doujinshi were banned, so the law "
2052 "does not ban doujinshi.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
2055 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2056 #: freeculture.xml:1596
2058 "The problem with this story, however, as Mehra plainly acknowledges, is that "
2059 "the mechanism producing this laissez faire response is not clear. It may "
2060 "well be that the market as a whole is better off if doujinshi are permitted "
2061 "rather than banned, but that doesn't explain why individual copyright owners "
2062 "don't sue nonetheless. If the law has no general exception for doujinshi, "
2063 "and indeed in some cases individual manga artists have sued doujinshi "
2064 "artists, why is there not a more general pattern of blocking this "
2065 "<quote>free taking</quote> by the doujinshi culture?"
2068 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2069 #: freeculture.xml:1607
2071 "I spent four wonderful months in Japan, and I asked this question as often "
2072 "as I could. Perhaps the best account in the end was offered by a friend from "
2073 "a major Japanese law firm. <quote>We don't have enough lawyers,</quote> he "
2074 "told me one afternoon. There <quote>just aren't enough resources to "
2075 "prosecute cases like this.</quote>"
2079 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2080 #: freeculture.xml:1614
2082 "This is a theme to which we will return: that regulation by law is a "
2083 "function of both the words on the books and the costs of making those words "
2084 "have effect. For now, focus on the obvious question that is begged: Would "
2085 "Japan be better off with more lawyers? Would manga be richer if doujinshi "
2086 "artists were regularly prosecuted? Would the Japanese gain something "
2087 "important if they could end this practice of uncompensated sharing? Does "
2088 "piracy here hurt the victims of the piracy, or does it help them? Would "
2089 "lawyers fighting this piracy help their clients or hurt them? Let's pause "
2093 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2094 #: freeculture.xml:1627
2096 "If you're like I was a decade ago, or like most people are when they first "
2097 "start thinking about these issues, then just about now you should be puzzled "
2098 "about something you hadn't thought through before."
2101 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
2102 #: freeculture.xml:1644 freeculture.xml:2842 freeculture.xml:4477 freeculture.xml:4698 freeculture.xml:7250 freeculture.xml:8364
2103 msgid "Vaidhyanathan, Siva"
2106 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
2107 #: freeculture.xml:1637
2109 "The term <citetitle>intellectual property</citetitle> is of relatively "
2110 "recent origin. See Siva Vaidhyanathan, <citetitle>Copyrights and "
2111 "Copywrongs</citetitle>, 11 (New York: New York University Press, 2001). See "
2112 "also Lawrence Lessig, <citetitle>The Future of Ideas</citetitle> (New York: "
2113 "Random House, 2001), 293 n. 26. The term accurately describes a set of "
2114 "<quote>property</quote> rights—copyright, patents, trademark, and "
2115 "trade-secret—but the nature of those rights is very different. "
2116 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
2119 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2120 #: freeculture.xml:1632
2122 "We live in a world that celebrates <quote>property.</quote> I am one of "
2123 "those celebrants. I believe in the value of property in general, and I also "
2124 "believe in the value of that weird form of property that lawyers call "
2125 "<quote>intellectual property.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
2126 "id=\"0\"/> A large, diverse society cannot survive without property; a "
2127 "large, diverse, and modern society cannot flourish without intellectual "
2131 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2132 #: freeculture.xml:1651
2134 "But it takes just a second's reflection to realize that there is plenty of "
2135 "value out there that <quote>property</quote> doesn't capture. I don't mean "
2136 "<quote>money can't buy you love,</quote> but rather, value that is plainly "
2137 "part of a process of production, including commercial as well as "
2138 "noncommercial production. If Disney animators had stolen a set of pencils "
2139 "to draw Steamboat Willie, we'd have no hesitation in condemning that taking "
2140 "as wrong— even though trivial, even if unnoticed. Yet there was "
2141 "nothing wrong, at least under the law of the day, with Disney's taking from "
2142 "Buster Keaton or from the Brothers Grimm. There was nothing wrong with the "
2143 "taking from Keaton because Disney's use would have been considered "
2144 "<quote>fair.</quote> There was nothing wrong with the taking from the Grimms "
2145 "because the Grimms' work was in the public domain."
2149 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2150 #: freeculture.xml:1666
2152 "Thus, even though the things that Disney took—or more generally, the "
2153 "things taken by anyone exercising Walt Disney creativity—are valuable, "
2154 "our tradition does not treat those takings as wrong. Some things remain free "
2155 "for the taking within a free culture, and that freedom is good."
2158 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2159 #: freeculture.xml:1675
2161 "The same with the doujinshi culture. If a doujinshi artist broke into a "
2162 "publisher's office and ran off with a thousand copies of his latest "
2163 "work—or even one copy—without paying, we'd have no hesitation in "
2164 "saying the artist was wrong. In addition to having trespassed, he would have "
2165 "stolen something of value. The law bans that stealing in whatever form, "
2166 "whether large or small."
2169 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2170 #: freeculture.xml:1683
2172 "Yet there is an obvious reluctance, even among Japanese lawyers, to say that "
2173 "the copycat comic artists are <quote>stealing.</quote> This form of Walt "
2174 "Disney creativity is seen as fair and right, even if lawyers in particular "
2175 "find it hard to say why."
2178 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2179 #: freeculture.xml:1689
2181 "It's the same with a thousand examples that appear everywhere once you begin "
2182 "to look. Scientists build upon the work of other scientists without asking "
2183 "or paying for the privilege. (<quote>Excuse me, Professor Einstein, but may "
2184 "I have permission to use your theory of relativity to show that you were "
2185 "wrong about quantum physics?</quote>) Acting companies perform adaptations "
2186 "of the works of Shakespeare without securing permission from anyone. (Does "
2187 "<emphasis>anyone</emphasis> believe Shakespeare would be better spread "
2188 "within our culture if there were a central Shakespeare rights clearinghouse "
2189 "that all productions of Shakespeare must appeal to first?) And Hollywood "
2190 "goes through cycles with a certain kind of movie: five asteroid films in the "
2191 "late 1990s; two volcano disaster films in 1997."
2195 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2196 #: freeculture.xml:1703
2198 "Creators here and everywhere are always and at all times building upon the "
2199 "creativity that went before and that surrounds them now. That building is "
2200 "always and everywhere at least partially done without permission and without "
2201 "compensating the original creator. No society, free or controlled, has ever "
2202 "demanded that every use be paid for or that permission for Walt Disney "
2203 "creativity must always be sought. Instead, every society has left a certain "
2204 "bit of its culture free for the taking—free societies more fully than "
2205 "unfree, perhaps, but all societies to some degree."
2208 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2209 #: freeculture.xml:1714
2211 "The hard question is therefore not <emphasis>whether</emphasis> a culture is "
2212 "free. All cultures are free to some degree. The hard question instead is "
2213 "<quote><emphasis>How</emphasis> free is this culture?</quote> How much, and "
2214 "how broadly, is the culture free for others to take and build upon? Is that "
2215 "freedom limited to party members? To members of the royal family? To the top "
2216 "ten corporations on the New York Stock Exchange? Or is that freedom spread "
2217 "broadly? To artists generally, whether affiliated with the Met or not? To "
2218 "musicians generally, whether white or not? To filmmakers generally, whether "
2219 "affiliated with a studio or not?"
2222 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2223 #: freeculture.xml:1726
2225 "Free cultures are cultures that leave a great deal open for others to build "
2226 "upon; unfree, or permission, cultures leave much less. Ours was a free "
2227 "culture. It is becoming much less so."
2230 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><title>
2231 #: freeculture.xml:1734
2232 msgid "CHAPTER TWO: <quote>Mere Copyists</quote>"
2235 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
2236 #: freeculture.xml:1736
2240 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
2241 #: freeculture.xml:1746
2242 msgid "Daguerre, Louis"
2245 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2246 #: freeculture.xml:1739
2248 "In 1839, Louis Daguerre invented the first practical technology for "
2249 "producing what we would call <quote>photographs.</quote> Appropriately "
2250 "enough, they were called <quote>daguerreotypes.</quote> The process was "
2251 "complicated and expensive, and the field was thus limited to professionals "
2252 "and a few zealous and wealthy amateurs. (There was even an American Daguerre "
2253 "Association that helped regulate the industry, as do all such associations, "
2254 "by keeping competition down so as to keep prices up.) <placeholder "
2255 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
2258 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
2259 #: freeculture.xml:1758
2260 msgid "Talbot, William"
2263 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2264 #: freeculture.xml:1749
2266 "Yet despite high prices, the demand for daguerreotypes was strong. This "
2267 "pushed inventors to find simpler and cheaper ways to make <quote>automatic "
2268 "pictures.</quote> William Talbot soon discovered a process for making "
2269 "<quote>negatives.</quote> But because the negatives were glass, and had to "
2270 "be kept wet, the process still remained expensive and cumbersome. In the "
2271 "1870s, dry plates were developed, making it easier to separate the taking of "
2272 "a picture from its developing. These were still plates of glass, and thus it "
2273 "was still not a process within reach of most amateurs. <placeholder "
2274 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
2277 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
2278 #: freeculture.xml:1761
2279 msgid "Eastman, George"
2283 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2284 #: freeculture.xml:1764
2286 "The technological change that made mass photography possible didn't happen "
2287 "until 1888, and was the creation of a single man. George Eastman, himself an "
2288 "amateur photographer, was frustrated by the technology of photographs made "
2289 "with plates. In a flash of insight (so to speak), Eastman saw that if the "
2290 "film could be made to be flexible, it could be held on a single "
2291 "spindle. That roll could then be sent to a developer, driving the costs of "
2292 "photography down substantially. By lowering the costs, Eastman expected he "
2293 "could dramatically broaden the population of photographers."
2297 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
2298 #: freeculture.xml:1781
2300 "Reese V. Jenkins, <citetitle>Images and Enterprise</citetitle> (Baltimore: "
2301 "Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975), 112."
2304 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
2305 #: freeculture.xml:1783
2306 msgid "Kodak Primer, The (Eastman)"
2309 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2310 #: freeculture.xml:1776
2312 "Eastman developed flexible, emulsion-coated paper film and placed rolls of "
2313 "it in small, simple cameras: the Kodak. The device was marketed on the basis "
2314 "of its simplicity. <quote>You press the button and we do the "
2315 "rest.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> As he described in "
2316 "<citetitle>The Kodak Primer</citetitle>: <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
2320 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
2321 #: freeculture.xml:1800 freeculture.xml:1823
2325 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
2326 #: freeculture.xml:1798
2328 "Brian Coe, <citetitle>The Birth of Photography</citetitle> (New York: "
2329 "Taplinger Publishing, 1977), 53. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
2332 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
2333 #: freeculture.xml:1787
2335 "The principle of the Kodak system is the separation of the work that any "
2336 "person whomsoever can do in making a photograph, from the work that only an "
2337 "expert can do. … We furnish anybody, man, woman or child, who has "
2338 "sufficient intelligence to point a box straight and press a button, with an "
2339 "instrument which altogether removes from the practice of photography the "
2340 "necessity for exceptional facilities or, in fact, any special knowledge of "
2341 "the art. It can be employed without preliminary study, without a darkroom "
2342 "and without chemicals.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
2346 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
2347 #: freeculture.xml:1816
2348 msgid "Jenkins, 177."
2352 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
2353 #: freeculture.xml:1820
2354 msgid "Based on a chart in Jenkins, p. 178."
2357 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2358 #: freeculture.xml:1805
2360 "For $25, anyone could make pictures. The camera came preloaded with film, "
2361 "and when it had been used, the camera was returned to an Eastman factory, "
2362 "where the film was developed. Over time, of course, the cost of the camera "
2363 "and the ease with which it could be used both improved. Roll film thus "
2364 "became the basis for the explosive growth of popular photography. Eastman's "
2365 "camera first went on sale in 1888; one year later, Kodak was printing more "
2366 "than six thousand negatives a day. From 1888 through 1909, while industrial "
2367 "production was rising by 4.7 percent, photographic equipment and material "
2368 "sales increased by 11 percent.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> "
2369 "Eastman Kodak's sales during the same period experienced an average annual "
2370 "increase of over 17 percent.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/>"
2374 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
2375 #: freeculture.xml:1838
2379 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2380 #: freeculture.xml:1827
2382 "The real significance of Eastman's invention, however, was not economic. It "
2383 "was social. Professional photography gave individuals a glimpse of places "
2384 "they would never otherwise see. Amateur photography gave them the ability to "
2385 "record their own lives in a way they had never been able to do before. As "
2386 "author Brian Coe notes, <quote>For the first time the snapshot album "
2387 "provided the man on the street with a permanent record of his family and its "
2388 "activities. … For the first time in history there exists an authentic "
2389 "visual record of the appearance and activities of the common man made "
2390 "without [literary] interpretation or bias.</quote><placeholder "
2391 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
2394 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2395 #: freeculture.xml:1842
2397 "In this way, the Kodak camera and film were technologies of expression. The "
2398 "pencil or paintbrush was also a technology of expression, of course. But it "
2399 "took years of training before they could be deployed by amateurs in any "
2400 "useful or effective way. With the Kodak, expression was possible much sooner "
2401 "and more simply. The barrier to expression was lowered. Snobs would sneer at "
2402 "its <quote>quality</quote>; professionals would discount it as "
2403 "irrelevant. But watch a child study how best to frame a picture and you get "
2404 "a sense of the experience of creativity that the Kodak enabled. Democratic "
2405 "tools gave ordinary people a way to express themselves more easily than any "
2406 "tools could have before."
2410 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
2411 #: freeculture.xml:1864
2413 "For illustrative cases, see, for example, <citetitle>Pavesich</citetitle> "
2414 "v. <citetitle>N.E. Life Ins. Co</citetitle>., 50 S.E. 68 (Ga. 1905); "
2415 "<citetitle>Foster-Milburn Co</citetitle>. v. <citetitle>Chinn</citetitle>, "
2416 "123090 S.W. 364, 366 (Ky. 1909); <citetitle>Corliss</citetitle> "
2417 "v. <citetitle>Walker</citetitle>, 64 F. 280 (Mass. Dist. Ct. 1894)."
2420 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2421 #: freeculture.xml:1855
2423 "What was required for this technology to flourish? Obviously, Eastman's "
2424 "genius was an important part. But also important was the legal environment "
2425 "within which Eastman's invention grew. For early in the history of "
2426 "photography, there was a series of judicial decisions that could well have "
2427 "changed the course of photography substantially. Courts were asked whether "
2428 "the photographer, amateur or professional, required permission before he "
2429 "could capture and print whatever image he wanted. Their answer was "
2430 "no.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
2434 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2435 #: freeculture.xml:1872
2437 "The arguments in favor of requiring permission will sound surprisingly "
2438 "familiar. The photographer was <quote>taking</quote> something from the "
2439 "person or building whose photograph he shot—pirating something of "
2440 "value. Some even thought he was taking the target's soul. Just as Disney was "
2441 "not free to take the pencils that his animators used to draw Mickey, so, "
2442 "too, should these photographers not be free to take images that they thought "
2446 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
2447 #: freeculture.xml:1894
2448 msgid "Warren, Samuel D."
2451 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
2452 #: freeculture.xml:1891
2454 "Samuel D. Warren and Louis D. Brandeis, <quote>The Right to Privacy,</quote> "
2455 "<citetitle>Harvard Law Review</citetitle> 4 (1890): 193. <placeholder "
2456 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
2459 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2460 #: freeculture.xml:1884
2462 "On the other side was an argument that should be familiar, as well. Sure, "
2463 "there may be something of value being used. But citizens should have the "
2464 "right to capture at least those images that stand in public view. (Louis "
2465 "Brandeis, who would become a Supreme Court Justice, thought the rule should "
2466 "be different for images from private spaces.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
2467 "id=\"0\"/>) It may be that this means that the photographer gets something "
2468 "for nothing. Just as Disney could take inspiration from <citetitle>Steamboat "
2469 "Bill, Jr</citetitle>. or the Brothers Grimm, the photographer should be free "
2470 "to capture an image without compensating the source."
2474 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
2475 #: freeculture.xml:1911
2477 "See Melville B. Nimmer, <quote>The Right of Publicity,</quote> "
2478 "<citetitle>Law and Contemporary Problems</citetitle> 19 (1954): 203; William "
2479 "L. Prosser, <quote>Privacy,</quote> <citetitle>California Law "
2480 "Review</citetitle> 48 (1960) 398–407; <citetitle>White</citetitle> "
2481 "v. <citetitle>Samsung Electronics America, Inc</citetitle>., 971 F. 2d 1395 "
2482 "(9th Cir. 1992), cert. denied, 508 U.S. 951 (1993)."
2485 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2486 #: freeculture.xml:1901
2488 "Fortunately for Mr. Eastman, and for photography in general, these early "
2489 "decisions went in favor of the pirates. In general, no permission would be "
2490 "required before an image could be captured and shared with others. Instead, "
2491 "permission was presumed. Freedom was the default. (The law would eventually "
2492 "craft an exception for famous people: commercial photographers who snap "
2493 "pictures of famous people for commercial purposes have more restrictions "
2494 "than the rest of us. But in the ordinary case, the image can be captured "
2495 "without clearing the rights to do the capturing.<placeholder "
2496 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>)"
2499 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2500 #: freeculture.xml:1919
2502 "We can only speculate about how photography would have developed had the law "
2503 "gone the other way. If the presumption had been against the photographer, "
2504 "then the photographer would have had to demonstrate permission. Perhaps "
2505 "Eastman Kodak would have had to demonstrate permission, too, before it "
2506 "developed the film upon which images were captured. After all, if permission "
2507 "were not granted, then Eastman Kodak would be benefiting from the "
2508 "<quote>theft</quote> committed by the photographer. Just as Napster "
2509 "benefited from the copyright infringements committed by Napster users, Kodak "
2510 "would be benefiting from the <quote>image-right</quote> infringement of its "
2511 "photographers. We could imagine the law then requiring that some form of "
2512 "permission be demonstrated before a company developed pictures. We could "
2513 "imagine a system developing to demonstrate that permission."
2517 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2518 #: freeculture.xml:1936
2520 "But though we could imagine this system of permission, it would be very hard "
2521 "to see how photography could have flourished as it did if the requirement "
2522 "for permission had been built into the rules that govern it. Photography "
2523 "would have existed. It would have grown in importance over "
2524 "time. Professionals would have continued to use the technology as they "
2525 "did—since professionals could have more easily borne the burdens of "
2526 "the permission system. But the spread of photography to ordinary people "
2527 "would not have occurred. Nothing like that growth would have been "
2528 "realized. And certainly, nothing like that growth in a democratic technology "
2529 "of expression would have been realized. If you drive through San "
2530 "Francisco's Presidio, you might see two gaudy yellow school buses painted "
2531 "over with colorful and striking images, and the logo <quote>Just "
2532 "Think!</quote> in place of the name of a school. But there's little that's "
2533 "<quote>just</quote> cerebral in the projects that these busses enable. "
2534 "These buses are filled with technologies that teach kids to tinker with "
2535 "film. Not the film of Eastman. Not even the film of your VCR. Rather the "
2536 "<quote>film</quote> of digital cameras. Just Think! is a project that "
2537 "enables kids to make films, as a way to understand and critique the filmed "
2538 "culture that they find all around them. Each year, these busses travel to "
2539 "more than thirty schools and enable three hundred to five hundred children "
2540 "to learn something about media by doing something with media. By doing, "
2541 "they think. By tinkering, they learn."
2545 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
2546 #: freeculture.xml:1969
2548 "H. Edward Goldberg, <quote>Essential Presentation Tools: Hardware and "
2549 "Software You Need to Create Digital Multimedia Presentations,</quote> "
2550 "cadalyst, February 2002, available at <ulink "
2551 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #7</ulink>."
2554 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2555 #: freeculture.xml:1963
2557 "These buses are not cheap, but the technology they carry is increasingly "
2558 "so. The cost of a high-quality digital video system has fallen "
2559 "dramatically. As one analyst puts it, <quote>Five years ago, a good "
2560 "real-time digital video editing system cost $25,000. Today you can get "
2561 "professional quality for $595.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
2562 "id=\"0\"/> These buses are filled with technology that would have cost "
2563 "hundreds of thousands just ten years ago. And it is now feasible to imagine "
2564 "not just buses like this, but classrooms across the country where kids are "
2565 "learning more and more of something teachers call <quote>media "
2569 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
2570 #: freeculture.xml:1986
2571 msgid "Yanofsky, Dave"
2574 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2575 #: freeculture.xml:1981
2577 "<quote>Media literacy,</quote> as Dave Yanofsky, the executive director of "
2578 "Just Think!, puts it, <quote>is the ability … to understand, analyze, "
2579 "and deconstruct media images. Its aim is to make [kids] literate about the "
2580 "way media works, the way it's constructed, the way it's delivered, and the "
2581 "way people access it.</quote> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
2584 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2585 #: freeculture.xml:1989
2587 "This may seem like an odd way to think about <quote>literacy.</quote> For "
2588 "most people, literacy is about reading and writing. Faulkner and Hemingway "
2589 "and noticing split infinitives are the things that <quote>literate</quote> "
2590 "people know about."
2594 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
2595 #: freeculture.xml:1999
2597 "Judith Van Evra, <citetitle>Television and Child Development</citetitle> "
2598 "(Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1990); <quote>Findings on "
2599 "Family and TV Study,</quote> <citetitle>Denver Post</citetitle>, 25 May "
2603 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2604 #: freeculture.xml:1995
2606 "Maybe. But in a world where children see on average 390 hours of television "
2607 "commercials per year, or between 20,000 and 45,000 commercials "
2608 "generally,<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> it is increasingly "
2609 "important to understand the <quote>grammar</quote> of media. For just as "
2610 "there is a grammar for the written word, so, too, is there one for "
2611 "media. And just as kids learn how to write by writing lots of terrible "
2612 "prose, kids learn how to write media by constructing lots of (at least at "
2613 "first) terrible media."
2616 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2617 #: freeculture.xml:2010
2619 "A growing field of academics and activists sees this form of literacy as "
2620 "crucial to the next generation of culture. For though anyone who has written "
2621 "understands how difficult writing is—how difficult it is to sequence "
2622 "the story, to keep a reader's attention, to craft language to be "
2623 "understandable—few of us have any real sense of how difficult media "
2624 "is. Or more fundamentally, few of us have a sense of how media works, how it "
2625 "holds an audience or leads it through a story, how it triggers emotion or "
2629 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2630 #: freeculture.xml:2020
2632 "It took filmmaking a generation before it could do these things well. But "
2633 "even then, the knowledge was in the filming, not in writing about the "
2634 "film. The skill came from experiencing the making of a film, not from "
2635 "reading a book about it. One learns to write by writing and then reflecting "
2636 "upon what one has written. One learns to write with images by making them "
2637 "and then reflecting upon what one has created."
2640 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
2641 #: freeculture.xml:2027
2642 msgid "Crichton, Michael"
2645 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
2646 #: freeculture.xml:2041 freeculture.xml:2101 freeculture.xml:2108 freeculture.xml:2545
2647 msgid "Barish, Stephanie"
2650 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
2651 #: freeculture.xml:2042
2652 msgid "Daley, Elizabeth"
2655 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
2656 #: freeculture.xml:2039
2658 "Interview with Elizabeth Daley and Stephanie Barish, 13 December 2002. "
2659 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
2664 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
2665 #: freeculture.xml:2053
2667 "See Scott Steinberg, <quote>Crichton Gets Medieval on PCs,</quote> E!online, "
2668 "4 November 2000, available at <ulink "
2669 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #8</ulink>; "
2670 "<quote>Timeline,</quote> 22 November 2000, available at <ulink "
2671 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #9</ulink>."
2674 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2675 #: freeculture.xml:2029
2677 "This grammar has changed as media has changed. When it was just film, as "
2678 "Elizabeth Daley, executive director of the University of Southern "
2679 "California's Annenberg Center for Communication and dean of the USC School "
2680 "of Cinema-Television, explained to me, the grammar was about <quote>the "
2681 "placement of objects, color, … rhythm, pacing, and "
2682 "texture.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> But as computers "
2683 "open up an interactive space where a story is <quote>played</quote> as well "
2684 "as experienced, that grammar changes. The simple control of narrative is "
2685 "lost, and so other techniques are necessary. Author Michael Crichton had "
2686 "mastered the narrative of science fiction. But when he tried to design a "
2687 "computer game based on one of his works, it was a new craft he had to "
2688 "learn. How to lead people through a game without their feeling they have "
2689 "been led was not obvious, even to a wildly successful author.<placeholder "
2690 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/>"
2693 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
2694 #: freeculture.xml:2060
2695 msgid "computer games"
2698 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2699 #: freeculture.xml:2062
2701 "This skill is precisely the craft a filmmaker learns. As Daley describes, "
2702 "<quote>people are very surprised about how they are led through a film. [I]t "
2703 "is perfectly constructed to keep you from seeing it, so you have no idea. If "
2704 "a filmmaker succeeds you do not know how you were led.</quote> If you know "
2705 "you were led through a film, the film has failed."
2708 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2709 #: freeculture.xml:2069
2711 "Yet the push for an expanded literacy—one that goes beyond text to "
2712 "include audio and visual elements—is not about making better film "
2713 "directors. The aim is not to improve the profession of filmmaking at all. "
2714 "Instead, as Daley explained,"
2717 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
2718 #: freeculture.xml:2076
2720 "From my perspective, probably the most important digital divide is not "
2721 "access to a box. It's the ability to be empowered with the language that "
2722 "that box works in. Otherwise only a very few people can write with this "
2723 "language, and all the rest of us are reduced to being read-only."
2726 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2727 #: freeculture.xml:2084
2729 "<quote>Read-only.</quote> Passive recipients of culture produced elsewhere. "
2730 "Couch potatoes. Consumers. This is the world of media from the twentieth "
2734 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
2735 #: freeculture.xml:2100
2736 msgid "Interview with Daley and Barish. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
2740 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
2741 #: freeculture.xml:2105 freeculture.xml:3846 freeculture.xml:4886 freeculture.xml:8088
2745 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2746 #: freeculture.xml:2089
2748 "The twenty-first century could be different. This is the crucial point: It "
2749 "could be both read and write. Or at least reading and better understanding "
2750 "the craft of writing. Or best, reading and understanding the tools that "
2751 "enable the writing to lead or mislead. The aim of any literacy, and this "
2752 "literacy in particular, is to <quote>empower people to choose the "
2753 "appropriate language for what they need to create or "
2754 "express.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> It is to enable "
2755 "students <quote>to communicate in the language of the twenty-first "
2756 "century.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/>"
2759 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2760 #: freeculture.xml:2110
2762 "As with any language, this language comes more easily to some than to "
2763 "others. It doesn't necessarily come more easily to those who excel in "
2764 "written language. Daley and Stephanie Barish, director of the Institute for "
2765 "Multimedia Literacy at the Annenberg Center, describe one particularly "
2766 "poignant example of a project they ran in a high school. The high school "
2767 "was a very poor inner-city Los Angeles school. In all the traditional "
2768 "measures of success, this school was a failure. But Daley and Barish ran a "
2769 "program that gave kids an opportunity to use film to express meaning about "
2770 "something the students know something about—gun violence."
2773 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2774 #: freeculture.xml:2122
2776 "The class was held on Friday afternoons, and it created a relatively new "
2777 "problem for the school. While the challenge in most classes was getting the "
2778 "kids to come, the challenge in this class was keeping them away. The "
2779 "<quote>kids were showing up at 6 A.M. and leaving at 5 at night,</quote> "
2780 "said Barish. They were working harder than in any other class to do what "
2781 "education should be about—learning how to express themselves."
2784 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2785 #: freeculture.xml:2130
2787 "Using whatever <quote>free web stuff they could find,</quote> and relatively "
2788 "simple tools to enable the kids to mix <quote>image, sound, and "
2789 "text,</quote> Barish said this class produced a series of projects that "
2790 "showed something about gun violence that few would otherwise "
2791 "understand. This was an issue close to the lives of these students. The "
2792 "project <quote>gave them a tool and empowered them to be able to both "
2793 "understand it and talk about it,</quote> Barish explained. That tool "
2794 "succeeded in creating expression—far more successfully and powerfully "
2795 "than could have been created using only text. <quote>If you had said to "
2796 "these students, `you have to do it in text,' they would've just thrown their "
2797 "hands up and gone and done something else,</quote> Barish described, in "
2798 "part, no doubt, because expressing themselves in text is not something these "
2799 "students can do well. Yet neither is text a form in which "
2800 "<emphasis>these</emphasis> ideas can be expressed well. The power of this "
2801 "message depended upon its connection to this form of expression."
2805 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2806 #: freeculture.xml:2149
2808 "<quote>But isn't education about teaching kids to write?</quote> I asked. In "
2809 "part, of course, it is. But why are we teaching kids to write? Education, "
2810 "Daley explained, is about giving students a way of <quote>constructing "
2811 "meaning.</quote> To say that that means just writing is like saying teaching "
2812 "writing is only about teaching kids how to spell. Text is one part—and "
2813 "increasingly, not the most powerful part—of constructing meaning. As "
2814 "Daley explained in the most moving part of our interview,"
2817 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
2818 #: freeculture.xml:2160
2820 "What you want is to give these students ways of constructing meaning. If all "
2821 "you give them is text, they're not going to do it. Because they can't. You "
2822 "know, you've got Johnny who can look at a video, he can play a video game, "
2823 "he can do graffiti all over your walls, he can take your car apart, and he "
2824 "can do all sorts of other things. He just can't read your text. So Johnny "
2825 "comes to school and you say, <quote>Johnny, you're illiterate. Nothing you "
2826 "can do matters.</quote> Well, Johnny then has two choices: He can dismiss "
2827 "you or he [can] dismiss himself. If his ego is healthy at all, he's going to "
2828 "dismiss you. [But i]nstead, if you say, <quote>Well, with all these things "
2829 "that you can do, let's talk about this issue. Play for me music that you "
2830 "think reflects that, or show me images that you think reflect that, or draw "
2831 "for me something that reflects that.</quote> Not by giving a kid a video "
2832 "camera and … saying, <quote>Let's go have fun with the video camera "
2833 "and make a little movie.</quote> But instead, really help you take these "
2834 "elements that you understand, that are your language, and construct meaning "
2835 "about the topic.…"
2838 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
2839 #: freeculture.xml:2179
2841 "That empowers enormously. And then what happens, of course, is eventually, "
2842 "as it has happened in all these classes, they bump up against the fact, "
2843 "<quote>I need to explain this and I really need to write something.</quote> "
2844 "And as one of the teachers told Stephanie, they would rewrite a paragraph 5, "
2845 "6, 7, 8 times, till they got it right."
2849 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
2850 #: freeculture.xml:2186
2852 "Because they needed to. There was a reason for doing it. They needed to say "
2853 "something, as opposed to just jumping through your hoops. They actually "
2854 "needed to use a language that they didn't speak very well. But they had come "
2855 "to understand that they had a lot of power with this language."
2858 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2859 #: freeculture.xml:2197
2861 "When two planes crashed into the World Trade Center, another into the "
2862 "Pentagon, and a fourth into a Pennsylvania field, all media around the world "
2863 "shifted to this news. Every moment of just about every day for that week, "
2864 "and for weeks after, television in particular, and media generally, retold "
2865 "the story of the events we had just witnessed. The telling was a retelling, "
2866 "because we had seen the events that were described. The genius of this awful "
2867 "act of terrorism was that the delayed second attack was perfectly timed to "
2868 "assure that the whole world would be watching."
2871 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2872 #: freeculture.xml:2208
2874 "These retellings had an increasingly familiar feel. There was music scored "
2875 "for the intermissions, and fancy graphics that flashed across the "
2876 "screen. There was a formula to interviews. There was <quote>balance,</quote> "
2877 "and seriousness. This was news choreographed in the way we have increasingly "
2878 "come to expect it, <quote>news as entertainment,</quote> even if the "
2879 "entertainment is tragedy."
2882 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
2883 #: freeculture.xml:2215 freeculture.xml:8027 freeculture.xml:8263
2887 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
2888 #: freeculture.xml:2216
2892 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2893 #: freeculture.xml:2218
2895 "But in addition to this produced news about the <quote>tragedy of September "
2896 "11,</quote> those of us tied to the Internet came to see a very different "
2897 "production as well. The Internet was filled with accounts of the same "
2898 "events. Yet these Internet accounts had a very different flavor. Some people "
2899 "constructed photo pages that captured images from around the world and "
2900 "presented them as slide shows with text. Some offered open letters. There "
2901 "were sound recordings. There was anger and frustration. There were attempts "
2902 "to provide context. There was, in short, an extraordinary worldwide barn "
2903 "raising, in the sense Mike Godwin uses the term in his book <citetitle>Cyber "
2904 "Rights</citetitle>, around a news event that had captured the attention of "
2905 "the world. There was ABC and CBS, but there was also the Internet."
2909 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2910 #: freeculture.xml:2232
2912 "I don't mean simply to praise the Internet—though I do think the "
2913 "people who supported this form of speech should be praised. I mean instead "
2914 "to point to a significance in this form of speech. For like a Kodak, the "
2915 "Internet enables people to capture images. And like in a movie by a student "
2916 "on the <quote>Just Think!</quote> bus, the visual images could be mixed with "
2920 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2921 #: freeculture.xml:2242
2923 "But unlike any technology for simply capturing images, the Internet allows "
2924 "these creations to be shared with an extraordinary number of people, "
2925 "practically instantaneously. This is something new in our "
2926 "tradition—not just that culture can be captured mechanically, and "
2927 "obviously not just that events are commented upon critically, but that this "
2928 "mix of captured images, sound, and commentary can be widely spread "
2929 "practically instantaneously."
2932 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2933 #: freeculture.xml:2251
2935 "September 11 was not an aberration. It was a beginning. Around the same "
2936 "time, a form of communication that has grown dramatically was just beginning "
2937 "to come into public consciousness: the Web-log, or blog. The blog is a kind "
2938 "of public diary, and within some cultures, such as in Japan, it functions "
2939 "very much like a diary. In those cultures, it records private facts in a "
2940 "public way—it's a kind of electronic <citetitle>Jerry "
2941 "Springer</citetitle>, available anywhere in the world."
2944 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2945 #: freeculture.xml:2260
2947 "But in the United States, blogs have taken on a very different character. "
2948 "There are some who use the space simply to talk about their private "
2949 "life. But there are many who use the space to engage in public "
2950 "discourse. Discussing matters of public import, criticizing others who are "
2951 "mistaken in their views, criticizing politicians about the decisions they "
2952 "make, offering solutions to problems we all see: blogs create the sense of a "
2953 "virtual public meeting, but one in which we don't all hope to be there at "
2954 "the same time and in which conversations are not necessarily linked. The "
2955 "best of the blog entries are relatively short; they point directly to words "
2956 "used by others, criticizing with or adding to them. They are arguably the "
2957 "most important form of unchoreographed public discourse that we have."
2961 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2962 #: freeculture.xml:2274
2964 "That's a strong statement. Yet it says as much about our democracy as it "
2965 "does about blogs. This is the part of America that is most difficult for "
2966 "those of us who love America to accept: Our democracy has atrophied. Of "
2967 "course we have elections, and most of the time the courts allow those "
2968 "elections to count. A relatively small number of people vote in those "
2969 "elections. The cycle of these elections has become totally professionalized "
2970 "and routinized. Most of us think this is democracy."
2974 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
2975 #: freeculture.xml:2300
2977 "See, for example, Alexis de Tocqueville, <citetitle>Democracy in "
2978 "America</citetitle>, bk. 1, trans. Henry Reeve (New York: Bantam Books, "
2982 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
2983 #: freeculture.xml:2285
2985 "But democracy has never just been about elections. Democracy means rule by "
2986 "the people, but rule means something more than mere elections. In our "
2987 "tradition, it also means control through reasoned discourse. This was the "
2988 "idea that captured the imagination of Alexis de Tocqueville, the "
2989 "nineteenth-century French lawyer who wrote the most important account of "
2990 "early <quote>Democracy in America.</quote> It wasn't popular elections that "
2991 "fascinated him—it was the jury, an institution that gave ordinary "
2992 "people the right to choose life or death for other citizens. And most "
2993 "fascinating for him was that the jury didn't just vote about the outcome "
2994 "they would impose. They deliberated. Members argued about the "
2995 "<quote>right</quote> result; they tried to persuade each other of the "
2996 "<quote>right</quote> result, and in criminal cases at least, they had to "
2997 "agree upon a unanimous result for the process to come to an end.<placeholder "
2998 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
3002 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
3003 #: freeculture.xml:2309
3005 "Bruce Ackerman and James Fishkin, <quote>Deliberation Day,</quote> "
3006 "<citetitle>Journal of Political Philosophy</citetitle> 10 (2) (2002): 129."
3009 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3010 #: freeculture.xml:2305
3012 "Yet even this institution flags in American life today. And in its place, "
3013 "there is no systematic effort to enable citizen deliberation. Some are "
3014 "pushing to create just such an institution.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
3015 "id=\"0\"/> And in some towns in New England, something close to deliberation "
3016 "remains. But for most of us for most of the time, there is no time or place "
3017 "for <quote>democratic deliberation</quote> to occur."
3021 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
3022 #: freeculture.xml:2324
3024 "Cass Sunstein, <citetitle>Republic.com</citetitle> (Princeton: Princeton "
3025 "University Press, 2001), 65–80, 175, 182, 183, 192."
3028 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3029 #: freeculture.xml:2317
3031 "More bizarrely, there is generally not even permission for it to occur. We, "
3032 "the most powerful democracy in the world, have developed a strong norm "
3033 "against talking about politics. It's fine to talk about politics with people "
3034 "you agree with. But it is rude to argue about politics with people you "
3035 "disagree with. Political discourse becomes isolated, and isolated discourse "
3036 "becomes more extreme.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> We say what "
3037 "our friends want to hear, and hear very little beyond what our friends say."
3041 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3042 #: freeculture.xml:2330
3044 "Enter the blog. The blog's very architecture solves one part of this "
3045 "problem. People post when they want to post, and people read when they want "
3046 "to read. The most difficult time is synchronous time. Technologies that "
3047 "enable asynchronous communication, such as e-mail, increase the opportunity "
3048 "for communication. Blogs allow for public discourse without the public ever "
3049 "needing to gather in a single public place."
3052 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3053 #: freeculture.xml:2341
3055 "But beyond architecture, blogs also have solved the problem of "
3056 "norms. There's no norm (yet) in blog space not to talk about politics. "
3057 "Indeed, the space is filled with political speech, on both the right and the "
3058 "left. Some of the most popular sites are conservative or libertarian, but "
3059 "there are many of all political stripes. And even blogs that are not "
3060 "political cover political issues when the occasion merits."
3063 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
3064 #: freeculture.xml:2353
3065 msgid "Dean, Howard"
3068 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3069 #: freeculture.xml:2349
3071 "The significance of these blogs is tiny now, though not so tiny. The name "
3072 "Howard Dean may well have faded from the 2004 presidential race but for "
3073 "blogs. Yet even if the number of readers is small, the reading is having an "
3074 "effect. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
3078 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
3079 #: freeculture.xml:2367
3081 "Noah Shachtman, <quote>With Incessant Postings, a Pundit Stirs the "
3082 "Pot,</quote> New York Times, 16 January 2003, G5."
3085 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
3086 #: freeculture.xml:2370
3090 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3091 #: freeculture.xml:2356
3093 "One direct effect is on stories that had a different life cycle in the "
3094 "mainstream media. The Trent Lott affair is an example. When Lott "
3095 "<quote>misspoke</quote> at a party for Senator Strom Thurmond, essentially "
3096 "praising Thurmond's segregationist policies, he calculated correctly that "
3097 "this story would disappear from the mainstream press within forty-eight "
3098 "hours. It did. But he didn't calculate its life cycle in blog space. The "
3099 "bloggers kept researching the story. Over time, more and more instances of "
3100 "the same <quote>misspeaking</quote> emerged. Finally, the story broke back "
3101 "into the mainstream press. In the end, Lott was forced to resign as senate "
3102 "majority leader.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder "
3103 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
3106 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3107 #: freeculture.xml:2373
3109 "This different cycle is possible because the same commercial pressures don't "
3110 "exist with blogs as with other ventures. Television and newspapers are "
3111 "commercial entities. They must work to keep attention. If they lose "
3112 "readers, they lose revenue. Like sharks, they must move on."
3115 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3116 #: freeculture.xml:2380
3118 "But bloggers don't have a similar constraint. They can obsess, they can "
3119 "focus, they can get serious. If a particular blogger writes a particularly "
3120 "interesting story, more and more people link to that story. And as the "
3121 "number of links to a particular story increases, it rises in the ranks of "
3122 "stories. People read what is popular; what is popular has been selected by a "
3123 "very democratic process of peer-generated rankings."
3126 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
3127 #: freeculture.xml:2389
3132 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3133 #: freeculture.xml:2392
3135 "There's a second way, as well, in which blogs have a different cycle from "
3136 "the mainstream press. As Dave Winer, one of the fathers of this movement and "
3137 "a software author for many decades, told me, another difference is the "
3138 "absence of a financial <quote>conflict of interest.</quote> <quote>I think "
3139 "you have to take the conflict of interest</quote> out of journalism, Winer "
3140 "told me. <quote>An amateur journalist simply doesn't have a conflict of "
3141 "interest, or the conflict of interest is so easily disclosed that you know "
3142 "you can sort of get it out of the way.</quote>"
3145 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
3146 #: freeculture.xml:2402 freeculture.xml:2455
3151 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
3152 #: freeculture.xml:2410
3153 msgid "Telephone interview with David Winer, 16 April 2003."
3156 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3157 #: freeculture.xml:2404
3159 "These conflicts become more important as media becomes more concentrated "
3160 "(more on this below). A concentrated media can hide more from the public "
3161 "than an unconcentrated media can—as CNN admitted it did after the Iraq "
3162 "war because it was afraid of the consequences to its own "
3163 "employees.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> It also needs to sustain "
3164 "a more coherent account. (In the middle of the Iraq war, I read a post on "
3165 "the Internet from someone who was at that time listening to a satellite "
3166 "uplink with a reporter in Iraq. The New York headquarters was telling the "
3167 "reporter over and over that her account of the war was too bleak: She needed "
3168 "to offer a more optimistic story. When she told New York that wasn't "
3169 "warranted, they told her that <emphasis>they</emphasis> were writing "
3170 "<quote>the story.</quote>)"
3174 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
3175 #: freeculture.xml:2428
3177 "John Schwartz, <quote>Loss of the Shuttle: The Internet; A Wealth of "
3178 "Information Online,</quote> <citetitle>New York Times</citetitle>, 2 "
3179 "February 2003, A28; Staci D. Kramer, <quote>Shuttle Disaster Coverage Mixed, "
3180 "but Strong Overall,</quote> Online Journalism Review, 2 February 2003, "
3181 "available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #10</ulink>."
3184 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3185 #: freeculture.xml:2420
3187 "Blog space gives amateurs a way to enter the "
3188 "debate—<quote>amateur</quote> not in the sense of inexperienced, but "
3189 "in the sense of an Olympic athlete, meaning not paid by anyone to give their "
3190 "reports. It allows for a much broader range of input into a story, as "
3191 "reporting on the Columbia disaster revealed, when hundreds from across the "
3192 "southwest United States turned to the Internet to retell what they had "
3193 "seen.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> And it drives readers to read "
3194 "across the range of accounts and <quote>triangulate,</quote> as Winer puts "
3195 "it, the truth. Blogs, Winer says, are <quote>communicating directly with our "
3196 "constituency, and the middle man is out of it</quote>—with all the "
3197 "benefits, and costs, that might entail."
3200 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
3201 #: freeculture.xml:2447
3203 "See Michael Falcone, <quote>Does an Editor's Pencil Ruin a Web Log?</quote> "
3204 "<citetitle>New York Times</citetitle>, 29 September 2003, C4. (<quote>Not "
3205 "all news organizations have been as accepting of employees who blog. Kevin "
3206 "Sites, a CNN correspondent in Iraq who started a blog about his reporting of "
3207 "the war on March 9, stopped posting 12 days later at his bosses' "
3208 "request. Last year Steve Olafson, a <citetitle>Houston Chronicle</citetitle> "
3209 "reporter, was fired for keeping a personal Web log, published under a "
3210 "pseudonym, that dealt with some of the issues and people he was "
3211 "covering.</quote>) <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
3215 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3216 #: freeculture.xml:2440
3218 "Winer is optimistic about the future of journalism infected with "
3219 "blogs. <quote>It's going to become an essential skill,</quote> Winer "
3220 "predicts, for public figures and increasingly for private figures as "
3221 "well. It's not clear that <quote>journalism</quote> is happy about "
3222 "this—some journalists have been told to curtail their "
3223 "blogging.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> But it is clear that we "
3224 "are still in transition. <quote>A lot of what we are doing now is warm-up "
3225 "exercises,</quote> Winer told me. There is a lot that must mature before "
3226 "this space has its mature effect. And as the inclusion of content in this "
3227 "space is the least infringing use of the Internet (meaning infringing on "
3228 "copyright), Winer said, <quote>we will be the last thing that gets shut "
3232 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3233 #: freeculture.xml:2467
3235 "This speech affects democracy. Winer thinks that happens because <quote>you "
3236 "don't have to work for somebody who controls, [for] a gatekeeper.</quote> "
3237 "That is true. But it affects democracy in another way as well. As more and "
3238 "more citizens express what they think, and defend it in writing, that will "
3239 "change the way people understand public issues. It is easy to be wrong and "
3240 "misguided in your head. It is harder when the product of your mind can be "
3241 "criticized by others. Of course, it is a rare human who admits that he has "
3242 "been persuaded that he is wrong. But it is even rarer for a human to ignore "
3243 "when he has been proven wrong. The writing of ideas, arguments, and "
3244 "criticism improves democracy. Today there are probably a couple of million "
3245 "blogs where such writing happens. When there are ten million, there will be "
3246 "something extraordinary to report."
3249 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
3250 #: freeculture.xml:2483
3251 msgid "Brown, John Seely"
3254 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3255 #: freeculture.xml:2486
3257 "John Seely Brown is the chief scientist of the Xerox Corporation. His work, "
3258 "as his Web site describes it, is <quote>human learning and … the "
3259 "creation of knowledge ecologies for creating … innovation.</quote>"
3262 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3263 #: freeculture.xml:2491
3265 "Brown thus looks at these technologies of digital creativity a bit "
3266 "differently from the perspectives I've sketched so far. I'm sure he would be "
3267 "excited about any technology that might improve democracy. But his real "
3268 "excitement comes from how these technologies affect learning."
3272 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3273 #: freeculture.xml:2498
3275 "As Brown believes, we learn by tinkering. When <quote>a lot of us grew "
3276 "up,</quote> he explains, that tinkering was done <quote>on motorcycle "
3277 "engines, lawnmower engines, automobiles, radios, and so on.</quote> But "
3278 "digital technologies enable a different kind of tinkering—with "
3279 "abstract ideas though in concrete form. The kids at Just Think! not only "
3280 "think about how a commercial portrays a politician; using digital "
3281 "technology, they can take the commercial apart and manipulate it, tinker "
3282 "with it to see how it does what it does. Digital technologies launch a kind "
3283 "of bricolage, or <quote>free collage,</quote> as Brown calls it. Many get to "
3284 "add to or transform the tinkering of many others."
3287 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3288 #: freeculture.xml:2511
3290 "The best large-scale example of this kind of tinkering so far is free "
3291 "software or open-source software (FS/OSS). FS/OSS is software whose source "
3292 "code is shared. Anyone can download the technology that makes a FS/OSS "
3293 "program run. And anyone eager to learn how a particular bit of FS/OSS "
3294 "technology works can tinker with the code."
3297 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3298 #: freeculture.xml:2518
3300 "This opportunity creates a <quote>completely new kind of learning "
3301 "platform,</quote> as Brown describes. <quote>As soon as you start doing "
3302 "that, you … unleash a free collage on the community, so that other "
3303 "people can start looking at your code, tinkering with it, trying it out, "
3304 "seeing if they can improve it.</quote> Each effort is a kind of "
3305 "apprenticeship. <quote>Open source becomes a major apprenticeship "
3309 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3310 #: freeculture.xml:2526
3312 "In this process, <quote>the concrete things you tinker with are abstract. "
3313 "They are code.</quote> Kids are <quote>shifting to the ability to tinker in "
3314 "the abstract, and this tinkering is no longer an isolated activity that "
3315 "you're doing in your garage. You are tinkering with a community "
3316 "platform. … You are tinkering with other people's stuff. The more you "
3317 "tinker the more you improve.</quote> The more you improve, the more you "
3321 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3322 #: freeculture.xml:2535
3324 "This same thing happens with content, too. And it happens in the same "
3325 "collaborative way when that content is part of the Web. As Brown puts it, "
3326 "<quote>the Web [is] the first medium that truly honors multiple forms of "
3327 "intelligence.</quote> Earlier technologies, such as the typewriter or word "
3328 "processors, helped amplify text. But the Web amplifies much more than "
3329 "text. <quote>The Web … says if you are musical, if you are artistic, "
3330 "if you are visual, if you are interested in film … [then] there is a "
3331 "lot you can start to do on this medium. [It] can now amplify and honor these "
3332 "multiple forms of intelligence.</quote>"
3336 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3337 #: freeculture.xml:2547
3339 "Brown is talking about what Elizabeth Daley, Stephanie Barish, and Just "
3340 "Think! teach: that this tinkering with culture teaches as well as "
3341 "creates. It develops talents differently, and it builds a different kind of "
3345 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3346 #: freeculture.xml:2555
3348 "Yet the freedom to tinker with these objects is not guaranteed. Indeed, as "
3349 "we'll see through the course of this book, that freedom is increasingly "
3350 "highly contested. While there's no doubt that your father had the right to "
3351 "tinker with the car engine, there's great doubt that your child will have "
3352 "the right to tinker with the images she finds all around. The law and, "
3353 "increasingly, technology interfere with a freedom that technology, and "
3354 "curiosity, would otherwise ensure."
3358 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
3359 #: freeculture.xml:2571
3361 "See, for example, Edward Felten and Andrew Appel, <quote>Technological "
3362 "Access Control Interferes with Noninfringing Scholarship,</quote> "
3363 "<citetitle>Communications of the Association for Computer "
3364 "Machinery</citetitle> 43 (2000): 9."
3367 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3368 #: freeculture.xml:2564
3370 "These restrictions have become the focus of researchers and scholars. "
3371 "Professor Ed Felten of Princeton (whom we'll see more of in chapter <xref "
3372 "xrefstyle=\"select: labelnumber\" linkend=\"property-i\"/>) has developed a "
3373 "powerful argument in favor of the <quote>right to tinker</quote> as it "
3374 "applies to computer science and to knowledge in general.<placeholder "
3375 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> But Brown's concern is earlier, or younger, or "
3376 "more fundamental. It is about the learning that kids can do, or can't do, "
3377 "because of the law."
3380 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3381 #: freeculture.xml:2579
3383 "<quote>This is where education in the twenty-first century is going,</quote> "
3384 "Brown explains. We need to <quote>understand how kids who grow up digital "
3385 "think and want to learn.</quote>"
3388 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3389 #: freeculture.xml:2584
3391 "<quote>Yet,</quote> as Brown continued, and as the balance of this book will "
3392 "evince, <quote>we are building a legal system that completely suppresses the "
3393 "natural tendencies of today's digital kids. … We're building an "
3394 "architecture that unleashes 60 percent of the brain [and] a legal system "
3395 "that closes down that part of the brain.</quote>"
3398 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3399 #: freeculture.xml:2592
3401 "We're building a technology that takes the magic of Kodak, mixes moving "
3402 "images and sound, and adds a space for commentary and an opportunity to "
3403 "spread that creativity everywhere. But we're building the law to close down "
3407 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3408 #: freeculture.xml:2598
3410 "<quote>No way to run a culture,</quote> as Brewster Kahle, whom we'll meet "
3411 "in chapter <xref xrefstyle=\"select: labelnumber\" linkend=\"collectors\"/>, "
3412 "quipped to me in a rare moment of despondence."
3415 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><title>
3416 #: freeculture.xml:2605
3417 msgid "CHAPTER THREE: Catalogs"
3420 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
3421 #: freeculture.xml:2606
3425 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
3426 #: freeculture.xml:2606 freeculture.xml:2608
3427 msgid "Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)"
3430 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3431 #: freeculture.xml:2611
3433 "In the fall of 2002, Jesse Jordan of Oceanside, New York, enrolled as a "
3434 "freshman at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, New York. His major "
3435 "at RPI was information technology. Though he is not a programmer, in October "
3436 "Jesse decided to begin to tinker with search engine technology that was "
3437 "available on the RPI network."
3440 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3441 #: freeculture.xml:2618
3443 "RPI is one of America's foremost technological research institutions. It "
3444 "offers degrees in fields ranging from architecture and engineering to "
3445 "information sciences. More than 65 percent of its five thousand "
3446 "undergraduates finished in the top 10 percent of their high school "
3447 "class. The school is thus a perfect mix of talent and experience to imagine "
3448 "and then build, a generation for the network age."
3451 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3452 #: freeculture.xml:2626
3454 "RPI's computer network links students, faculty, and administration to one "
3455 "another. It also links RPI to the Internet. Not everything available on the "
3456 "RPI network is available on the Internet. But the network is designed to "
3457 "enable students to get access to the Internet, as well as more intimate "
3458 "access to other members of the RPI community."
3462 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3463 #: freeculture.xml:2633
3465 "Search engines are a measure of a network's intimacy. Google brought the "
3466 "Internet much closer to all of us by fantastically improving the quality of "
3467 "search on the network. Specialty search engines can do this even better. The "
3468 "idea of <quote>intranet</quote> search engines, search engines that search "
3469 "within the network of a particular institution, is to provide users of that "
3470 "institution with better access to material from that institution. "
3471 "Businesses do this all the time, enabling employees to have access to "
3472 "material that people outside the business can't get. Universities do it as "
3476 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3477 #: freeculture.xml:2645
3479 "These engines are enabled by the network technology itself. Microsoft, for "
3480 "example, has a network file system that makes it very easy for search "
3481 "engines tuned to that network to query the system for information about the "
3482 "publicly (within that network) available content. Jesse's search engine was "
3483 "built to take advantage of this technology. It used Microsoft's network file "
3484 "system to build an index of all the files available within the RPI network."
3487 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3488 #: freeculture.xml:2654
3490 "Jesse's wasn't the first search engine built for the RPI network. Indeed, "
3491 "his engine was a simple modification of engines that others had built. His "
3492 "single most important improvement over those engines was to fix a bug within "
3493 "the Microsoft file-sharing system that could cause a user's computer to "
3494 "crash. With the engines that existed before, if you tried to access a file "
3495 "through a Windows browser that was on a computer that was off-line, your "
3496 "computer could crash. Jesse modified the system a bit to fix that problem, "
3497 "by adding a button that a user could click to see if the machine holding the "
3498 "file was still on-line."
3501 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3502 #: freeculture.xml:2666
3504 "Jesse's engine went on-line in late October. Over the following six months, "
3505 "he continued to tweak it to improve its functionality. By March, the system "
3506 "was functioning quite well. Jesse had more than one million files in his "
3507 "directory, including every type of content that might be on users' "
3512 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3513 #: freeculture.xml:2673
3515 "Thus the index his search engine produced included pictures, which students "
3516 "could use to put on their own Web sites; copies of notes or research; copies "
3517 "of information pamphlets; movie clips that students might have created; "
3518 "university brochures—basically anything that users of the RPI network "
3519 "made available in a public folder of their computer."
3522 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3523 #: freeculture.xml:2682
3525 "But the index also included music files. In fact, one quarter of the files "
3526 "that Jesse's search engine listed were music files. But that means, of "
3527 "course, that three quarters were not, and—so that this point is "
3528 "absolutely clear—Jesse did nothing to induce people to put music files "
3529 "in their public folders. He did nothing to target the search engine to these "
3530 "files. He was a kid tinkering with a Google-like technology at a university "
3531 "where he was studying information science, and hence, tinkering was the "
3532 "aim. Unlike Google, or Microsoft, for that matter, he made no money from "
3533 "this tinkering; he was not connected to any business that would make any "
3534 "money from this experiment. He was a kid tinkering with technology in an "
3535 "environment where tinkering with technology was precisely what he was "
3539 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3540 #: freeculture.xml:2697
3542 "On April 3, 2003, Jesse was contacted by the dean of students at RPI. The "
3543 "dean informed Jesse that the Recording Industry Association of America, the "
3544 "RIAA, would be filing a lawsuit against him and three other students whom he "
3545 "didn't even know, two of them at other universities. A few hours later, "
3546 "Jesse was served with papers from the suit. As he read these papers and "
3547 "watched the news reports about them, he was increasingly astonished."
3550 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3551 #: freeculture.xml:2706
3553 "<quote>It was absurd,</quote> he told me. <quote>I don't think I did "
3554 "anything wrong. … I don't think there's anything wrong with the "
3555 "search engine that I ran or … what I had done to it. I mean, I hadn't "
3556 "modified it in any way that promoted or enhanced the work of pirates. I just "
3557 "modified the search engine in a way that would make it easier to "
3558 "use</quote>—again, a <emphasis>search engine</emphasis>, which Jesse "
3559 "had not himself built, using the Windows filesharing system, which Jesse had "
3560 "not himself built, to enable members of the RPI community to get access to "
3561 "content, which Jesse had not himself created or posted, and the vast "
3562 "majority of which had nothing to do with music."
3566 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3567 #: freeculture.xml:2719
3569 "But the RIAA branded Jesse a pirate. They claimed he operated a network and "
3570 "had therefore <quote>willfully</quote> violated copyright laws. They "
3571 "demanded that he pay them the damages for his wrong. For cases of "
3572 "<quote>willful infringement,</quote> the Copyright Act specifies something "
3573 "lawyers call <quote>statutory damages.</quote> These damages permit a "
3574 "copyright owner to claim $150,000 per infringement. As the RIAA alleged more "
3575 "than one hundred specific copyright infringements, they therefore demanded "
3576 "that Jesse pay them at least $15,000,000."
3580 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
3581 #: freeculture.xml:2742
3583 "Tim Goral, <quote>Recording Industry Goes After Campus P-2-P Networks: Suit "
3584 "Alleges $97.8 Billion in Damages,</quote> <citetitle>Professional Media "
3585 "Group LCC</citetitle> 6 (2003): 5, available at 2003 WL 55179443."
3588 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3589 #: freeculture.xml:2730
3591 "Similar lawsuits were brought against three other students: one other "
3592 "student at RPI, one at Michigan Technical University, and one at "
3593 "Princeton. Their situations were similar to Jesse's. Though each case was "
3594 "different in detail, the bottom line in each was exactly the same: huge "
3595 "demands for <quote>damages</quote> that the RIAA claimed it was entitled "
3596 "to. If you added up the claims, these four lawsuits were asking courts in "
3597 "the United States to award the plaintiffs close to $100 "
3598 "<emphasis>billion</emphasis>—six times the <emphasis>total</emphasis> "
3599 "profit of the film industry in 2001.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
3603 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3604 #: freeculture.xml:2749
3606 "Jesse called his parents. They were supportive but a bit frightened. An "
3607 "uncle was a lawyer. He began negotiations with the RIAA. They demanded to "
3608 "know how much money Jesse had. Jesse had saved $12,000 from summer jobs and "
3609 "other employment. They demanded $12,000 to dismiss the case."
3612 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3613 #: freeculture.xml:2756
3615 "The RIAA wanted Jesse to admit to doing something wrong. He refused. They "
3616 "wanted him to agree to an injunction that would essentially make it "
3617 "impossible for him to work in many fields of technology for the rest of his "
3618 "life. He refused. They made him understand that this process of being sued "
3619 "was not going to be pleasant. (As Jesse's father recounted to me, the chief "
3620 "lawyer on the case, Matt Oppenheimer, told Jesse, <quote>You don't want to "
3621 "pay another visit to a dentist like me.</quote>) And throughout, the RIAA "
3622 "insisted it would not settle the case until it took every penny Jesse had "
3627 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3628 #: freeculture.xml:2767
3630 "Jesse's family was outraged at these claims. They wanted to fight. But "
3631 "Jesse's uncle worked to educate the family about the nature of the American "
3632 "legal system. Jesse could fight the RIAA. He might even win. But the cost of "
3633 "fighting a lawsuit like this, Jesse was told, would be at least $250,000. If "
3634 "he won, he would not recover that money. If he won, he would have a piece of "
3635 "paper saying he had won, and a piece of paper saying he and his family were "
3639 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3640 #: freeculture.xml:2777
3642 "So Jesse faced a mafia-like choice: $250,000 and a chance at winning, or "
3643 "$12,000 and a settlement."
3647 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
3648 #: freeculture.xml:2789
3650 "Occupational Employment Survey, U.S. Dept. of Labor (2001) "
3651 "(27–2042—Musicians and Singers). See also National Endowment for "
3652 "the Arts, <citetitle>More Than One in a Blue Moon</citetitle> (2000)."
3656 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
3657 #: freeculture.xml:2797
3659 "Douglas Lichtman makes a related point in <quote>KaZaA and "
3660 "Punishment,</quote> <citetitle>Wall Street Journal</citetitle>, 10 September "
3664 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3665 #: freeculture.xml:2781
3667 "The recording industry insists this is a matter of law and morality. Let's "
3668 "put the law aside for a moment and think about the morality. Where is the "
3669 "morality in a lawsuit like this? What is the virtue in scapegoatism? The "
3670 "RIAA is an extraordinarily powerful lobby. The president of the RIAA is "
3671 "reported to make more than $1 million a year. Artists, on the other hand, "
3672 "are not well paid. The average recording artist makes $45,900.<placeholder "
3673 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> There are plenty of ways for the RIAA to affect "
3674 "and direct policy. So where is the morality in taking money from a student "
3675 "for running a search engine?<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/>"
3678 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3679 #: freeculture.xml:2802
3681 "On June 23, Jesse wired his savings to the lawyer working for the RIAA. The "
3682 "case against him was then dismissed. And with this, this kid who had "
3683 "tinkered a computer into a $15 million lawsuit became an activist:"
3686 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
3687 #: freeculture.xml:2809
3689 "I was definitely not an activist [before]. I never really meant to be an "
3690 "activist. … [But] I've been pushed into this. In no way did I ever "
3691 "foresee anything like this, but I think it's just completely absurd what the "
3695 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3696 #: freeculture.xml:2816
3698 "Jesse's parents betray a certain pride in their reluctant activist. As his "
3699 "father told me, Jesse <quote>considers himself very conservative, and so do "
3700 "I. … He's not a tree hugger. … I think it's bizarre that they "
3701 "would pick on him. But he wants to let people know that they're sending the "
3702 "wrong message. And he wants to correct the record.</quote>"
3705 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><title>
3706 #: freeculture.xml:2825
3707 msgid "CHAPTER FOUR: <quote>Pirates</quote>"
3710 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
3711 #: freeculture.xml:2827
3713 "If <quote>piracy</quote> means using the creative property of others without "
3714 "their permission—if <quote>if value, then right</quote> is "
3715 "true—then the history of the content industry is a history of "
3716 "piracy. Every important sector of <quote>big media</quote> today—film, "
3717 "records, radio, and cable TV—was born of a kind of piracy so "
3718 "defined. The consistent story is how last generation's pirates join this "
3719 "generation's country club—until now."
3722 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><title>
3723 #: freeculture.xml:2835
3727 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
3728 #: freeculture.xml:2839
3730 "I am grateful to Peter DiMauro for pointing me to this extraordinary "
3731 "history. See also Siva Vaidhyanathan, <citetitle>Copyrights and "
3732 "Copywrongs</citetitle>, 87–93, which details Edison's "
3733 "<quote>adventures</quote> with copyright and patent. <placeholder "
3734 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
3738 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
3739 #: freeculture.xml:2837
3741 "The film industry of Hollywood was built by fleeing pirates.<placeholder "
3742 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Creators and directors migrated from the East "
3743 "Coast to California in the early twentieth century in part to escape "
3744 "controls that patents granted the inventor of filmmaking, Thomas "
3745 "Edison. These controls were exercised through a monopoly "
3746 "<quote>trust,</quote> the Motion Pictures Patents Company, and were based on "
3747 "Thomas Edison's creative property—patents. Edison formed the MPPC to "
3748 "exercise the rights this creative property gave him, and the MPPC was "
3749 "serious about the control it demanded."
3752 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
3753 #: freeculture.xml:2855
3754 msgid "As one commentator tells one part of the story,"
3757 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
3758 #: freeculture.xml:2859
3760 "A January 1909 deadline was set for all companies to comply with the "
3761 "license. By February, unlicensed outlaws, who referred to themselves as "
3762 "independents protested the trust and carried on business without submitting "
3763 "to the Edison monopoly. In the summer of 1909 the independent movement was "
3764 "in full-swing, with producers and theater owners using illegal equipment and "
3765 "imported film stock to create their own underground market."
3769 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
3770 #: freeculture.xml:2879
3772 "J. A. Aberdeen, <citetitle>Hollywood Renegades: The Society of Independent "
3773 "Motion Picture Producers</citetitle> (Cobblestone Entertainment, 2000) and "
3774 "expanded texts posted at <quote>The Edison Movie Monopoly: The Motion "
3775 "Picture Patents Company vs. the Independent Outlaws,</quote> available at "
3776 "<ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #11</ulink>. For a "
3777 "discussion of the economic motive behind both these limits and the limits "
3778 "imposed by Victor on phonographs, see Randal C. Picker, <quote>From Edison "
3779 "to the Broadcast Flag: Mechanisms of Consent and Refusal and the "
3780 "Propertization of Copyright</quote> (September 2002), University of Chicago "
3781 "Law School, James M. Olin Program in Law and Economics, Working Paper "
3785 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><indexterm><primary>
3786 #: freeculture.xml:2890
3787 msgid "Fox, William"
3790 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><indexterm><primary>
3791 #: freeculture.xml:2891
3792 msgid "General Film Company"
3795 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
3796 #: freeculture.xml:2892 freeculture.xml:3145 freeculture.xml:4251 freeculture.xml:9635
3797 msgid "Picker, Randal C."
3800 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
3801 #: freeculture.xml:2868
3803 "With the country experiencing a tremendous expansion in the number of "
3804 "nickelodeons, the Patents Company reacted to the independent movement by "
3805 "forming a strong-arm subsidiary known as the General Film Company to block "
3806 "the entry of non-licensed independents. With coercive tactics that have "
3807 "become legendary, General Film confiscated unlicensed equipment, "
3808 "discontinued product supply to theaters which showed unlicensed films, and "
3809 "effectively monopolized distribution with the acquisition of all U.S. film "
3810 "exchanges, except for the one owned by the independent William Fox who "
3811 "defied the Trust even after his license was revoked.<placeholder "
3812 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/> "
3813 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"2\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
3818 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
3819 #: freeculture.xml:2902
3821 "Marc Wanamaker, <quote>The First Studios,</quote> <citetitle>The Silents "
3822 "Majority</citetitle>, archived at <ulink "
3823 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #12</ulink>."
3826 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
3827 #: freeculture.xml:2896
3829 "The Napsters of those days, the <quote>independents,</quote> were companies "
3830 "like Fox. And no less than today, these independents were vigorously "
3831 "resisted. <quote>Shooting was disrupted by machinery stolen, and "
3832 "`accidents' resulting in loss of negatives, equipment, buildings and "
3833 "sometimes life and limb frequently occurred.</quote><placeholder "
3834 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> That led the independents to flee the East "
3835 "Coast. California was remote enough from Edison's reach that filmmakers "
3836 "there could pirate his inventions without fear of the law. And the leaders "
3837 "of Hollywood filmmaking, Fox most prominently, did just that."
3841 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
3842 #: freeculture.xml:2912
3844 "Of course, California grew quickly, and the effective enforcement of federal "
3845 "law eventually spread west. But because patents grant the patent holder a "
3846 "truly <quote>limited</quote> monopoly (just seventeen years at that time), "
3847 "by the time enough federal marshals appeared, the patents had expired. A new "
3848 "industry had been born, in part from the piracy of Edison's creative "
3852 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><title>
3853 #: freeculture.xml:2923
3854 msgid "Recorded Music"
3857 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
3858 #: freeculture.xml:2925
3860 "The record industry was born of another kind of piracy, though to see how "
3861 "requires a bit of detail about the way the law regulates music."
3864 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
3865 #: freeculture.xml:2929
3866 msgid "Fourneaux, Henri"
3869 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
3870 #: freeculture.xml:2931
3871 msgid "Russel, Phil"
3874 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
3875 #: freeculture.xml:2933
3877 "At the time that Edison and Henri Fourneaux invented machines for "
3878 "reproducing music (Edison the phonograph, Fourneaux the player piano), the "
3879 "law gave composers the exclusive right to control copies of their music and "
3880 "the exclusive right to control public performances of their music. In other "
3881 "words, in 1900, if I wanted a copy of Phil Russel's 1899 hit <quote>Happy "
3882 "Mose,</quote> the law said I would have to pay for the right to get a copy "
3883 "of the musical score, and I would also have to pay for the right to perform "
3887 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
3888 #: freeculture.xml:2942 freeculture.xml:3090
3892 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
3893 #: freeculture.xml:2944
3895 "But what if I wanted to record <quote>Happy Mose,</quote> using Edison's "
3896 "phonograph or Fourneaux's player piano? Here the law stumbled. It was clear "
3897 "enough that I would have to buy any copy of the musical score that I "
3898 "performed in making this recording. And it was clear enough that I would "
3899 "have to pay for any public performance of the work I was recording. But it "
3900 "wasn't totally clear that I would have to pay for a <quote>public "
3901 "performance</quote> if I recorded the song in my own house (even today, you "
3902 "don't owe the Beatles anything if you sing their songs in the shower), or if "
3903 "I recorded the song from memory (copies in your brain are "
3904 "not—yet— regulated by copyright law). So if I simply sang the "
3905 "song into a recording device in the privacy of my own home, it wasn't clear "
3906 "that I owed the composer anything. And more importantly, it wasn't clear "
3907 "whether I owed the composer anything if I then made copies of those "
3908 "recordings. Because of this gap in the law, then, I could effectively "
3909 "pirate someone else's song without paying its composer anything."
3912 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
3913 #: freeculture.xml:2967 freeculture.xml:2984
3914 msgid "Kittredge, Alfred"
3917 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
3918 #: freeculture.xml:2963
3920 "The composers (and publishers) were none too happy about this capacity to "
3921 "pirate. As South Dakota senator Alfred Kittredge put it, <placeholder "
3922 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
3925 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
3926 #: freeculture.xml:2978
3928 "To Amend and Consolidate the Acts Respecting Copyright: Hearings on S. 6330 "
3929 "and H.R. 19853 Before the ( Joint) Committees on Patents, 59th Cong. 59, 1st "
3930 "sess. (1906) (statement of Senator Alfred B. Kittredge, of South Dakota, "
3931 "chairman), reprinted in <citetitle>Legislative History of the Copyright "
3932 "Act</citetitle>, E. Fulton Brylawski and Abe Goldman, eds. (South "
3933 "Hackensack, N.J.: Rothman Reprints, 1976). <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
3937 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
3938 #: freeculture.xml:2971
3940 "Imagine the injustice of the thing. A composer writes a song or an opera. A "
3941 "publisher buys at great expense the rights to the same and copyrights "
3942 "it. Along come the phonographic companies and companies who cut music rolls "
3943 "and deliberately steal the work of the brain of the composer and publisher "
3944 "without any regard for [their] rights.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
3949 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
3950 #: freeculture.xml:2993
3952 "To Amend and Consolidate the Acts Respecting Copyright, 223 (statement of "
3953 "Nathan Burkan, attorney for the Music Publishers Association)."
3957 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
3958 #: freeculture.xml:2999
3960 "To Amend and Consolidate the Acts Respecting Copyright, 226 (statement of "
3961 "Nathan Burkan, attorney for the Music Publishers Association)."
3965 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
3966 #: freeculture.xml:3006
3968 "To Amend and Consolidate the Acts Respecting Copyright, 23 (statement of "
3969 "John Philip Sousa, composer)."
3972 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
3973 #: freeculture.xml:2989
3975 "The innovators who developed the technology to record other people's works "
3976 "were <quote>sponging upon the toil, the work, the talent, and genius of "
3977 "American composers,</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> and the "
3978 "<quote>music publishing industry</quote> was thereby <quote>at the complete "
3979 "mercy of this one pirate.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/> "
3980 "As John Philip Sousa put it, in as direct a way as possible, <quote>When "
3981 "they make money out of my pieces, I want a share of it.</quote><placeholder "
3982 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"2\"/>"
3986 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
3987 #: freeculture.xml:3019
3989 "To Amend and Consolidate the Acts Respecting Copyright, 283–84 "
3990 "(statement of Albert Walker, representative of the Auto-Music Perforating "
3991 "Company of New York)."
3995 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
3996 #: freeculture.xml:3030
3998 "To Amend and Consolidate the Acts Respecting Copyright, 376 (prepared "
3999 "memorandum of Philip Mauro, general patent counsel of the American "
4000 "Graphophone Company Association)."
4003 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
4004 #: freeculture.xml:3034
4005 msgid "American Graphophone Company"
4008 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4009 #: freeculture.xml:3011
4011 "These arguments have familiar echoes in the wars of our day. So, too, do the "
4012 "arguments on the other side. The innovators who developed the player piano "
4013 "argued that <quote>it is perfectly demonstrable that the introduction of "
4014 "automatic music players has not deprived any composer of anything he had "
4015 "before their introduction.</quote> Rather, the machines increased the sales "
4016 "of sheet music.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> In any case, the "
4017 "innovators argued, the job of Congress was <quote>to consider first the "
4018 "interest of [the public], whom they represent, and whose servants they "
4019 "are.</quote> <quote>All talk about `theft,'</quote> the general counsel of "
4020 "the American Graphophone Company wrote, <quote>is the merest claptrap, for "
4021 "there exists no property in ideas musical, literary or artistic, except as "
4022 "defined by statute.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/> "
4023 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"2\"/>"
4027 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4028 #: freeculture.xml:3037
4030 "The law soon resolved this battle in favor of the composer "
4031 "<emphasis>and</emphasis> the recording artist. Congress amended the law to "
4032 "make sure that composers would be paid for the <quote>mechanical "
4033 "reproductions</quote> of their music. But rather than simply granting the "
4034 "composer complete control over the right to make mechanical reproductions, "
4035 "Congress gave recording artists a right to record the music, at a price set "
4036 "by Congress, once the composer allowed it to be recorded once. This is the "
4037 "part of copyright law that makes cover songs possible. Once a composer "
4038 "authorizes a recording of his song, others are free to record the same song, "
4039 "so long as they pay the original composer a fee set by the law."
4042 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4043 #: freeculture.xml:3052
4045 "American law ordinarily calls this a <quote>compulsory license,</quote> but "
4046 "I will refer to it as a <quote>statutory license.</quote> A statutory "
4047 "license is a license whose key terms are set by law. After Congress's "
4048 "amendment of the Copyright Act in 1909, record companies were free to "
4049 "distribute copies of recordings so long as they paid the composer (or "
4050 "copyright holder) the fee set by the statute."
4053 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><indexterm><primary>
4054 #: freeculture.xml:3067 freeculture.xml:13958
4055 msgid "Grisham, John"
4058 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4059 #: freeculture.xml:3060
4061 "This is an exception within the law of copyright. When John Grisham writes a "
4062 "novel, a publisher is free to publish that novel only if Grisham gives the "
4063 "publisher permission. Grisham, in turn, is free to charge whatever he wants "
4064 "for that permission. The price to publish Grisham is thus set by Grisham, "
4065 "and copyright law ordinarily says you have no permission to use Grisham's "
4066 "work except with permission of Grisham. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
4071 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
4072 #: freeculture.xml:3084
4074 "Copyright Law Revision: Hearings on S. 2499, S. 2900, H.R. 243, and "
4075 "H.R. 11794 Before the ( Joint) Committee on Patents, 60th Cong., 1st sess., "
4076 "217 (1908) (statement of Senator Reed Smoot, chairman), reprinted in "
4077 "<citetitle>Legislative History of the 1909 Copyright Act</citetitle>, "
4078 "E. Fulton Brylawski and Abe Goldman, eds. (South Hackensack, N.J.: Rothman "
4082 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4083 #: freeculture.xml:3070
4085 "But the law governing recordings gives recording artists less. And thus, in "
4086 "effect, the law <emphasis>subsidizes</emphasis> the recording industry "
4087 "through a kind of piracy—by giving recording artists a weaker right "
4088 "than it otherwise gives creative authors. The Beatles have less control over "
4089 "their creative work than Grisham does. And the beneficiaries of this less "
4090 "control are the recording industry and the public. The recording industry "
4091 "gets something of value for less than it otherwise would pay; the public "
4092 "gets access to a much wider range of musical creativity. Indeed, Congress "
4093 "was quite explicit about its reasons for granting this right. Its fear was "
4094 "the monopoly power of rights holders, and that that power would stifle "
4095 "follow-on creativity.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder "
4096 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
4099 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4100 #: freeculture.xml:3093
4102 "While the recording industry has been quite coy about this recently, "
4103 "historically it has been quite a supporter of the statutory license for "
4104 "records. As a 1967 report from the House Committee on the Judiciary relates,"
4108 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
4109 #: freeculture.xml:3115
4111 "Copyright Law Revision: Report to Accompany H.R. 2512, House Committee on "
4112 "the Judiciary, 90th Cong., 1st sess., House Document no. 83, (8 March "
4113 "1967). I am grateful to Glenn Brown for drawing my attention to this report."
4116 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
4117 #: freeculture.xml:3100
4119 "the record producers argued vigorously that the compulsory license system "
4120 "must be retained. They asserted that the record industry is a "
4121 "half-billion-dollar business of great economic importance in the United "
4122 "States and throughout the world; records today are the principal means of "
4123 "disseminating music, and this creates special problems, since performers "
4124 "need unhampered access to musical material on nondiscriminatory "
4125 "terms. Historically, the record producers pointed out, there were no "
4126 "recording rights before 1909 and the 1909 statute adopted the compulsory "
4127 "license as a deliberate anti-monopoly condition on the grant of these "
4128 "rights. They argue that the result has been an outpouring of recorded music, "
4129 "with the public being given lower prices, improved quality, and a greater "
4130 "choice.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
4133 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4134 #: freeculture.xml:3122
4136 "By limiting the rights musicians have, by partially pirating their creative "
4137 "work, the record producers, and the public, benefit."
4140 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
4141 #: freeculture.xml:3127 freeculture.xml:4216
4145 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4146 #: freeculture.xml:3129
4147 msgid "Radio was also born of piracy."
4150 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
4151 #: freeculture.xml:3144
4152 msgid "Hand, Learned"
4155 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
4156 #: freeculture.xml:3135
4158 "See 17 <citetitle>United States Code</citetitle>, sections 106 and 110. At "
4159 "the beginning, record companies printed <quote>Not Licensed for Radio "
4160 "Broadcast</quote> and other messages purporting to restrict the ability to "
4161 "play a record on a radio station. Judge Learned Hand rejected the argument "
4162 "that a warning attached to a record might restrict the rights of the radio "
4163 "station. See <citetitle>RCA Manufacturing "
4164 "Co</citetitle>. v. <citetitle>Whiteman</citetitle>, 114 F. 2d 86 (2nd "
4165 "Cir. 1940). See also Randal C. Picker, <quote>From Edison to the Broadcast "
4166 "Flag: Mechanisms of Consent and Refusal and the Propertization of "
4167 "Copyright,</quote> <citetitle>University of Chicago Law Review</citetitle> "
4168 "70 (2003): 281. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder "
4169 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
4172 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4173 #: freeculture.xml:3132
4175 "When a radio station plays a record on the air, that constitutes a "
4176 "<quote>public performance</quote> of the composer's work.<placeholder "
4177 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> As I described above, the law gives the "
4178 "composer (or copyright holder) an exclusive right to public performances of "
4179 "his work. The radio station thus owes the composer money for that "
4183 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
4184 #: freeculture.xml:3162 freeculture.xml:8726 freeculture.xml:9184 freeculture.xml:12110
4185 msgid "Lovett, Lyle"
4189 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4190 #: freeculture.xml:3152
4192 "But when the radio station plays a record, it is not only performing a copy "
4193 "of the <emphasis>composer's</emphasis> work. The radio station is also "
4194 "performing a copy of the <emphasis>recording artist's</emphasis> work. It's "
4195 "one thing to have <quote>Happy Birthday</quote> sung on the radio by the "
4196 "local children's choir; it's quite another to have it sung by the Rolling "
4197 "Stones or Lyle Lovett. The recording artist is adding to the value of the "
4198 "composition performed on the radio station. And if the law were perfectly "
4199 "consistent, the radio station would have to pay the recording artist for his "
4200 "work, just as it pays the composer of the music for his work. <placeholder "
4201 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
4204 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4205 #: freeculture.xml:3167
4207 "But it doesn't. Under the law governing radio performances, the radio "
4208 "station does not have to pay the recording artist. The radio station need "
4209 "only pay the composer. The radio station thus gets a bit of something for "
4210 "nothing. It gets to perform the recording artist's work for free, even if it "
4211 "must pay the composer something for the privilege of playing the song."
4214 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
4215 #: freeculture.xml:3175 freeculture.xml:3678 freeculture.xml:6056
4219 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4220 #: freeculture.xml:3178
4222 "This difference can be huge. Imagine you compose a piece of music. Imagine "
4223 "it is your first. You own the exclusive right to authorize public "
4224 "performances of that music. So if Madonna wants to sing your song in public, "
4225 "she has to get your permission."
4228 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4229 #: freeculture.xml:3184
4231 "Imagine she does sing your song, and imagine she likes it a lot. She then "
4232 "decides to make a recording of your song, and it becomes a top hit. Under "
4233 "our law, every time a radio station plays your song, you get some money. But "
4234 "Madonna gets nothing, save the indirect effect on the sale of her CDs. The "
4235 "public performance of her recording is not a <quote>protected</quote> "
4236 "right. The radio station thus gets to <emphasis>pirate</emphasis> the value "
4237 "of Madonna's work without paying her anything."
4240 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4241 #: freeculture.xml:3195
4243 "No doubt, one might argue that, on balance, the recording artists "
4244 "benefit. On average, the promotion they get is worth more than the "
4245 "performance rights they give up. Maybe. But even if so, the law ordinarily "
4246 "gives the creator the right to make this choice. By making the choice for "
4247 "him or her, the law gives the radio station the right to take something for "
4251 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
4252 #: freeculture.xml:3204 freeculture.xml:4222
4256 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4257 #: freeculture.xml:3207
4258 msgid "Cable TV was also born of a kind of piracy."
4262 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4263 #: freeculture.xml:3210
4265 "When cable entrepreneurs first started wiring communities with cable "
4266 "television in 1948, most refused to pay broadcasters for the content that "
4267 "they echoed to their customers. Even when the cable companies started "
4268 "selling access to television broadcasts, they refused to pay for what they "
4269 "sold. Cable companies were thus Napsterizing broadcasters' content, but more "
4270 "egregiously than anything Napster ever did— Napster never charged for "
4271 "the content it enabled others to give away."
4274 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
4275 #: freeculture.xml:3220
4276 msgid "Anello, Douglas"
4279 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
4280 #: freeculture.xml:3221
4281 msgid "Burdick, Quentin"
4284 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
4285 #: freeculture.xml:3222 freeculture.xml:3233
4286 msgid "Hyde, Rosel H."
4289 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
4290 #: freeculture.xml:3228
4292 "Copyright Law Revision—CATV: Hearing on S. 1006 Before the "
4293 "Subcommittee on Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights of the Senate Committee "
4294 "on the Judiciary, 89th Cong., 2nd sess., 78 (1966) (statement of Rosel "
4295 "H. Hyde, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission). <placeholder "
4296 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
4300 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
4301 #: freeculture.xml:3240
4303 "Copyright Law Revision—CATV, 116 (statement of Douglas A. Anello, "
4304 "general counsel of the National Association of Broadcasters)."
4307 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4308 #: freeculture.xml:3224
4310 "Broadcasters and copyright owners were quick to attack this theft. Rosel "
4311 "Hyde, chairman of the FCC, viewed the practice as a kind of <quote>unfair "
4312 "and potentially destructive competition.</quote><placeholder "
4313 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> There may have been a <quote>public "
4314 "interest</quote> in spreading the reach of cable TV, but as Douglas Anello, "
4315 "general counsel to the National Association of Broadcasters, asked Senator "
4316 "Quentin Burdick during testimony, <quote>Does public interest dictate that "
4317 "you use somebody else's property?</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
4318 "id=\"1\"/> As another broadcaster put it,"
4322 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
4323 #: freeculture.xml:3251
4325 "Copyright Law Revision—CATV, 126 (statement of Ernest W. Jennes, "
4326 "general counsel of the Association of Maximum Service Telecasters, Inc.)."
4329 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
4330 #: freeculture.xml:3247
4332 "The extraordinary thing about the CATV business is that it is the only "
4333 "business I know of where the product that is being sold is not paid "
4334 "for.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
4337 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4338 #: freeculture.xml:3257
4339 msgid "Again, the demand of the copyright holders seemed reasonable enough:"
4343 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
4344 #: freeculture.xml:3266
4346 "Copyright Law Revision—CATV, 169 (joint statement of Arthur B. Krim, "
4347 "president of United Artists Corp., and John Sinn, president of United "
4348 "Artists Television, Inc.)."
4351 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
4352 #: freeculture.xml:3261
4354 "All we are asking for is a very simple thing, that people who now take our "
4355 "property for nothing pay for it. We are trying to stop piracy and I don't "
4356 "think there is any lesser word to describe it. I think there are harsher "
4357 "words which would fit it.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
4360 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
4361 #: freeculture.xml:3272 freeculture.xml:3280
4362 msgid "Heston, Charlton"
4365 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
4366 #: freeculture.xml:3278
4368 "Copyright Law Revision—CATV, 209 (statement of Charlton Heston, "
4369 "president of the Screen Actors Guild). <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
4373 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4374 #: freeculture.xml:3274
4376 "These were <quote>free-ride[rs],</quote> Screen Actor's Guild president "
4377 "Charlton Heston said, who were <quote>depriving actors of "
4378 "compensation.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
4381 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4382 #: freeculture.xml:3285
4384 "But again, there was another side to the debate. As Assistant Attorney "
4385 "General Edwin Zimmerman put it,"
4388 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><indexterm><primary>
4389 #: freeculture.xml:3301 freeculture.xml:3303
4390 msgid "Zimmerman, Edwin"
4393 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
4394 #: freeculture.xml:3299
4396 "Copyright Law Revision—CATV, 216 (statement of Edwin M. Zimmerman, "
4397 "acting assistant attorney general). <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
4401 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
4402 #: freeculture.xml:3290
4404 "Our point here is that unlike the problem of whether you have any copyright "
4405 "protection at all, the problem here is whether copyright holders who are "
4406 "already compensated, who already have a monopoly, should be permitted to "
4407 "extend that monopoly. … The question here is how much compensation "
4408 "they should have and how far back they should carry their right to "
4409 "compensation.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder "
4410 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
4413 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4414 #: freeculture.xml:3307
4416 "Copyright owners took the cable companies to court. Twice the Supreme Court "
4417 "held that the cable companies owed the copyright owners nothing."
4420 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4421 #: freeculture.xml:3311
4423 "It took Congress almost thirty years before it resolved the question of "
4424 "whether cable companies had to pay for the content they "
4425 "<quote>pirated.</quote> In the end, Congress resolved this question in the "
4426 "same way that it resolved the question about record players and player "
4427 "pianos. Yes, cable companies would have to pay for the content that they "
4428 "broadcast; but the price they would have to pay was not set by the copyright "
4429 "owner. The price was set by law, so that the broadcasters couldn't exercise "
4430 "veto power over the emerging technologies of cable. Cable companies thus "
4431 "built their empire in part upon a <quote>piracy</quote> of the value created "
4432 "by broadcasters' content."
4436 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
4437 #: freeculture.xml:3328
4439 "See, for example, National Music Publisher's Association, <citetitle>The "
4440 "Engine of Free Expression: Copyright on the Internet—The Myth of Free "
4441 "Information</citetitle>, available at <ulink "
4442 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #13</ulink>. <quote>The threat of "
4443 "piracy—the use of someone else's creative work without permission or "
4444 "compensation—has grown with the Internet.</quote>"
4447 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4448 #: freeculture.xml:3323
4450 "These separate stories sing a common theme. If <quote>piracy</quote> means "
4451 "using value from someone else's creative property without permission from "
4452 "that creator—as it is increasingly described today<placeholder "
4453 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> — then <emphasis>every</emphasis> "
4454 "industry affected by copyright today is the product and beneficiary of a "
4455 "certain kind of piracy. Film, records, radio, cable TV. … The list is "
4456 "long and could well be expanded. Every generation welcomes the pirates from "
4457 "the last. Every generation—until now."
4460 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><title>
4461 #: freeculture.xml:3345
4462 msgid "CHAPTER FIVE: <quote>Piracy</quote>"
4465 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
4466 #: freeculture.xml:3347
4468 "There is piracy of copyrighted material. Lots of it. This piracy comes in "
4469 "many forms. The most significant is commercial piracy, the unauthorized "
4470 "taking of other people's content within a commercial context. Despite the "
4471 "many justifications that are offered in its defense, this taking is "
4472 "wrong. No one should condone it, and the law should stop it."
4476 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
4477 #: freeculture.xml:3355
4479 "But as well as copy-shop piracy, there is another kind of "
4480 "<quote>taking</quote> that is more directly related to the Internet. That "
4481 "taking, too, seems wrong to many, and it is wrong much of the time. Before "
4482 "we paint this taking <quote>piracy,</quote> however, we should understand "
4483 "its nature a bit more. For the harm of this taking is significantly more "
4484 "ambiguous than outright copying, and the law should account for that "
4485 "ambiguity, as it has so often done in the past."
4488 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><title>
4489 #: freeculture.xml:3365
4494 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
4495 #: freeculture.xml:3373
4497 "See IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), "
4498 "<citetitle>The Recording Industry Commercial Piracy Report 2003</citetitle>, "
4499 "July 2003, available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link "
4500 "#14</ulink>. See also Ben Hunt, <quote>Companies Warned on Music Piracy "
4501 "Risk,</quote> <citetitle>Financial Times</citetitle>, 14 February 2003, 11."
4504 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4505 #: freeculture.xml:3367
4507 "All across the world, but especially in Asia and Eastern Europe, there are "
4508 "businesses that do nothing but take others people's copyrighted content, "
4509 "copy it, and sell it—all without the permission of a copyright "
4510 "owner. The recording industry estimates that it loses about $4.6 billion "
4511 "every year to physical piracy<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> (that "
4512 "works out to one in three CDs sold worldwide). The MPAA estimates that it "
4513 "loses $3 billion annually worldwide to piracy."
4516 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4517 #: freeculture.xml:3383
4519 "This is piracy plain and simple. Nothing in the argument of this book, nor "
4520 "in the argument that most people make when talking about the subject of this "
4521 "book, should draw into doubt this simple point: This piracy is wrong."
4524 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4525 #: freeculture.xml:3389
4527 "Which is not to say that excuses and justifications couldn't be made for "
4528 "it. We could, for example, remind ourselves that for the first one hundred "
4529 "years of the American Republic, America did not honor foreign copyrights. We "
4530 "were born, in this sense, a pirate nation. It might therefore seem "
4531 "hypocritical for us to insist so strongly that other developing nations "
4532 "treat as wrong what we, for the first hundred years of our existence, "
4536 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4537 #: freeculture.xml:3398
4539 "That excuse isn't terribly strong. Technically, our law did not ban the "
4540 "taking of foreign works. It explicitly limited itself to American "
4541 "works. Thus the American publishers who published foreign works without the "
4542 "permission of foreign authors were not violating any rule. The copy shops "
4543 "in Asia, by contrast, are violating Asian law. Asian law does protect "
4544 "foreign copyrights, and the actions of the copy shops violate that law. So "
4545 "the wrong of piracy that they engage in is not just a moral wrong, but a "
4546 "legal wrong, and not just an internationally legal wrong, but a locally "
4547 "legal wrong as well."
4550 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4551 #: freeculture.xml:3409
4553 "True, these local rules have, in effect, been imposed upon these "
4554 "countries. No country can be part of the world economy and choose <beginpage "
4555 "pagenum=\"77\"/> not to protect copyright internationally. We may have been "
4556 "born a pirate nation, but we will not allow any other nation to have a "
4557 "similar childhood."
4560 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
4561 #: freeculture.xml:3437
4562 msgid "agricultural patents"
4565 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
4566 #: freeculture.xml:3438 freeculture.xml:12399 freeculture.xml:12838 freeculture.xml:12845
4567 msgid "Drahos, Peter"
4570 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
4571 #: freeculture.xml:3422
4573 "See Peter Drahos with John Braithwaite, Information Feudalism: "
4574 "<citetitle>Who Owns the Knowledge Economy?</citetitle> (New York: The New "
4575 "Press, 2003), 10–13, 209. The Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual "
4576 "Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement obligates member nations to create "
4577 "administrative and enforcement mechanisms for intellectual property rights, "
4578 "a costly proposition for developing countries. Additionally, patent rights "
4579 "may lead to higher prices for staple industries such as agriculture. Critics "
4580 "of TRIPS question the disparity between burdens imposed upon developing "
4581 "countries and benefits conferred to industrialized nations. TRIPS does "
4582 "permit governments to use patents for public, noncommercial uses without "
4583 "first obtaining the patent holder's permission. Developing nations may be "
4584 "able to use this to gain the benefits of foreign patents at lower "
4585 "prices. This is a promising strategy for developing nations within the TRIPS "
4586 "framework. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder "
4587 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
4590 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4591 #: freeculture.xml:3417
4593 "If a country is to be treated as a sovereign, however, then its laws are its "
4594 "laws regardless of their source. The international law under which these "
4595 "nations live gives them some opportunities to escape the burden of "
4596 "intellectual property law.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> In my "
4597 "view, more developing nations should take advantage of that opportunity, but "
4598 "when they don't, then their laws should be respected. And under the laws of "
4599 "these nations, this piracy is wrong."
4602 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
4603 #: freeculture.xml:3458 freeculture.xml:3725 freeculture.xml:14490
4604 msgid "Liebowitz, Stan"
4607 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
4608 #: freeculture.xml:3451
4610 "For an analysis of the economic impact of copying technology, see Stan "
4611 "Liebowitz, <citetitle>Rethinking the Network Economy</citetitle> (New York: "
4612 "Amacom, 2002), 144–90. <quote>In some instances … the impact of "
4613 "piracy on the copyright holder's ability to appropriate the value of the "
4614 "work will be negligible. One obvious instance is the case where the "
4615 "individual engaging in pirating would not have purchased an original even if "
4616 "pirating were not an option.</quote> Ibid., 149. <placeholder "
4617 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
4620 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4621 #: freeculture.xml:3445
4623 "Alternatively, we could try to excuse this piracy by noting that in any "
4624 "case, it does no harm to the industry. The Chinese who get access to "
4625 "American CDs at 50 cents a copy are not people who would have bought those "
4626 "American CDs at $15 a copy. So no one really has any less money than they "
4627 "otherwise would have had.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
4630 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4631 #: freeculture.xml:3462
4633 "This is often true (though I have friends who have purchased many thousands "
4634 "of pirated DVDs who certainly have enough money to pay for the content they "
4635 "have taken), and it does mitigate to some degree the harm caused by such "
4636 "taking. Extremists in this debate love to say, <quote>You wouldn't go into "
4637 "Barnes & Noble and take a book off of the shelf without paying; why "
4638 "should it be any different with on-line music?</quote> The difference is, of "
4639 "course, that when you take a book from Barnes & Noble, it has one less "
4640 "book to sell. By contrast, when you take an MP3 from a computer network, "
4641 "there is not one less CD that can be sold. The physics of piracy of the "
4642 "intangible are different from the physics of piracy of the tangible."
4646 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4647 #: freeculture.xml:3475
4649 "This argument is still very weak. However, although copyright is a property "
4650 "right of a very special sort, it <emphasis>is</emphasis> a property "
4651 "right. Like all property rights, the copyright gives the owner the right to "
4652 "decide the terms under which content is shared. If the copyright owner "
4653 "doesn't want to sell, she doesn't have to. There are exceptions: important "
4654 "statutory licenses that apply to copyrighted content regardless of the wish "
4655 "of the copyright owner. Those licenses give people the right to "
4656 "<quote>take</quote> copyrighted content whether or not the copyright owner "
4657 "wants to sell. But where the law does not give people the right to take "
4658 "content, it is wrong to take that content even if the wrong does no harm. If "
4659 "we have a property system, and that system is properly balanced to the "
4660 "technology of a time, then it is wrong to take property without the "
4661 "permission of a property owner. That is exactly what <quote>property</quote> "
4665 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><indexterm><primary>
4666 #: freeculture.xml:3504 freeculture.xml:3532 freeculture.xml:11235 freeculture.xml:12719 freeculture.xml:13271
4667 msgid "GNU/Linux operating system"
4670 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><indexterm><primary>
4671 #: freeculture.xml:3505 freeculture.xml:3535 freeculture.xml:11237 freeculture.xml:12720 freeculture.xml:13272
4672 msgid "Linux operating system"
4675 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
4676 #: freeculture.xml:3507
4680 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><secondary>
4681 #: freeculture.xml:3508
4682 msgid "Windows operating system of"
4685 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
4686 #: freeculture.xml:3510
4690 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4691 #: freeculture.xml:3493
4693 "Finally, we could try to excuse this piracy with the argument that the "
4694 "piracy actually helps the copyright owner. When the Chinese "
4695 "<quote>steal</quote> Windows, that makes the Chinese dependent on "
4696 "Microsoft. Microsoft loses the value of the software that was taken. But it "
4697 "gains users who are used to life in the Microsoft world. Over time, as the "
4698 "nation grows more wealthy, more and more people will buy software rather "
4699 "than steal it. And hence over time, because that buying will benefit "
4700 "Microsoft, Microsoft benefits from the piracy. If instead of pirating "
4701 "Microsoft Windows, the Chinese used the free GNU/Linux operating system, "
4702 "then these Chinese users would not eventually be buying Microsoft. Without "
4703 "piracy, then, Microsoft would lose. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
4704 "id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/> <placeholder "
4705 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"2\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"3\"/>"
4708 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4709 #: freeculture.xml:3513
4711 "This argument, too, is somewhat true. The addiction strategy is a good "
4712 "one. Many businesses practice it. Some thrive because of it. Law students, "
4713 "for example, are given free access to the two largest legal databases. The "
4714 "companies marketing both hope the students will become so used to their "
4715 "service that they will want to use it and not the other when they become "
4716 "lawyers (and must pay high subscription fees)."
4719 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
4720 #: freeculture.xml:3533
4721 msgid "Internet Explorer"
4724 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
4725 #: freeculture.xml:3534
4729 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4730 #: freeculture.xml:3521
4732 "Still, the argument is not terribly persuasive. We don't give the alcoholic "
4733 "a defense when he steals his first beer, merely because that will make it "
4734 "more likely that he will buy the next three. Instead, we ordinarily allow "
4735 "businesses to decide for themselves when it is best to give their product "
4736 "away. If Microsoft fears the competition of GNU/Linux, then Microsoft can "
4737 "give its product away, as it did, for example, with Internet Explorer to "
4738 "fight Netscape. A property right means giving the property owner the right "
4739 "to say who gets access to what—at least ordinarily. And if the law "
4740 "properly balances the rights of the copyright owner with the rights of "
4741 "access, then violating the law is still wrong. <placeholder "
4742 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/> "
4743 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"2\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
4748 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4749 #: freeculture.xml:3539
4751 "Thus, while I understand the pull of these justifications for piracy, and I "
4752 "certainly see the motivation, in my view, in the end, these efforts at "
4753 "justifying commercial piracy simply don't cut it. This kind of piracy is "
4754 "rampant and just plain wrong. It doesn't transform the content it steals; it "
4755 "doesn't transform the market it competes in. It merely gives someone access "
4756 "to something that the law says he should not have. Nothing has changed to "
4757 "draw that law into doubt. This form of piracy is flat out wrong."
4760 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4761 #: freeculture.xml:3549
4763 "But as the examples from the four chapters that introduced this part "
4764 "suggest, even if some piracy is plainly wrong, not all <quote>piracy</quote> "
4765 "is. Or at least, not all <quote>piracy</quote> is wrong if that term is "
4766 "understood in the way it is increasingly used today. Many kinds of "
4767 "<quote>piracy</quote> are useful and productive, to produce either new "
4768 "content or new ways of doing business. Neither our tradition nor any "
4769 "tradition has ever banned all <quote>piracy</quote> in that sense of the "
4773 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4774 #: freeculture.xml:3558
4776 "This doesn't mean that there are no questions raised by the latest piracy "
4777 "concern, peer-to-peer file sharing. But it does mean that we need to "
4778 "understand the harm in peer-to-peer sharing a bit more before we condemn it "
4779 "to the gallows with the charge of piracy."
4782 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4783 #: freeculture.xml:3564
4785 "For (1) like the original Hollywood, p2p sharing escapes an overly "
4786 "controlling industry; and (2) like the original recording industry, it "
4787 "simply exploits a new way to distribute content; but (3) unlike cable TV, no "
4788 "one is selling the content that is shared on p2p services."
4791 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4792 #: freeculture.xml:3570
4794 "These differences distinguish p2p sharing from true piracy. They should push "
4795 "us to find a way to protect artists while enabling this sharing to survive."
4798 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><title>
4799 #: freeculture.xml:3576
4804 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
4805 #: freeculture.xml:3581
4807 "<citetitle>Bach</citetitle> v. <citetitle>Longman</citetitle>, 98 "
4808 "Eng. Rep. 1274 (1777)."
4812 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4813 #: freeculture.xml:3578
4815 "The key to the <quote>piracy</quote> that the law aims to quash is a use "
4816 "that <quote>rob[s] the author of [his] profit.</quote><placeholder "
4817 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> This means we must determine whether and how "
4818 "much p2p sharing harms before we know how strongly the law should seek to "
4819 "either prevent it or find an alternative to assure the author of his profit."
4822 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
4823 #: freeculture.xml:3604 freeculture.xml:8157
4824 msgid "Christensen, Clayton M."
4827 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
4828 #: freeculture.xml:3595
4830 "See Clayton M. Christensen, <citetitle>The Innovator's Dilemma: The "
4831 "Revolutionary National Bestseller That Changed the Way We Do "
4832 "Business</citetitle> (New York: HarperBusiness, 2000). Professor Christensen "
4833 "examines why companies that give rise to and dominate a product area are "
4834 "frequently unable to come up with the most creative, paradigm-shifting uses "
4835 "for their own products. This job usually falls to outside innovators, who "
4836 "reassemble existing technology in inventive ways. For a discussion of "
4837 "Christensen's ideas, see Lawrence Lessig, <citetitle>Future</citetitle>, "
4838 "89–92, 139. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
4841 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
4842 #: freeculture.xml:3607
4843 msgid "Fanning, Shawn"
4846 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4847 #: freeculture.xml:3590
4849 "Peer-to-peer sharing was made famous by Napster. But the inventors of the "
4850 "Napster technology had not made any major technological innovations. Like "
4851 "every great advance in innovation on the Internet (and, arguably, off the "
4852 "Internet as well<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>), Shawn Fanning "
4853 "and crew had simply put together components that had been developed "
4854 "independently. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
4858 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
4859 #: freeculture.xml:3615
4861 "See Carolyn Lochhead, <quote>Silicon Valley Dream, Hollywood "
4862 "Nightmare,</quote> <citetitle>San Francisco Chronicle</citetitle>, 24 "
4863 "September 2002, A1; <quote>Rock 'n' Roll Suicide,</quote> <citetitle>New "
4864 "Scientist</citetitle>, 6 July 2002, 42; Benny Evangelista, <quote>Napster "
4865 "Names CEO, Secures New Financing,</quote> <citetitle>San Francisco "
4866 "Chronicle</citetitle>, 23 May 2003, C1; <quote>Napster's Wake-Up "
4867 "Call,</quote> <citetitle>Economist</citetitle>, 24 June 2000, 23; John "
4868 "Naughton, <quote>Hollywood at War with the Internet</quote> (London) "
4869 "<citetitle>Times</citetitle>, 26 July 2002, 18."
4872 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4873 #: freeculture.xml:3610
4875 "The result was spontaneous combustion. Launched in July 1999, Napster "
4876 "amassed over 10 million users within nine months. After eighteen months, "
4877 "there were close to 80 million registered users of the system.<placeholder "
4878 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Courts quickly shut Napster down, but other "
4879 "services emerged to take its place. (Kazaa is currently the most popular p2p "
4880 "service. It boasts over 100 million members.) These services' systems are "
4881 "different architecturally, though not very different in function: Each "
4882 "enables users to make content available to any number of other users. With a "
4883 "p2p system, you can share your favorite songs with your best friend— "
4884 "or your 20,000 best friends."
4888 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
4889 #: freeculture.xml:3637
4891 "See Ipsos-Insight, <citetitle>TEMPO: Keeping Pace with Online Music "
4892 "Distribution</citetitle> (September 2002), reporting that 28 percent of "
4893 "Americans aged twelve and older have downloaded music off of the Internet "
4894 "and 30 percent have listened to digital music files stored on their "
4899 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
4900 #: freeculture.xml:3646
4902 "Amy Harmon, <quote>Industry Offers a Carrot in Online Music Fight,</quote> "
4903 "<citetitle>New York Times</citetitle>, 6 June 2003, A1."
4906 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4907 #: freeculture.xml:3631
4909 "According to a number of estimates, a huge proportion of Americans have "
4910 "tasted file-sharing technology. A study by Ipsos-Insight in September 2002 "
4911 "estimated that 60 million Americans had downloaded music—28 percent of "
4912 "Americans older than 12.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> A survey "
4913 "by the NPD group quoted in <citetitle>The New York Times</citetitle> "
4914 "estimated that 43 million citizens used file-sharing networks to exchange "
4915 "content in May 2003.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/> The vast "
4916 "majority of these are not kids. Whatever the actual figure, a massive "
4917 "quantity of content is being <quote>taken</quote> on these networks. The "
4918 "ease and inexpensiveness of file-sharing networks have inspired millions to "
4919 "enjoy music in a way that they hadn't before."
4922 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4923 #: freeculture.xml:3655
4925 "Some of this enjoying involves copyright infringement. Some of it does "
4926 "not. And even among the part that is technically copyright infringement, "
4927 "calculating the actual harm to copyright owners is more complicated than one "
4928 "might think. So consider—a bit more carefully than the polarized "
4929 "voices around this debate usually do—the kinds of sharing that file "
4930 "sharing enables, and the kinds of harm it entails."
4934 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4935 #: freeculture.xml:3665
4937 "File sharers share different kinds of content. We can divide these different "
4938 "kinds into four types."
4941 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
4942 #: freeculture.xml:3671
4944 "There are some who use sharing networks as substitutes for purchasing "
4945 "content. Thus, when a new Madonna CD is released, rather than buying the CD, "
4946 "these users simply take it. We might quibble about whether everyone who "
4947 "takes it would actually have bought it if sharing didn't make it available "
4948 "for free. Most probably wouldn't have, but clearly there are some who "
4949 "would. The latter are the target of category A: users who download instead "
4950 "of purchasing. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
4954 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
4955 #: freeculture.xml:3682
4957 "There are some who use sharing networks to sample music before purchasing "
4958 "it. Thus, a friend sends another friend an MP3 of an artist he's not heard "
4959 "of. The other friend then buys CDs by that artist. This is a kind of "
4960 "targeted advertising, quite likely to succeed. If the friend recommending "
4961 "the album gains nothing from a bad recommendation, then one could expect "
4962 "that the recommendations will actually be quite good. The net effect of this "
4963 "sharing could increase the quantity of music purchased."
4967 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
4968 #: freeculture.xml:3693
4970 "There are many who use sharing networks to get access to copyrighted content "
4971 "that is no longer sold or that they would not have purchased because the "
4972 "transaction costs off the Net are too high. This use of sharing networks is "
4973 "among the most rewarding for many. Songs that were part of your childhood "
4974 "but have long vanished from the marketplace magically appear again on the "
4975 "network. (One friend told me that when she discovered Napster, she spent a "
4976 "solid weekend <quote>recalling</quote> old songs. She was astonished at the "
4977 "range and mix of content that was available.) For content not sold, this is "
4978 "still technically a violation of copyright, though because the copyright "
4979 "owner is not selling the content anymore, the economic harm is "
4980 "zero—the same harm that occurs when I sell my collection of 1960s "
4981 "45-rpm records to a local collector."
4986 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
4987 #: freeculture.xml:3710
4989 "Finally, there are many who use sharing networks to get access to content "
4990 "that is not copyrighted or that the copyright owner wants to give away."
4993 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
4994 #: freeculture.xml:3716
4995 msgid "How do these different types of sharing balance out?"
4998 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
4999 #: freeculture.xml:3724
5001 "See Liebowitz, <citetitle>Rethinking the Network Economy</citetitle>, "
5002 "148–49. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
5005 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5006 #: freeculture.xml:3719
5008 "Let's start with some simple but important points. From the perspective of "
5009 "the law, only type D sharing is clearly legal. From the perspective of "
5010 "economics, only type A sharing is clearly harmful.<placeholder "
5011 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Type B sharing is illegal but plainly "
5012 "beneficial. Type C sharing is illegal, yet good for society (since more "
5013 "exposure to music is good) and harmless to the artist (since the work is "
5014 "not otherwise available). So how sharing matters on balance is a hard "
5015 "question to answer—and certainly much more difficult than the current "
5016 "rhetoric around the issue suggests."
5019 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5020 #: freeculture.xml:3735
5022 "Whether on balance sharing is harmful depends importantly on how harmful "
5023 "type A sharing is. Just as Edison complained about Hollywood, composers "
5024 "complained about piano rolls, recording artists complained about radio, and "
5025 "broadcasters complained about cable TV, the music industry complains that "
5026 "type A sharing is a kind of <quote>theft</quote> that is "
5027 "<quote>devastating</quote> the industry."
5031 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
5032 #: freeculture.xml:3750
5034 "See Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, <citetitle>Technology Evolution and the "
5035 "Music Industry's Business Model Crisis</citetitle> (2003), 3. This report "
5036 "describes the music industry's effort to stigmatize the budding practice of "
5037 "cassette taping in the 1970s, including an advertising campaign featuring a "
5038 "cassette-shape skull and the caption <quote>Home taping is killing "
5039 "music.</quote> At the time digital audio tape became a threat, the Office of "
5040 "Technical Assessment conducted a survey of consumer behavior. In 1988, 40 "
5041 "percent of consumers older than ten had taped music to a cassette "
5042 "format. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, "
5043 "<citetitle>Copyright and Home Copying: Technology Challenges the "
5044 "Law</citetitle>, OTA-CIT-422 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing "
5045 "Office, October 1989), 145–56."
5048 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5049 #: freeculture.xml:3743
5051 "While the numbers do suggest that sharing is harmful, how harmful is harder "
5052 "to reckon. It has long been the recording industry's practice to blame "
5053 "technology for any drop in sales. The history of cassette recording is a "
5054 "good example. As a study by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young put it, "
5055 "<quote>Rather than exploiting this new, popular technology, the labels "
5056 "fought it.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> The labels "
5057 "claimed that every album taped was an album unsold, and when record sales "
5058 "fell by 11.4 percent in 1981, the industry claimed that its point was "
5059 "proved. Technology was the problem, and banning or regulating technology was "
5064 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
5065 #: freeculture.xml:3776
5066 msgid "U.S. Congress, <citetitle>Copyright and Home Copying</citetitle>, 4."
5069 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5070 #: freeculture.xml:3768
5072 "Yet soon thereafter, and before Congress was given an opportunity to enact "
5073 "regulation, MTV was launched, and the industry had a record "
5074 "turnaround. <quote>In the end,</quote> Cap Gemini concludes, <quote>the "
5075 "`crisis' … was not the fault of the tapers—who did not [stop "
5076 "after MTV came into being]—but had to a large extent resulted from "
5077 "stagnation in musical innovation at the major labels.</quote><placeholder "
5078 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
5081 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5082 #: freeculture.xml:3780
5084 "But just because the industry was wrong before does not mean it is wrong "
5085 "today. To evaluate the real threat that p2p sharing presents to the industry "
5086 "in particular, and society in general—or at least the society that "
5087 "inherits the tradition that gave us the film industry, the record industry, "
5088 "the radio industry, cable TV, and the VCR—the question is not simply "
5089 "whether type A sharing is harmful. The question is also "
5090 "<emphasis>how</emphasis> harmful type A sharing is, and how beneficial the "
5091 "other types of sharing are."
5094 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5095 #: freeculture.xml:3790
5097 "We start to answer this question by focusing on the net harm, from the "
5098 "standpoint of the industry as a whole, that sharing networks cause. The "
5099 "<quote>net harm</quote> to the industry as a whole is the amount by which "
5100 "type A sharing exceeds type B. If the record companies sold more records "
5101 "through sampling than they lost through substitution, then sharing networks "
5102 "would actually benefit music companies on balance. They would therefore have "
5103 "little <emphasis>static</emphasis> reason to resist them."
5106 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5107 #: freeculture.xml:3801
5109 "Could that be true? Could the industry as a whole be gaining because of file "
5110 "sharing? Odd as that might sound, the data about CD sales actually suggest "
5111 "it might be close."
5115 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
5116 #: freeculture.xml:3810
5118 "See Recording Industry Association of America, <citetitle>2002 Yearend "
5119 "Statistics</citetitle>, available at <ulink "
5120 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #15</ulink>. A later report "
5121 "indicates even greater losses. See Recording Industry Association of "
5122 "America, <citetitle>Some Facts About Music Piracy</citetitle>, 25 June 2003, "
5123 "available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #16</ulink>: "
5124 "<quote>In the past four years, unit shipments of recorded music have fallen "
5125 "by 26 percent from 1.16 billion units in to 860 million units in 2002 in the "
5126 "United States (based on units shipped). In terms of sales, revenues are "
5127 "down 14 percent, from $14.6 billion in to $12.6 billion last year (based on "
5128 "U.S. dollar value of shipments). The music industry worldwide has gone from "
5129 "a $39 billion industry in 2000 down to a $32 billion industry in 2002 (based "
5130 "on U.S. dollar value of shipments).</quote>"
5133 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
5134 #: freeculture.xml:3837
5138 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
5139 #: freeculture.xml:3834
5141 "Jane Black, <quote>Big Music's Broken Record,</quote> BusinessWeek online, "
5142 "13 February 2003, available at <ulink "
5143 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #17</ulink>. <placeholder "
5144 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
5147 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5148 #: freeculture.xml:3806
5150 "In 2002, the RIAA reported that CD sales had fallen by 8.9 percent, from 882 "
5151 "million to 803 million units; revenues fell 6.7 percent.<placeholder "
5152 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> This confirms a trend over the past few "
5153 "years. The RIAA blames Internet piracy for the trend, though there are many "
5154 "other causes that could account for this drop. SoundScan, for example, "
5155 "reports a more than 20 percent drop in the number of CDs released since "
5156 "1999. That no doubt accounts for some of the decrease in sales. Rising "
5157 "prices could account for at least some of the loss. <quote>From 1999 to "
5158 "2001, the average price of a CD rose 7.2 percent, from $13.04 to "
5159 "$14.19.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/> Competition from "
5160 "other forms of media could also account for some of the decline. As Jane "
5161 "Black of <citetitle>BusinessWeek</citetitle> notes, <quote>The soundtrack to "
5162 "the film <citetitle>High Fidelity</citetitle> has a list price of "
5163 "$18.98. You could get the whole movie [on DVD] for "
5164 "$19.99.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"2\"/>"
5168 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5169 #: freeculture.xml:3852
5171 "But let's assume the RIAA is right, and all of the decline in CD sales is "
5172 "because of Internet sharing. Here's the rub: In the same period that the "
5173 "RIAA estimates that 803 million CDs were sold, the RIAA estimates that 2.1 "
5174 "billion CDs were downloaded for free. Thus, although 2.6 times the total "
5175 "number of CDs sold were downloaded for free, sales revenue fell by just 6.7 "
5179 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5180 #: freeculture.xml:3860
5182 "There are too many different things happening at the same time to explain "
5183 "these numbers definitively, but one conclusion is unavoidable: The recording "
5184 "industry constantly asks, <quote>What's the difference between downloading a "
5185 "song and stealing a CD?</quote>—but their own numbers reveal the "
5186 "difference. If I steal a CD, then there is one less CD to sell. Every taking "
5187 "is a lost sale. But on the basis of the numbers the RIAA provides, it is "
5188 "absolutely clear that the same is not true of downloads. If every download "
5189 "were a lost sale—if every use of Kazaa <quote>rob[bed] the author of "
5190 "[his] profit</quote>—then the industry would have suffered a 100 "
5191 "percent drop in sales last year, not a 7 percent drop. If 2.6 times the "
5192 "number of CDs sold were downloaded for free, and yet sales revenue dropped "
5193 "by just 6.7 percent, then there is a huge difference between "
5194 "<quote>downloading a song and stealing a CD.</quote>"
5197 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5198 #: freeculture.xml:3875
5200 "These are the harms—alleged and perhaps exaggerated but, let's assume, "
5201 "real. What of the benefits? File sharing may impose costs on the recording "
5202 "industry. What value does it produce in addition to these costs?"
5206 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
5207 #: freeculture.xml:3887
5209 "By one estimate, 75 percent of the music released by the major labels is no "
5210 "longer in print. See Online Entertainment and Copyright Law—Coming "
5211 "Soon to a Digital Device Near You: Hearing Before the Senate Committee on "
5212 "the Judiciary, 107th Cong., 1st sess. (3 April 2001) (prepared statement of "
5213 "the Future of Music Coalition), available at <ulink "
5214 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #18</ulink>."
5217 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5218 #: freeculture.xml:3881
5220 "One benefit is type C sharing—making available content that is "
5221 "technically still under copyright but is no longer commercially available. "
5222 "This is not a small category of content. There are millions of tracks that "
5223 "are no longer commercially available.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
5224 "id=\"0\"/> And while it's conceivable that some of this content is not "
5225 "available because the artist producing the content doesn't want it to be "
5226 "made available, the vast majority of it is unavailable solely because the "
5227 "publisher or the distributor has decided it no longer makes economic sense "
5228 "<emphasis>to the company</emphasis> to make it available."
5232 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
5233 #: freeculture.xml:3907
5235 "While there are not good estimates of the number of used record stores in "
5236 "existence, in 2002, there were 7,198 used book dealers in the United States, "
5237 "an increase of 20 percent since 1993. See Book Hunter Press, <citetitle>The "
5238 "Quiet Revolution: The Expansion of the Used Book Market</citetitle> (2002), "
5239 "available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link "
5240 "#19</ulink>. Used records accounted for $260 million in sales in 2002. See "
5241 "National Association of Recording Merchandisers, <quote>2002 Annual Survey "
5242 "Results,</quote> available at <ulink "
5243 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #20</ulink>."
5246 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5247 #: freeculture.xml:3901
5249 "In real space—long before the Internet—the market had a simple "
5250 "response to this problem: used book and record stores. There are thousands "
5251 "of used book and used record stores in America today.<placeholder "
5252 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> These stores buy content from owners, then sell "
5253 "the content they buy. And under American copyright law, when they buy and "
5254 "sell this content, <emphasis>even if the content is still under "
5255 "copyright</emphasis>, the copyright owner doesn't get a dime. Used book and "
5256 "record stores are commercial entities; their owners make money from the "
5257 "content they sell; but as with cable companies before statutory licensing, "
5258 "they don't have to pay the copyright owner for the content they sell."
5261 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
5262 #: freeculture.xml:3927
5263 msgid "Bernstein, Leonard"
5266 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5267 #: freeculture.xml:3929
5269 "Type C sharing, then, is very much like used book stores or used record "
5270 "stores. It is different, of course, because the person making the content "
5271 "available isn't making money from making the content available. It is also "
5272 "different, of course, because in real space, when I sell a record, I don't "
5273 "have it anymore, while in cyberspace, when someone shares my 1949 recording "
5274 "of Bernstein's <quote>Two Love Songs,</quote> I still have it. That "
5275 "difference would matter economically if the owner of the copyright were "
5276 "selling the record in competition to my sharing. But we're talking about the "
5277 "class of content that is not currently commercially available. The Internet "
5278 "is making it available, through cooperative sharing, without competing with "
5282 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5283 #: freeculture.xml:3942
5285 "It may well be, all things considered, that it would be better if the "
5286 "copyright owner got something from this trade. But just because it may well "
5287 "be better, it doesn't follow that it would be good to ban used book "
5288 "stores. Or put differently, if you think that type C sharing should be "
5289 "stopped, do you think that libraries and used book stores should be shut as "
5294 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5295 #: freeculture.xml:3950
5297 "Finally, and perhaps most importantly, file-sharing networks enable type D "
5298 "sharing to occur—the sharing of content that copyright owners want to "
5299 "have shared or for which there is no continuing copyright. This sharing "
5300 "clearly benefits authors and society. Science fiction author Cory Doctorow, "
5301 "for example, released his first novel, <citetitle>Down and Out in the Magic "
5302 "Kingdom</citetitle>, both free on-line and in bookstores on the same "
5303 "day. His (and his publisher's) thinking was that the on-line distribution "
5304 "would be a great advertisement for the <quote>real</quote> book. People "
5305 "would read part on-line, and then decide whether they liked the book or "
5306 "not. If they liked it, they would be more likely to buy it. Doctorow's "
5307 "content is type D content. If sharing networks enable his work to be spread, "
5308 "then both he and society are better off. (Actually, much better off: It is a "
5312 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5313 #: freeculture.xml:3967
5315 "Likewise for work in the public domain: This sharing benefits society with "
5316 "no legal harm to authors at all. If efforts to solve the problem of type A "
5317 "sharing destroy the opportunity for type D sharing, then we lose something "
5318 "important in order to protect type A content."
5321 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5322 #: freeculture.xml:3973
5324 "The point throughout is this: While the recording industry understandably "
5325 "says, <quote>This is how much we've lost,</quote> we must also ask, "
5326 "<quote>How much has society gained from p2p sharing? What are the "
5327 "efficiencies? What is the content that otherwise would be "
5328 "unavailable?</quote>"
5331 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5332 #: freeculture.xml:3980
5334 "For unlike the piracy I described in the first section of this chapter, much "
5335 "of the <quote>piracy</quote> that file sharing enables is plainly legal and "
5336 "good. And like the piracy I described in chapter <xref xrefstyle=\"select: "
5337 "labelnumber\" linkend=\"pirates\"/>, much of this piracy is motivated by a "
5338 "new way of spreading content caused by changes in the technology of "
5339 "distribution. Thus, consistent with the tradition that gave us Hollywood, "
5340 "radio, the recording industry, and cable TV, the question we should be "
5341 "asking about file sharing is how best to preserve its benefits while "
5342 "minimizing (to the extent possible) the wrongful harm it causes artists. The "
5343 "question is one of balance. The law should seek that balance, and that "
5344 "balance will be found only with time."
5347 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5348 #: freeculture.xml:3994
5350 "<quote>But isn't the war just a war against illegal sharing? Isn't the "
5351 "target just what you call type A sharing?</quote>"
5355 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
5356 #: freeculture.xml:4011
5358 "See Transcript of Proceedings, In Re: Napster Copyright Litigation at 34- 35 "
5359 "(N.D. Cal., 11 July 2001), nos. MDL-00-1369 MHP, C 99-5183 MHP, available at "
5360 "<ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #21</ulink>. For an "
5361 "account of the litigation and its toll on Napster, see Joseph Menn, "
5362 "<citetitle>All the Rave: The Rise and Fall of Shawn Fanning's "
5363 "Napster</citetitle> (New York: Crown Business, 2003), 269–82."
5366 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5367 #: freeculture.xml:3998
5369 "You would think. And we should hope. But so far, it is not. The effect of "
5370 "the war purportedly on type A sharing alone has been felt far beyond that "
5371 "one class of sharing. That much is obvious from the Napster case "
5372 "itself. When Napster told the district court that it had developed a "
5373 "technology to block the transfer of 99.4 percent of identified infringing "
5374 "material, the district court told counsel for Napster 99.4 percent was not "
5375 "good enough. Napster had to push the infringements <quote>down to "
5376 "zero.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
5379 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5380 #: freeculture.xml:4022
5382 "If 99.4 percent is not good enough, then this is a war on file-sharing "
5383 "technologies, not a war on copyright infringement. There is no way to assure "
5384 "that a p2p system is used 100 percent of the time in compliance with the "
5385 "law, any more than there is a way to assure that 100 percent of VCRs or 100 "
5386 "percent of Xerox machines or 100 percent of handguns are used in compliance "
5387 "with the law. Zero tolerance means zero p2p. The court's ruling means that "
5388 "we as a society must lose the benefits of p2p, even for the totally legal "
5389 "and beneficial uses they serve, simply to assure that there are zero "
5390 "copyright infringements caused by p2p."
5393 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5394 #: freeculture.xml:4033
5396 "Zero tolerance has not been our history. It has not produced the content "
5397 "industry that we know today. The history of American law has been a process "
5398 "of balance. As new technologies changed the way content was distributed, the "
5399 "law adjusted, after some time, to the new technology. In this adjustment, "
5400 "the law sought to ensure the legitimate rights of creators while protecting "
5401 "innovation. Sometimes this has meant more rights for creators. Sometimes "
5405 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5406 #: freeculture.xml:4042
5408 "So, as we've seen, when <quote>mechanical reproduction</quote> threatened "
5409 "the interests of composers, Congress balanced the rights of composers "
5410 "against the interests of the recording industry. It granted rights to "
5411 "composers, but also to the recording artists: Composers were to be paid, but "
5412 "at a price set by Congress. But when radio started broadcasting the "
5413 "recordings made by these recording artists, and they complained to Congress "
5414 "that their <quote>creative property</quote> was not being respected (since "
5415 "the radio station did not have to pay them for the creativity it broadcast), "
5416 "Congress rejected their claim. An indirect benefit was enough."
5419 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5420 #: freeculture.xml:4054
5422 "Cable TV followed the pattern of record albums. When the courts rejected the "
5423 "claim that cable broadcasters had to pay for the content they rebroadcast, "
5424 "Congress responded by giving broadcasters a right to compensation, but at a "
5425 "level set by the law. It likewise gave cable companies the right to the "
5426 "content, so long as they paid the statutory price."
5430 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5431 #: freeculture.xml:4064
5433 "This compromise, like the compromise affecting records and player pianos, "
5434 "served two important goals—indeed, the two central goals of any "
5435 "copyright legislation. First, the law assured that new innovators would have "
5436 "the freedom to develop new ways to deliver content. Second, the law assured "
5437 "that copyright holders would be paid for the content that was "
5438 "distributed. One fear was that if Congress simply required cable TV to pay "
5439 "copyright holders whatever they demanded for their content, then copyright "
5440 "holders associated with broadcasters would use their power to stifle this "
5441 "new technology, cable. But if Congress had permitted cable to use "
5442 "broadcasters' content for free, then it would have unfairly subsidized "
5443 "cable. Thus Congress chose a path that would assure "
5444 "<emphasis>compensation</emphasis> without giving the past (broadcasters) "
5445 "control over the future (cable)."
5448 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
5449 #: freeculture.xml:4079
5453 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5454 #: freeculture.xml:4081
5456 "In the same year that Congress struck this balance, two major producers and "
5457 "distributors of film content filed a lawsuit against another technology, the "
5458 "video tape recorder (VTR, or as we refer to them today, VCRs) that Sony had "
5459 "produced, the Betamax. Disney's and Universal's claim against Sony was "
5460 "relatively simple: Sony produced a device, Disney and Universal claimed, "
5461 "that enabled consumers to engage in copyright infringement. Because the "
5462 "device that Sony built had a <quote>record</quote> button, the device could "
5463 "be used to record copyrighted movies and shows. Sony was therefore "
5464 "benefiting from the copyright infringement of its customers. It should "
5465 "therefore, Disney and Universal claimed, be partially liable for that "
5470 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5471 #: freeculture.xml:4094
5473 "There was something to Disney's and Universal's claim. Sony did decide to "
5474 "design its machine to make it very simple to record television shows. It "
5475 "could have built the machine to block or inhibit any direct copying from a "
5476 "television broadcast. Or possibly, it could have built the machine to copy "
5477 "only if there were a special <quote>copy me</quote> signal on the line. It "
5478 "was clear that there were many television shows that did not grant anyone "
5479 "permission to copy. Indeed, if anyone had asked, no doubt the majority of "
5480 "shows would not have authorized copying. And in the face of this obvious "
5481 "preference, Sony could have designed its system to minimize the opportunity "
5482 "for copyright infringement. It did not, and for that, Disney and Universal "
5483 "wanted to hold it responsible for the architecture it chose."
5487 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
5488 #: freeculture.xml:4116
5490 "Copyright Infringements (Audio and Video Recorders): Hearing on S. 1758 "
5491 "Before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 97th Cong., 1st and 2nd sess., "
5492 "459 (1982) (testimony of Jack Valenti, president, Motion Picture Association "
5493 "of America, Inc.)."
5497 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
5498 #: freeculture.xml:4128
5499 msgid "Copyright Infringements (Audio and Video Recorders), 475."
5503 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
5504 #: freeculture.xml:4133
5506 "<citetitle>Universal City Studios, Inc</citetitle>. v. <citetitle>Sony "
5507 "Corp. of America</citetitle>, 480 F. Supp. 429, (C.D. Cal., 1979)."
5511 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
5512 #: freeculture.xml:4144
5514 "Copyright Infringements (Audio and Video Recorders), 485 (testimony of Jack "
5518 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5519 #: freeculture.xml:4109
5521 "MPAA president Jack Valenti became the studios' most vocal champion. Valenti "
5522 "called VCRs <quote>tapeworms.</quote> He warned, <quote>When there are 20, "
5523 "30, 40 million of these VCRs in the land, we will be invaded by millions of "
5524 "`tapeworms,' eating away at the very heart and essence of the most precious "
5525 "asset the copyright owner has, his copyright.</quote><placeholder "
5526 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> <quote>One does not have to be trained in "
5527 "sophisticated marketing and creative judgment,</quote> he told Congress, "
5528 "<quote>to understand the devastation on the after-theater marketplace caused "
5529 "by the hundreds of millions of tapings that will adversely impact on the "
5530 "future of the creative community in this country. It is simply a question of "
5531 "basic economics and plain common sense.</quote><placeholder "
5532 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/> Indeed, as surveys would later show, percent of "
5533 "VCR owners had movie libraries of ten videos or more<placeholder "
5534 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"2\"/> — a use the Court would later hold was "
5535 "not <quote>fair.</quote> By <quote>allowing VCR owners to copy freely by the "
5536 "means of an exemption from copyright infringementwithout creating a "
5537 "mechanism to compensate copyrightowners,</quote> Valenti testified, Congress "
5538 "would <quote>take from the owners the very essence of their property: the "
5539 "exclusive right to control who may use their work, that is, who may copy it "
5540 "and thereby profit from its reproduction.</quote><placeholder "
5541 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"3\"/>"
5545 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
5546 #: freeculture.xml:4161
5548 "<citetitle>Universal City Studios, Inc</citetitle>. v. <citetitle>Sony "
5549 "Corp. of America</citetitle>, 659 F. 2d 963 (9th Cir. 1981)."
5552 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
5553 #: freeculture.xml:4164
5554 msgid "Kozinski, Alex"
5557 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5558 #: freeculture.xml:4149
5560 "It took eight years for this case to be resolved by the Supreme Court. In "
5561 "the interim, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Hollywood in "
5562 "its jurisdiction—leading Judge Alex Kozinski, who sits on that court, "
5563 "refers to it as the <quote>Hollywood Circuit</quote>—held that Sony "
5564 "would be liable for the copyright infringement made possible by its "
5565 "machines. Under the Ninth Circuit's rule, this totally familiar "
5566 "technology—which Jack Valenti had called <quote>the Boston Strangler "
5567 "of the American film industry</quote> (worse yet, it was a "
5568 "<emphasis>Japanese</emphasis> Boston Strangler of the American film "
5569 "industry)—was an illegal technology.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
5570 "id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
5574 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5575 #: freeculture.xml:4167
5577 "But the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Ninth Circuit. And in "
5578 "its reversal, the Court clearly articulated its understanding of when and "
5579 "whether courts should intervene in such disputes. As the Court wrote,"
5583 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
5584 #: freeculture.xml:4186
5586 "<citetitle>Sony Corp. of America</citetitle> v. <citetitle>Universal City "
5587 "Studios, Inc</citetitle>., 464 U.S. 417, 431 (1984)."
5590 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
5591 #: freeculture.xml:4176
5593 "Sound policy, as well as history, supports our consistent deference to "
5594 "Congress when major technological innovations alter the market for "
5595 "copyrighted materials. Congress has the constitutional authority and the "
5596 "institutional ability to accommodate fully the varied permutations of "
5597 "competing interests that are inevitably implicated by such new "
5598 "technology.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
5601 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5602 #: freeculture.xml:4191
5604 "Congress was asked to respond to the Supreme Court's decision. But as with "
5605 "the plea of recording artists about radio broadcasts, Congress ignored the "
5606 "request. Congress was convinced that American film got enough, this "
5607 "<quote>taking</quote> notwithstanding. If we put these cases together, a "
5611 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
5612 #: freeculture.xml:4202
5616 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
5617 #: freeculture.xml:4203
5618 msgid "WHOSE VALUE WAS <quote>PIRATED</quote>"
5621 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
5622 #: freeculture.xml:4204
5623 msgid "RESPONSE OF THE COURTS"
5626 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
5627 #: freeculture.xml:4205
5628 msgid "RESPONSE OF CONGRESS"
5631 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
5632 #: freeculture.xml:4210
5636 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
5637 #: freeculture.xml:4211
5641 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
5642 #: freeculture.xml:4212 freeculture.xml:4224 freeculture.xml:4230
5643 msgid "No protection"
5646 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
5647 #: freeculture.xml:4213 freeculture.xml:4225
5648 msgid "Statutory license"
5651 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
5652 #: freeculture.xml:4217
5653 msgid "Recording artists"
5656 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
5657 #: freeculture.xml:4218
5661 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
5662 #: freeculture.xml:4219 freeculture.xml:4231
5666 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
5667 #: freeculture.xml:4223
5668 msgid "Broadcasters"
5671 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
5672 #: freeculture.xml:4228
5676 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
5677 #: freeculture.xml:4229
5678 msgid "Film creators"
5681 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
5682 #: freeculture.xml:4241
5684 "These are the most important instances in our history, but there are other "
5685 "cases as well. The technology of digital audio tape (DAT), for example, was "
5686 "regulated by Congress to minimize the risk of piracy. The remedy Congress "
5687 "imposed did burden DAT producers, by taxing tape sales and controlling the "
5688 "technology of DAT. See Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 (Title 17 of the "
5689 "<citetitle>United States Code</citetitle>), Pub. L. No. 102-563, 106 Stat. "
5690 "4237, codified at 17 U.S.C. §1001. Again, however, this regulation did not "
5691 "eliminate the opportunity for free riding in the sense I've described. See "
5692 "Lessig, <citetitle>Future</citetitle>, 71. See also Picker, <quote>From "
5693 "Edison to the Broadcast Flag,</quote> <citetitle>University of Chicago Law "
5694 "Review</citetitle> 70 (2003): 293–96. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
5698 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5699 #: freeculture.xml:4238
5701 "In each case throughout our history, a new technology changed the way "
5702 "content was distributed.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> In each "
5703 "case, throughout our history, that change meant that someone got a "
5704 "<quote>free ride</quote> on someone else's work."
5708 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5709 #: freeculture.xml:4258
5711 "In <emphasis>none</emphasis> of these cases did either the courts or "
5712 "Congress eliminate all free riding. In <emphasis>none</emphasis> of these "
5713 "cases did the courts or Congress insist that the law should assure that the "
5714 "copyright holder get all the value that his copyright created. In every "
5715 "case, the copyright owners complained of <quote>piracy.</quote> In every "
5716 "case, Congress acted to recognize some of the legitimacy in the behavior of "
5717 "the <quote>pirates.</quote> In each case, Congress allowed some new "
5718 "technology to benefit from content made before. It balanced the interests at "
5722 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5723 #: freeculture.xml:4270
5725 "When you think across these examples, and the other examples that make up "
5726 "the first four chapters of this section, this balance makes sense. Was Walt "
5727 "Disney a pirate? Would doujinshi be better if creators had to ask "
5728 "permission? Should tools that enable others to capture and spread images as "
5729 "a way to cultivate or criticize our culture be better regulated? Is it "
5730 "really right that building a search engine should expose you to $15 million "
5731 "in damages? Would it have been better if Edison had controlled film? Should "
5732 "every cover band have to hire a lawyer to get permission to record a song?"
5736 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
5737 #: freeculture.xml:4287
5739 "<citetitle>Sony Corp. of America</citetitle> v. <citetitle>Universal City "
5740 "Studios, Inc</citetitle>., 464 U.S. 417, (1984)."
5743 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5744 #: freeculture.xml:4282
5746 "We could answer yes to each of these questions, but our tradition has "
5747 "answered no. In our tradition, as the Supreme Court has stated, copyright "
5748 "<quote>has never accorded the copyright owner complete control over all "
5749 "possible uses of his work.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> "
5750 "Instead, the particular uses that the law regulates have been defined by "
5751 "balancing the good that comes from granting an exclusive right against the "
5752 "burdens such an exclusive right creates. And this balancing has historically "
5753 "been done <emphasis>after</emphasis> a technology has matured, or settled "
5754 "into the mix of technologies that facilitate the distribution of content."
5757 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5758 #: freeculture.xml:4298
5760 "We should be doing the same thing today. The technology of the Internet is "
5761 "changing quickly. The way people connect to the Internet (wires "
5762 "vs. wireless) is changing very quickly. No doubt the network should not "
5763 "become a tool for <quote>stealing</quote> from artists. But neither should "
5764 "the law become a tool to entrench one particular way in which artists (or "
5765 "more accurately, distributors) get paid. As I describe in some detail in the "
5766 "last chapter of this book, we should be securing income to artists while we "
5767 "allow the market to secure the most efficient way to promote and distribute "
5768 "content. This will require changes in the law, at least in the "
5769 "interim. These changes should be designed to balance the protection of the "
5770 "law against the strong public interest that innovation continue."
5774 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
5775 #: freeculture.xml:4322
5777 "John Schwartz, <quote>New Economy: The Attack on Peer-to-Peer Software "
5778 "Echoes Past Efforts,</quote> <citetitle>New York Times</citetitle>, 22 "
5779 "September 2003, C3."
5782 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5783 #: freeculture.xml:4314
5785 "This is especially true when a new technology enables a vastly superior mode "
5786 "of distribution. And this p2p has done. P2p technologies can be ideally "
5787 "efficient in moving content across a widely diverse network. Left to "
5788 "develop, they could make the network vastly more efficient. Yet these "
5789 "<quote>potential public benefits,</quote> as John Schwartz writes in "
5790 "<citetitle>The New York Times</citetitle>, <quote>could be delayed in the "
5791 "P2P fight.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Yet when anyone "
5792 "begins to talk about <quote>balance,</quote> the copyright warriors raise a "
5793 "different argument. <quote>All this hand waving about balance and "
5794 "incentives,</quote> they say, <quote>misses a fundamental point. Our "
5795 "content,</quote> the warriors insist, <quote>is our "
5796 "<emphasis>property</emphasis>. Why should we wait for Congress to "
5797 "`rebalance' our property rights? Do you have to wait before calling the "
5798 "police when your car has been stolen? And why should Congress deliberate at "
5799 "all about the merits of this theft? Do we ask whether the car thief had a "
5800 "good use for the car before we arrest him?</quote>"
5803 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
5804 #: freeculture.xml:4336
5806 "<quote>It is <emphasis>our property</emphasis>,</quote> the warriors "
5807 "insist. <quote>And it should be protected just as any other property is "
5808 "protected.</quote>"
5811 #. type: Content of: <book><part><title>
5812 #: freeculture.xml:4345
5813 msgid "<quote>PROPERTY</quote>"
5817 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
5818 #: freeculture.xml:4350
5820 "The copyright warriors are right: A copyright is a kind of property. It can "
5821 "be owned and sold, and the law protects against its theft. Ordinarily, the "
5822 "copyright owner gets to hold out for any price he wants. Markets reckon the "
5823 "supply and demand that partially determine the price she can get."
5826 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
5827 #: freeculture.xml:4357
5829 "But in ordinary language, to call a copyright a <quote>property</quote> "
5830 "right is a bit misleading, for the property of copyright is an odd kind of "
5831 "property. Indeed, the very idea of property in any idea or any expression "
5832 "is very odd. I understand what I am taking when I take the picnic table you "
5833 "put in your backyard. I am taking a thing, the picnic table, and after I "
5834 "take it, you don't have it. But what am I taking when I take the good "
5835 "<emphasis>idea</emphasis> you had to put a picnic table in the "
5836 "backyard—by, for example, going to Sears, buying a table, and putting "
5837 "it in my backyard? What is the thing I am taking then?"
5841 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para><footnote><para>
5842 #: freeculture.xml:4382
5844 "Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Isaac McPherson (13 August 1813) in "
5845 "<citetitle>The Writings of Thomas Jefferson</citetitle>, vol. 6 (Andrew "
5846 "A. Lipscomb and Albert Ellery Bergh, eds., 1903), 330, 333–34."
5849 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
5850 #: freeculture.xml:4369
5852 "The point is not just about the thingness of picnic tables versus ideas, "
5853 "though that's an important difference. The point instead is that in the "
5854 "ordinary case—indeed, in practically every case except for a narrow "
5855 "range of exceptions—ideas released to the world are free. I don't take "
5856 "anything from you when I copy the way you dress—though I might seem "
5857 "weird if I did it every day, and especially weird if you are a "
5858 "woman. Instead, as Thomas Jefferson said (and as is especially true when I "
5859 "copy the way someone else dresses), <quote>He who receives an idea from me, "
5860 "receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his "
5861 "taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.</quote><placeholder "
5862 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
5865 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
5866 #: freeculture.xml:4388
5868 "The exceptions to free use are ideas and expressions within the reach of the "
5869 "law of patent and copyright, and a few other domains that I won't discuss "
5870 "here. Here the law says you can't take my idea or expression without my "
5871 "permission: The law turns the intangible into property."
5875 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para><footnote><para>
5876 #: freeculture.xml:4401
5878 "As the legal realists taught American law, all property rights are "
5879 "intangible. A property right is simply a right that an individual has "
5880 "against the world to do or not do certain things that may or may not attach "
5881 "to a physical object. The right itself is intangible, even if the object to "
5882 "which it is (metaphorically) attached is tangible. See Adam Mossoff, "
5883 "<quote>What Is Property? Putting the Pieces Back Together,</quote> "
5884 "<citetitle>Arizona Law Review</citetitle> 45 (2003): 373, 429 n. 241."
5887 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
5888 #: freeculture.xml:4396
5890 "But how, and to what extent, and in what form—the details, in other "
5891 "words—matter. To get a good sense of how this practice of turning the "
5892 "intangible into property emerged, we need to place this "
5893 "<quote>property</quote> in its proper context.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
5897 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
5898 #: freeculture.xml:4411
5900 "My strategy in doing this will be the same as my strategy in the preceding "
5901 "part. I offer four stories to help put the idea of <quote>copyright material "
5902 "is property</quote> in context. Where did the idea come from? What are its "
5903 "limits? How does it function in practice? After these stories, the "
5904 "significance of this true statement—<quote>copyright material is "
5905 "property</quote>— will be a bit more clear, and its implications will "
5906 "be revealed as quite different from the implications that the copyright "
5907 "warriors would have us draw."
5910 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><title>
5911 #: freeculture.xml:4424
5912 msgid "CHAPTER SIX: Founders"
5915 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
5916 #: freeculture.xml:4425
5920 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
5921 #: freeculture.xml:4427
5923 "William Shakespeare wrote <citetitle>Romeo and Juliet</citetitle> in "
5924 "1595. The play was first published in 1597. It was the eleventh major play "
5925 "that Shakespeare had written. He would continue to write plays through 1613, "
5926 "and the plays that he wrote have continued to define Anglo-American culture "
5927 "ever since. So deeply have the works of a sixteenth-century writer seeped "
5928 "into our culture that we often don't even recognize their source. I once "
5929 "overheard someone commenting on Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Henry V: "
5930 "<quote>I liked it, but Shakespeare is so full of clichés.</quote>"
5934 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
5935 #: freeculture.xml:4442
5937 "Jacob Tonson is typically remembered for his associations with prominent "
5938 "eighteenth-century literary figures, especially John Dryden, and for his "
5939 "handsome <quote>definitive editions</quote> of classic works. In addition to "
5940 "<citetitle>Romeo and Juliet</citetitle>, he published an astonishing array "
5941 "of works that still remain at the heart of the English canon, including "
5942 "collected works of Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, John Milton, and John "
5943 "Dryden. See Keith Walker, <quote>Jacob Tonson, Bookseller,</quote> "
5944 "<citetitle>American Scholar</citetitle> 61:3 (1992): 424–31."
5948 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
5949 #: freeculture.xml:4453
5951 "Lyman Ray Patterson, <citetitle>Copyright in Historical "
5952 "Perspective</citetitle> (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 1968), "
5957 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
5958 #: freeculture.xml:4438
5960 "In 1774, almost 180 years after <citetitle>Romeo and Juliet</citetitle> was "
5961 "written, the <quote>copy-right</quote> for the work was still thought by "
5962 "many to be the exclusive right of a single London publisher, Jacob "
5963 "Tonson.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Tonson was the most "
5964 "prominent of a small group of publishers called the Conger<placeholder "
5965 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/> who controlled bookselling in England during "
5966 "the eighteenth century. The Conger claimed a perpetual right to control the "
5967 "<quote>copy</quote> of books that they had acquired from authors. That "
5968 "perpetual right meant that no one else could publish copies of a book to "
5969 "which they held the copyright. Prices of the classics were thus kept high; "
5970 "competition to produce better or cheaper editions was eliminated."
5973 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
5974 #: freeculture.xml:4475
5976 "As Siva Vaidhyanathan nicely argues, it is erroneous to call this a "
5977 "<quote>copyright law.</quote> See Vaidhyanathan, <citetitle>Copyrights and "
5978 "Copywrongs</citetitle>, 40. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
5981 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
5982 #: freeculture.xml:4466
5984 "Now, there's something puzzling about the year 1774 to anyone who knows a "
5985 "little about copyright law. The better-known year in the history of "
5986 "copyright is 1710, the year that the British Parliament adopted the first "
5987 "<quote>copyright</quote> act. Known as the Statute of Anne, the act stated "
5988 "that all published works would get a copyright term of fourteen years, "
5989 "renewable once if the author was alive, and that all works already published "
5990 "by 1710 would get a single term of twenty-one additional years.<placeholder "
5991 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Under this law, <citetitle>Romeo and "
5992 "Juliet</citetitle> should have been free in 1731. So why was there any issue "
5993 "about it still being under Tonson's control in 1774?"
5996 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
5997 #: freeculture.xml:4492
5998 msgid "Licensing Act (1662)"
6001 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6002 #: freeculture.xml:4483
6004 "The reason is that the English hadn't yet agreed on what a "
6005 "<quote>copyright</quote> was—indeed, no one had. At the time the "
6006 "English passed the Statute of Anne, there was no other legislation governing "
6007 "copyrights. The last law regulating publishers, the Licensing Act of 1662, "
6008 "had expired in 1695. That law gave publishers a monopoly over publishing, as "
6009 "a way to make it easier for the Crown to control what was published. But "
6010 "after it expired, there was no positive law that said that the publishers, "
6011 "or <quote>Stationers,</quote> had an exclusive right to print books. "
6012 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
6015 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6016 #: freeculture.xml:4495
6018 "There was no <emphasis>positive</emphasis> law, but that didn't mean that "
6019 "there was no law. The Anglo-American legal tradition looks to both the words "
6020 "of legislatures and the words of judges to know the rules that are to govern "
6021 "how people are to behave. We call the words from legislatures "
6022 "<quote>positive law.</quote> We call the words from judges <quote>common "
6023 "law.</quote> The common law sets the background against which legislatures "
6024 "legislate; the legislature, ordinarily, can trump that background only if it "
6025 "passes a law to displace it. And so the real question after the licensing "
6026 "statutes had expired was whether the common law protected a copyright, "
6027 "independent of any positive law."
6031 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6032 #: freeculture.xml:4507
6034 "This question was important to the publishers, or "
6035 "<quote>booksellers,</quote> as they were called, because there was growing "
6036 "competition from foreign publishers. The Scottish, in particular, were "
6037 "increasingly publishing and exporting books to England. That competition "
6038 "reduced the profits of the Conger, which reacted by demanding that "
6039 "Parliament pass a law to again give them exclusive control over "
6040 "publishing. That demand ultimately resulted in the Statute of Anne."
6043 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6044 #: freeculture.xml:4519
6046 "The Statute of Anne granted the author or <quote>proprietor</quote> of a "
6047 "book an exclusive right to print that book. In an important limitation, "
6048 "however, and to the horror of the booksellers, the law gave the bookseller "
6049 "that right for a limited term. At the end of that term, the copyright "
6050 "<quote>expired,</quote> and the work would then be free and could be "
6051 "published by anyone. Or so the legislature is thought to have believed."
6054 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6055 #: freeculture.xml:4528
6057 "Now, the thing to puzzle about for a moment is this: Why would Parliament "
6058 "limit the exclusive right? Not why would they limit it to the particular "
6059 "limit they set, but why would they limit the right <emphasis>at "
6063 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6064 #: freeculture.xml:4534
6066 "For the booksellers, and the authors whom they represented, had a very "
6067 "strong claim. Take <citetitle>Romeo and Juliet</citetitle> as an example: "
6068 "That play was written by Shakespeare. It was his genius that brought it into "
6069 "the world. He didn't take anybody's property when he created this play "
6070 "(that's a controversial claim, but never mind), and by his creating this "
6071 "play, he didn't make it any harder for others to craft a play. So why is it "
6072 "that the law would ever allow someone else to come along and take "
6073 "Shakespeare's play without his, or his estate's, permission? What reason is "
6074 "there to allow someone else to <quote>steal</quote> Shakespeare's work?"
6077 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6078 #: freeculture.xml:4545
6080 "The answer comes in two parts. We first need to see something special about "
6081 "the notion of <quote>copyright</quote> that existed at the time of the "
6082 "Statute of Anne. Second, we have to see something important about "
6083 "<quote>booksellers.</quote>"
6087 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6088 #: freeculture.xml:4551
6090 "First, about copyright. In the last three hundred years, we have come to "
6091 "apply the concept of <quote>copyright</quote> ever more broadly. But in "
6092 "1710, it wasn't so much a concept as it was a very particular right. The "
6093 "copyright was born as a very specific set of restrictions: It forbade others "
6094 "from reprinting a book. In 1710, the <quote>copy-right</quote> was a right "
6095 "to use a particular machine to replicate a particular work. It did not go "
6096 "beyond that very narrow right. It did not control any more generally how a "
6097 "work could be <emphasis>used</emphasis>. Today the right includes a large "
6098 "collection of restrictions on the freedom of others: It grants the author "
6099 "the exclusive right to copy, the exclusive right to distribute, the "
6100 "exclusive right to perform, and so on."
6103 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6104 #: freeculture.xml:4566
6106 "So, for example, even if the copyright to Shakespeare's works were "
6107 "perpetual, all that would have meant under the original meaning of the term "
6108 "was that no one could reprint Shakespeare's work without the permission of "
6109 "the Shakespeare estate. It would not have controlled anything, for example, "
6110 "about how the work could be performed, whether the work could be translated, "
6111 "or whether Kenneth Branagh would be allowed to make his films. The "
6112 "<quote>copy-right</quote> was only an exclusive right to print—no "
6113 "less, of course, but also no more."
6116 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
6117 #: freeculture.xml:4575
6118 msgid "Henry VIII, King of England"
6121 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6122 #: freeculture.xml:4577
6124 "Even that limited right was viewed with skepticism by the British. They had "
6125 "had a long and ugly experience with <quote>exclusive rights,</quote> "
6126 "especially <quote>exclusive rights</quote> granted by the Crown. The English "
6127 "had fought a civil war in part about the Crown's practice of handing out "
6128 "monopolies—especially monopolies for works that already existed. King "
6129 "Henry VIII granted a patent to print the Bible and a monopoly to Darcy to "
6130 "print playing cards. The English Parliament began to fight back against this "
6131 "power of the Crown. In 1656, it passed the Statute of Monopolies, limiting "
6132 "monopolies to patents for new inventions. And by 1710, Parliament was eager "
6133 "to deal with the growing monopoly in publishing."
6136 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6137 #: freeculture.xml:4590
6139 "Thus the <quote>copy-right,</quote> when viewed as a monopoly right, was "
6140 "naturally viewed as a right that should be limited. (However convincing the "
6141 "claim that <quote>it's my property, and I should have it forever,</quote> "
6142 "try sounding convincing when uttering, <quote>It's my monopoly, and I should "
6143 "have it forever.</quote>) The state would protect the exclusive right, but "
6144 "only so long as it benefited society. The British saw the harms from "
6145 "specialinterest favors; they passed a law to stop them."
6149 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
6150 #: freeculture.xml:4614
6152 "Philip Wittenberg, <citetitle>The Protection and Marketing of Literary "
6153 "Property</citetitle> (New York: J. Messner, Inc., 1937), 31."
6156 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6157 #: freeculture.xml:4599
6159 "Second, about booksellers. It wasn't just that the copyright was a "
6160 "monopoly. It was also that it was a monopoly held by the booksellers. "
6161 "Booksellers sound quaint and harmless to us. They were not viewed as "
6162 "harmless in seventeenth-century England. Members of the Conger were "
6163 "increasingly seen as monopolists of the worst kind—tools of the "
6164 "Crown's repression, selling the liberty of England to guarantee themselves a "
6165 "monopoly profit. The attacks against these monopolists were harsh: Milton "
6166 "described them as <quote>old patentees and monopolizers in the trade of "
6167 "book-selling</quote>; they were <quote>men who do not therefore labour in an "
6168 "honest profession to which learning is indetted.</quote><placeholder "
6169 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
6172 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6173 #: freeculture.xml:4619
6175 "Many believed the power the booksellers exercised over the spread of "
6176 "knowledge was harming that spread, just at the time the Enlightenment was "
6177 "teaching the importance of education and knowledge spread generally. The "
6178 "idea that knowledge should be free was a hallmark of the time, and these "
6179 "powerful commercial interests were interfering with that idea."
6182 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6183 #: freeculture.xml:4627
6185 "To balance this power, Parliament decided to increase competition among "
6186 "booksellers, and the simplest way to do that was to spread the wealth of "
6187 "valuable books. Parliament therefore limited the term of copyrights, and "
6188 "thereby guaranteed that valuable books would become open to any publisher to "
6189 "publish after a limited time. Thus the setting of the term for existing "
6190 "works to just twenty-one years was a compromise to fight the power of the "
6191 "booksellers. The limitation on terms was an indirect way to assure "
6192 "competition among publishers, and thus the construction and spread of "
6196 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6197 #: freeculture.xml:4639
6199 "When 1731 (1710 + 21) came along, however, the booksellers were getting "
6200 "anxious. They saw the consequences of more competition, and like every "
6201 "competitor, they didn't like them. At first booksellers simply ignored the "
6202 "Statute of Anne, continuing to insist on the perpetual right to control "
6203 "publication. But in 1735 and 1737, they tried to persuade Parliament to "
6204 "extend their terms. Twenty-one years was not enough, they said; they needed "
6208 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6209 #: freeculture.xml:4648
6211 "Parliament rejected their requests. As one pamphleteer put it, in words that "
6216 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
6217 #: freeculture.xml:4663
6219 "A Letter to a Member of Parliament concerning the Bill now depending in the "
6220 "House of Commons, for making more effectual an Act in the Eighth Year of the "
6221 "Reign of Queen Anne, entitled, An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by "
6222 "Vesting the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or Purchasers of such "
6223 "Copies, during the Times therein mentioned (London, 1735), in Brief Amici "
6224 "Curiae of Tyler T. Ochoa et al., 8, <citetitle>Eldred</citetitle> "
6225 "v. <citetitle>Ashcroft</citetitle>, 537 U.S. 186 (2003) (No. 01-618)."
6228 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
6229 #: freeculture.xml:4653
6231 "I see no Reason for granting a further Term now, which will not hold as well "
6232 "for granting it again and again, as often as the Old ones Expire; so that "
6233 "should this Bill pass, it will in Effect be establishing a perpetual "
6234 "Monopoly, a Thing deservedly odious in the Eye of the Law; it will be a "
6235 "great Cramp to Trade, a Discouragement to Learning, no Benefit to the "
6236 "Authors, but a general Tax on the Publick; and all this only to increase the "
6237 "private Gain of the Booksellers.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
6240 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6241 #: freeculture.xml:4674
6243 "Having failed in Parliament, the publishers turned to the courts in a series "
6244 "of cases. Their argument was simple and direct: The Statute of Anne gave "
6245 "authors certain protections through positive law, but those protections were "
6246 "not intended as replacements for the common law. Instead, they were "
6247 "intended simply to supplement the common law. Under common law, it was "
6248 "already wrong to take another person's creative <quote>property</quote> and "
6249 "use it without his permission. The Statute of Anne, the booksellers argued, "
6250 "didn't change that. Therefore, just because the protections of the Statute "
6251 "of Anne expired, that didn't mean the protections of the common law expired: "
6252 "Under the common law they had the right to ban the publication of a book, "
6253 "even if its Statute of Anne copyright had expired. This, they argued, was "
6254 "the only way to protect authors."
6257 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
6258 #: freeculture.xml:4695
6260 "Lyman Ray Patterson, <quote>Free Speech, Copyright, and Fair Use,</quote> "
6261 "<citetitle>Vanderbilt Law Review</citetitle> 40 (1987): 28. For a "
6262 "wonderfully compelling account, see Vaidhyanathan, 37–48. "
6263 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
6266 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6267 #: freeculture.xml:4689
6269 "This was a clever argument, and one that had the support of some of the "
6270 "leading jurists of the day. It also displayed extraordinary chutzpah. Until "
6271 "then, as law professor Raymond Patterson has put it, <quote>The publishers "
6272 "… had as much concern for authors as a cattle rancher has for "
6273 "cattle.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> The bookseller "
6274 "didn't care squat for the rights of the author. His concern was the "
6275 "monopoly profit that the author's work gave."
6279 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
6280 #: freeculture.xml:4708
6282 "For a compelling account, see David Saunders, <citetitle>Authorship and "
6283 "Copyright</citetitle> (London: Routledge, 1992), 62–69."
6286 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6287 #: freeculture.xml:4704
6289 "The booksellers' argument was not accepted without a fight. The hero of "
6290 "this fight was a Scottish bookseller named Alexander Donaldson.<placeholder "
6291 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
6294 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><indexterm><primary>
6295 #: freeculture.xml:4720 freeculture.xml:14581
6299 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
6300 #: freeculture.xml:4718
6302 "Mark Rose, <citetitle>Authors and Owners</citetitle> (Cambridge: Harvard "
6303 "University Press, 1993), 92. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
6307 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
6308 #: freeculture.xml:4729
6312 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
6313 #: freeculture.xml:4731
6314 msgid "Boswell, James"
6317 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
6318 #: freeculture.xml:4732
6319 msgid "Erskine, Andrew"
6322 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6323 #: freeculture.xml:4713
6325 "Donaldson was an outsider to the London Conger. He began his career in "
6326 "Edinburgh in 1750. The focus of his business was inexpensive reprints "
6327 "<quote>of standard works whose copyright term had expired,</quote> at least "
6328 "under the Statute of Anne.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> "
6329 "Donaldson's publishing house prospered and became <quote>something of a "
6330 "center for literary Scotsmen.</quote> <quote>[A]mong them,</quote> Professor "
6331 "Mark Rose writes, was <quote>the young James Boswell who, together with his "
6332 "friend Andrew Erskine, published an anthology of contemporary Scottish poems "
6333 "with Donaldson.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/> "
6334 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"2\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
6339 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
6340 #: freeculture.xml:4741
6342 "Lyman Ray Patterson, <citetitle>Copyright in Historical "
6343 "Perspective</citetitle>, 167 (quoting Borwell)."
6346 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6347 #: freeculture.xml:4735
6349 "When the London booksellers tried to shut down Donaldson's shop in Scotland, "
6350 "he responded by moving his shop to London, where he sold inexpensive "
6351 "editions <quote>of the most popular English books, in defiance of the "
6352 "supposed common law right of Literary Property.</quote><placeholder "
6353 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> His books undercut the Conger prices by 30 to "
6354 "50 percent, and he rested his right to compete upon the ground that, under "
6355 "the Statute of Anne, the works he was selling had passed out of protection."
6358 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6359 #: freeculture.xml:4749
6361 "The London booksellers quickly brought suit to block <quote>piracy</quote> "
6362 "like Donaldson's. A number of actions were successful against the "
6363 "<quote>pirates,</quote> the most important early victory being "
6364 "<citetitle>Millar</citetitle> v. <citetitle>Taylor</citetitle>."
6368 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
6369 #: freeculture.xml:4761
6371 "Howard B. Abrams, <quote>The Historic Foundation of American Copyright Law: "
6372 "Exploding the Myth of Common Law Copyright,</quote> <citetitle>Wayne Law "
6373 "Review</citetitle> 29 (1983): 1152."
6376 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6377 #: freeculture.xml:4754
6379 "Millar was a bookseller who in 1729 had purchased the rights to James "
6380 "Thomson's poem <quote>The Seasons.</quote> Millar complied with the "
6381 "requirements of the Statute of Anne, and therefore received the full "
6382 "protection of the statute. After the term of copyright ended, Robert Taylor "
6383 "began printing a competing volume. Millar sued, claiming a perpetual common "
6384 "law right, the Statute of Anne notwithstanding.<placeholder "
6385 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
6388 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6389 #: freeculture.xml:4770
6391 "Astonishingly to modern lawyers, one of the greatest judges in English "
6392 "history, Lord Mansfield, agreed with the booksellers. Whatever protection "
6393 "the Statute of Anne gave booksellers, it did not, he held, extinguish any "
6394 "common law right. The question was whether the common law would protect the "
6395 "author against subsequent <quote>pirates.</quote> Mansfield's answer was "
6396 "yes: The common law would bar Taylor from reprinting Thomson's poem without "
6397 "Millar's permission. That common law rule thus effectively gave the "
6398 "booksellers a perpetual right to control the publication of any book "
6403 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6404 #: freeculture.xml:4781
6406 "Considered as a matter of abstract justice—reasoning as if justice "
6407 "were just a matter of logical deduction from first "
6408 "principles—Mansfield's conclusion might make some sense. But what it "
6409 "ignored was the larger issue that Parliament had struggled with in 1710: How "
6410 "best to limit the monopoly power of publishers? Parliament's strategy was to "
6411 "offer a term for existing works that was long enough to buy peace in 1710, "
6412 "but short enough to assure that culture would pass into competition within a "
6413 "reasonable period of time. Within twenty-one years, Parliament believed, "
6414 "Britain would mature from the controlled culture that the Crown coveted to "
6415 "the free culture that we inherited."
6418 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6419 #: freeculture.xml:4796
6421 "The fight to defend the limits of the Statute of Anne was not to end there, "
6422 "however, and it is here that Donaldson enters the mix."
6425 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
6426 #: freeculture.xml:4799
6427 msgid "Beckett, Thomas"
6431 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
6432 #: freeculture.xml:4805
6433 msgid "Ibid., 1156."
6436 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6437 #: freeculture.xml:4801
6439 "Millar died soon after his victory, so his case was not appealed. His estate "
6440 "sold Thomson's poems to a syndicate of printers that included Thomas "
6441 "Beckett.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Donaldson then released an "
6442 "unauthorized edition of Thomson's works. Beckett, on the strength of the "
6443 "decision in <citetitle>Millar</citetitle>, got an injunction against "
6444 "Donaldson. Donaldson appealed the case to the House of Lords, which "
6445 "functioned much like our own Supreme Court. In February of 1774, that body "
6446 "had the chance to interpret the meaning of Parliament's limits from sixty "
6450 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6451 #: freeculture.xml:4815
6453 "As few legal cases ever do, <citetitle>Donaldson</citetitle> "
6454 "v. <citetitle>Beckett</citetitle> drew an enormous amount of attention "
6455 "throughout Britain. Donaldson's lawyers argued that whatever rights may have "
6456 "existed under the common law, the Statute of Anne terminated those "
6457 "rights. After passage of the Statute of Anne, the only legal protection for "
6458 "an exclusive right to control publication came from that statute. Thus, they "
6459 "argued, after the term specified in the Statute of Anne expired, works that "
6460 "had been protected by the statute were no longer protected."
6463 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6464 #: freeculture.xml:4825
6466 "The House of Lords was an odd institution. Legal questions were presented to "
6467 "the House and voted upon first by the <quote>law lords,</quote> members of "
6468 "special legal distinction who functioned much like the Justices in our "
6469 "Supreme Court. Then, after the law lords voted, the House of Lords generally "
6474 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6475 #: freeculture.xml:4832
6477 "The reports about the law lords' votes are mixed. On some counts, it looks "
6478 "as if perpetual copyright prevailed. But there is no ambiguity about how the "
6479 "House of Lords voted as whole. By a two-to-one majority (22 to 11) they "
6480 "voted to reject the idea of perpetual copyrights. Whatever one's "
6481 "understanding of the common law, now a copyright was fixed for a limited "
6482 "time, after which the work protected by copyright passed into the public "
6486 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
6487 #: freeculture.xml:4850
6488 msgid "Bacon, Francis"
6491 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
6492 #: freeculture.xml:4851
6493 msgid "Bunyan, John"
6496 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
6497 #: freeculture.xml:4852
6498 msgid "Johnson, Samuel"
6501 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
6502 #: freeculture.xml:4853
6503 msgid "Milton, John"
6506 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
6507 #: freeculture.xml:4854
6508 msgid "Shakespeare, William"
6511 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6512 #: freeculture.xml:4842
6514 "<quote>The public domain.</quote> Before the case of "
6515 "<citetitle>Donaldson</citetitle> v. <citetitle>Beckett</citetitle>, there "
6516 "was no clear idea of a public domain in England. Before 1774, there was a "
6517 "strong argument that common law copyrights were perpetual. After 1774, the "
6518 "public domain was born. For the first time in Anglo-American history, the "
6519 "legal control over creative works expired, and the greatest works in English "
6520 "history—including those of Shakespeare, Bacon, Milton, Johnson, and "
6521 "Bunyan—were free of legal restraint. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
6522 "id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/> <placeholder "
6523 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"2\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"3\"/> "
6524 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"4\"/>"
6528 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
6529 #: freeculture.xml:4867
6533 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6534 #: freeculture.xml:4857
6536 "It is hard for us to imagine, but this decision by the House of Lords fueled "
6537 "an extraordinarily popular and political reaction. In Scotland, where most "
6538 "of the <quote>pirate publishers</quote> did their work, people celebrated "
6539 "the decision in the streets. As the <citetitle>Edinburgh "
6540 "Advertiser</citetitle> reported, <quote>No private cause has so much "
6541 "engrossed the attention of the public, and none has been tried before the "
6542 "House of Lords in the decision of which so many individuals were "
6543 "interested.</quote> <quote>Great rejoicing in Edinburgh upon victory over "
6544 "literary property: bonfires and illuminations.</quote><placeholder "
6545 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
6548 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6549 #: freeculture.xml:4871
6551 "In London, however, at least among publishers, the reaction was equally "
6552 "strong in the opposite direction. The <citetitle>Morning "
6553 "Chronicle</citetitle> reported:"
6556 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
6557 #: freeculture.xml:4877
6559 "By the above decision … near 200,000 pounds worth of what was "
6560 "honestly purchased at public sale, and which was yesterday thought property "
6561 "is now reduced to nothing. The Booksellers of London and Westminster, many "
6562 "of whom sold estates and houses to purchase Copy-right, are in a manner "
6563 "ruined, and those who after many years industry thought they had acquired a "
6564 "competency to provide for their families now find themselves without a "
6565 "shilling to devise to their successors.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
6570 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6571 #: freeculture.xml:4892
6573 "<quote>Ruined</quote> is a bit of an exaggeration. But it is not an "
6574 "exaggeration to say that the change was profound. The decision of the House "
6575 "of Lords meant that the booksellers could no longer control how culture in "
6576 "England would grow and develop. Culture in England was thereafter "
6577 "<emphasis>free</emphasis>. Not in the sense that copyrights would not be "
6578 "respected, for of course, for a limited time after a work was published, the "
6579 "bookseller had an exclusive right to control the publication of that "
6580 "book. And not in the sense that books could be stolen, for even after a "
6581 "copyright expired, you still had to buy the book from someone. But "
6582 "<emphasis>free</emphasis> in the sense that the culture and its growth would "
6583 "no longer be controlled by a small group of publishers. As every free market "
6584 "does, this free market of free culture would grow as the consumers and "
6585 "producers chose. English culture would develop as the many English readers "
6586 "chose to let it develop— chose in the books they bought and wrote; "
6587 "chose in the memes they repeated and endorsed. Chose in a "
6588 "<emphasis>competitive context</emphasis>, not a context in which the choices "
6589 "about what culture is available to people and how they get access to it are "
6590 "made by the few despite the wishes of the many."
6593 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6594 #: freeculture.xml:4913
6596 "At least, this was the rule in a world where the Parliament is antimonopoly, "
6597 "resistant to the protectionist pleas of publishers. In a world where the "
6598 "Parliament is more pliant, free culture would be less protected."
6601 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><title>
6602 #: freeculture.xml:4921
6603 msgid "CHAPTER SEVEN: Recorders"
6606 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6607 #: freeculture.xml:4923
6609 "Jon Else is a filmmaker. He is best known for his documentaries and has been "
6610 "very successful in spreading his art. He is also a teacher, and as a teacher "
6611 "myself, I envy the loyalty and admiration that his students feel for him. (I "
6612 "met, by accident, two of his students at a dinner party. He was their god.)"
6615 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6616 #: freeculture.xml:4930
6618 "Else worked on a documentary that I was involved in. At a break, he told me "
6619 "a story about the freedom to create with film in America today."
6622 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
6623 #: freeculture.xml:4941 freeculture.xml:5010
6624 msgid "San Francisco Opera"
6627 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6628 #: freeculture.xml:4935
6630 "In 1990, Else was working on a documentary about Wagner's Ring Cycle. The "
6631 "focus was stagehands at the San Francisco Opera. Stagehands are a "
6632 "particularly funny and colorful element of an opera. During a show, they "
6633 "hang out below the stage in the grips' lounge and in the lighting loft. They "
6634 "make a perfect contrast to the art on the stage. <placeholder "
6635 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
6639 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6640 #: freeculture.xml:4944
6642 "During one of the performances, Else was shooting some stagehands playing "
6643 "checkers. In one corner of the room was a television set. Playing on the "
6644 "television set, while the stagehands played checkers and the opera company "
6645 "played Wagner, was <citetitle>The Simpsons</citetitle>. As Else judged it, "
6646 "this touch of cartoon helped capture the flavor of what was special about "
6650 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6651 #: freeculture.xml:4953
6653 "Years later, when he finally got funding to complete the film, Else "
6654 "attempted to clear the rights for those few seconds of <citetitle>The "
6655 "Simpsons</citetitle>. For of course, those few seconds are copyrighted; and "
6656 "of course, to use copyrighted material you need the permission of the "
6657 "copyright owner, unless <quote>fair use</quote> or some other privilege "
6661 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
6662 #: freeculture.xml:4965 freeculture.xml:4973
6663 msgid "Gracie Films"
6666 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6667 #: freeculture.xml:4960
6669 "Else called <citetitle>Simpsons</citetitle> creator Matt Groening's office "
6670 "to get permission. Groening approved the shot. The shot was a "
6671 "four-and-a-halfsecond image on a tiny television set in the corner of the "
6672 "room. How could it hurt? Groening was happy to have it in the film, but he "
6673 "told Else to contact Gracie Films, the company that produces the program. "
6674 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
6677 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6678 #: freeculture.xml:4968
6680 "Gracie Films was okay with it, too, but they, like Groening, wanted to be "
6681 "careful. So they told Else to contact Fox, Gracie's parent company. Else "
6682 "called Fox and told them about the clip in the corner of the one room shot "
6683 "of the film. Matt Groening had already given permission, Else said. He was "
6684 "just confirming the permission with Fox. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
6688 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6689 #: freeculture.xml:4976
6691 "Then, as Else told me, <quote>two things happened. First we discovered "
6692 "… that Matt Groening doesn't own his own creation—or at least "
6693 "that someone [at Fox] believes he doesn't own his own creation.</quote> And "
6694 "second, Fox <quote>wanted ten thousand dollars as a licensing fee for us to "
6695 "use this four-point-five seconds of … entirely unsolicited "
6696 "<citetitle>Simpsons</citetitle> which was in the corner of the shot.</quote>"
6699 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6700 #: freeculture.xml:4984
6702 "Else was certain there was a mistake. He worked his way up to someone he "
6703 "thought was a vice president for licensing, Rebecca Herrera. He explained "
6704 "to her, <quote>There must be some mistake here. … We're asking for "
6705 "your educational rate on this.</quote> That was the educational rate, "
6706 "Herrera told Else. A day or so later, Else called again to confirm what he "
6711 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6712 #: freeculture.xml:4992
6714 "<quote>I wanted to make sure I had my facts straight,</quote> he told "
6715 "me. <quote>Yes, you have your facts straight,</quote> she said. It would "
6716 "cost $10,000 to use the clip of <citetitle>The Simpsons</citetitle> in the "
6717 "corner of a shot in a documentary film about Wagner's Ring Cycle. And then, "
6718 "astonishingly, Herrera told Else, <quote>And if you quote me, I'll turn you "
6719 "over to our attorneys.</quote> As an assistant to Herrera told Else later "
6720 "on, <quote>They don't give a shit. They just want the money.</quote>"
6723 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
6724 #: freeculture.xml:5011
6725 msgid "Day After Trinity, The"
6728 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6729 #: freeculture.xml:5004
6731 "Else didn't have the money to buy the right to replay what was playing on "
6732 "the television backstage at the San Francisco Opera. To reproduce this "
6733 "reality was beyond the documentary filmmaker's budget. At the very last "
6734 "minute before the film was to be released, Else digitally replaced the shot "
6735 "with a clip from another film that he had worked on, <citetitle>The Day "
6736 "After Trinity</citetitle>, from ten years before. <placeholder "
6737 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
6740 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6741 #: freeculture.xml:5014
6743 "There's no doubt that someone, whether Matt Groening or Fox, owns the "
6744 "copyright to <citetitle>The Simpsons</citetitle>. That copyright is their "
6745 "property. To use that copyrighted material thus sometimes requires the "
6746 "permission of the copyright owner. If the use that Else wanted to make of "
6747 "the <citetitle>Simpsons</citetitle> copyright were one of the uses "
6748 "restricted by the law, then he would need to get the permission of the "
6749 "copyright owner before he could use the work in that way. And in a free "
6750 "market, it is the owner of the copyright who gets to set the price for any "
6751 "use that the law says the owner gets to control."
6754 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6755 #: freeculture.xml:5025
6757 "For example, <quote>public performance</quote> is a use of <citetitle>The "
6758 "Simpsons</citetitle> that the copyright owner gets to control. If you take a "
6759 "selection of favorite episodes, rent a movie theater, and charge for tickets "
6760 "to come see <quote>My Favorite <citetitle>Simpsons</citetitle>,</quote> then "
6761 "you need to get permission from the copyright owner. And the copyright owner "
6762 "(rightly, in my view) can charge whatever she wants—$10 or "
6763 "$1,000,000. That's her right, as set by the law."
6767 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
6768 #: freeculture.xml:5037
6770 "For an excellent argument that such use is <quote>fair use,</quote> but that "
6771 "lawyers don't permit recognition that it is <quote>fair use,</quote> see "
6772 "Richard A. Posner with William F. Patry, <quote>Fair Use and Statutory "
6773 "Reform in the Wake of <citetitle>Eldred</citetitle></quote> (draft on file "
6774 "with author), University of Chicago Law School, 5 August 2003."
6777 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6778 #: freeculture.xml:5034
6780 "But when lawyers hear this story about Jon Else and Fox, their first thought "
6781 "is <quote>fair use.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Else's "
6782 "use of just 4.5 seconds of an indirect shot of a "
6783 "<citetitle>Simpsons</citetitle> episode is clearly a fair use of "
6784 "<citetitle>The Simpsons</citetitle>—and fair use does not require the "
6785 "permission of anyone."
6789 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6790 #: freeculture.xml:5049
6792 "So I asked Else why he didn't just rely upon <quote>fair use.</quote> Here's "
6796 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
6797 #: freeculture.xml:5053
6799 "The <citetitle>Simpsons</citetitle> fiasco was for me a great lesson in the "
6800 "gulf between what lawyers find irrelevant in some abstract sense, and what "
6801 "is crushingly relevant in practice to those of us actually trying to make "
6802 "and broadcast documentaries. I never had any doubt that it was "
6803 "<quote>clearly fair use</quote> in an absolute legal sense. But I couldn't "
6804 "rely on the concept in any concrete way. Here's why:"
6808 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><orderedlist><listitem><para>
6809 #: freeculture.xml:5063
6811 "Before our films can be broadcast, the network requires that we buy Errors "
6812 "and Omissions insurance. The carriers require a detailed <quote>visual cue "
6813 "sheet</quote> listing the source and licensing status of each shot in the "
6814 "film. They take a dim view of <quote>fair use,</quote> and a claim of "
6815 "<quote>fair use</quote> can grind the application process to a halt."
6818 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><orderedlist><listitem><para><indexterm><primary>
6819 #: freeculture.xml:5080
6820 msgid "Lucas, George"
6823 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><orderedlist><listitem><para>
6824 #: freeculture.xml:5071
6826 "I probably never should have asked Matt Groening in the first place. But I "
6827 "knew (at least from folklore) that Fox had a history of tracking down and "
6828 "stopping unlicensed <citetitle>Simpsons</citetitle> usage, just as George "
6829 "Lucas had a very high profile litigating <citetitle>Star Wars</citetitle> "
6830 "usage. So I decided to play by the book, thinking that we would be granted "
6831 "free or cheap license to four seconds of <citetitle>Simpsons</citetitle>. As "
6832 "a documentary producer working to exhaustion on a shoestring, the last thing "
6833 "I wanted was to risk legal trouble, even nuisance legal trouble, and even to "
6834 "defend a principle. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
6839 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><orderedlist><listitem><para>
6840 #: freeculture.xml:5084
6842 "I did, in fact, speak with one of your colleagues at Stanford Law School "
6843 "… who confirmed that it was fair use. He also confirmed that Fox "
6844 "would <quote>depose and litigate you to within an inch of your life,</quote> "
6845 "regardless of the merits of my claim. He made clear that it would boil down "
6846 "to who had the bigger legal department and the deeper pockets, me or them."
6850 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><orderedlist><listitem><para>
6851 #: freeculture.xml:5094
6853 "The question of fair use usually comes up at the end of the project, when we "
6854 "are up against a release deadline and out of money."
6857 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6858 #: freeculture.xml:5101
6860 "In theory, fair use means you need no permission. The theory therefore "
6861 "supports free culture and insulates against a permission culture. But in "
6862 "practice, fair use functions very differently. The fuzzy lines of the law, "
6863 "tied to the extraordinary liability if lines are crossed, means that the "
6864 "effective fair use for many types of creators is slight. The law has the "
6865 "right aim; practice has defeated the aim."
6868 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6869 #: freeculture.xml:5109
6871 "This practice shows just how far the law has come from its "
6872 "eighteenth-century roots. The law was born as a shield to protect "
6873 "publishers' profits against the unfair competition of a pirate. It has "
6874 "matured into a sword that interferes with any use, transformative or not."
6877 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><title>
6878 #: freeculture.xml:5118
6879 msgid "CHAPTER EIGHT: Transformers"
6882 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
6883 #: freeculture.xml:5119
6887 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
6888 #: freeculture.xml:5120 freeculture.xml:5128 freeculture.xml:5139 freeculture.xml:5154 freeculture.xml:5163 freeculture.xml:5168 freeculture.xml:5220 freeculture.xml:5236 freeculture.xml:5259 freeculture.xml:5322 freeculture.xml:9738
6892 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6893 #: freeculture.xml:5122
6895 "In 1993, Alex Alben was a lawyer working at Starwave, Inc. Starwave was an "
6896 "innovative company founded by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen to develop "
6897 "digital entertainment. Long before the Internet became popular, Starwave "
6898 "began investing in new technology for delivering entertainment in "
6899 "anticipation of the power of networks."
6902 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6903 #: freeculture.xml:5130
6905 "Alben had a special interest in new technology. He was intrigued by the "
6906 "emerging market for CD-ROM technology—not to distribute film, but to "
6907 "do things with film that otherwise would be very difficult. In 1993, he "
6908 "launched an initiative to develop a product to build retrospectives on the "
6909 "work of particular actors. The first actor chosen was Clint Eastwood. The "
6910 "idea was to showcase all of the work of Eastwood, with clips from his films "
6911 "and interviews with figures important to his career."
6914 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6915 #: freeculture.xml:5141
6917 "At that time, Eastwood had made more than fifty films, as an actor and as a "
6918 "director. Alben began with a series of interviews with Eastwood, asking him "
6919 "about his career. Because Starwave produced those interviews, it was free to "
6920 "include them on the CD."
6924 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6925 #: freeculture.xml:5148
6927 "That alone would not have made a very interesting product, so Starwave "
6928 "wanted to add content from the movies in Eastwood's career: posters, "
6929 "scripts, and other material relating to the films Eastwood made. Most of his "
6930 "career was spent at Warner Brothers, and so it was relatively easy to get "
6931 "permission for that content."
6934 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6935 #: freeculture.xml:5156
6937 "Then Alben and his team decided to include actual film clips. <quote>Our "
6938 "goal was that we were going to have a clip from every one of Eastwood's "
6939 "films,</quote> Alben told me. It was here that the problem arose. <quote>No "
6940 "one had ever really done this before,</quote> Alben explained. <quote>No one "
6941 "had ever tried to do this in the context of an artistic look at an actor's "
6945 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6946 #: freeculture.xml:5165
6948 "Alben brought the idea to Michael Slade, the CEO of Starwave. Slade asked, "
6949 "<quote>Well, what will it take?</quote>"
6952 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
6953 #: freeculture.xml:5181
6957 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para><indexterm><secondary>
6958 #: freeculture.xml:5182
6959 msgid "publicity rights on images of"
6962 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
6963 #: freeculture.xml:5176
6965 "Technically, the rights that Alben had to clear were mainly those of "
6966 "publicity—rights an artist has to control the commercial exploitation "
6967 "of his image. But these rights, too, burden <quote>Rip, Mix, Burn</quote> "
6968 "creativity, as this chapter evinces. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
6972 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6973 #: freeculture.xml:5170
6975 "Alben replied, <quote>Well, we're going to have to clear rights from "
6976 "everyone who appears in these films, and the music and everything else that "
6977 "we want to use in these film clips.</quote> Slade said, <quote>Great! Go for "
6978 "it.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
6981 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6982 #: freeculture.xml:5187
6984 "The problem was that neither Alben nor Slade had any idea what clearing "
6985 "those rights would mean. Every actor in each of the films could have a claim "
6986 "to royalties for the reuse of that film. But CD- ROMs had not been specified "
6987 "in the contracts for the actors, so there was no clear way to know just what "
6988 "Starwave was to do."
6991 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
6992 #: freeculture.xml:5194
6994 "I asked Alben how he dealt with the problem. With an obvious pride in his "
6995 "resourcefulness that obscured the obvious bizarreness of his tale, Alben "
6996 "recounted just what they did:"
6999 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
7000 #: freeculture.xml:5200
7002 "So we very mechanically went about looking up the film clips. We made some "
7003 "artistic decisions about what film clips to include—of course we were "
7004 "going to use the <quote>Make my day</quote> clip from <citetitle>Dirty "
7005 "Harry</citetitle>. But you then need to get the guy on the ground who's "
7006 "wiggling under the gun and you need to get his permission. And then you "
7007 "have to decide what you are going to pay him."
7011 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
7012 #: freeculture.xml:5209
7014 "We decided that it would be fair if we offered them the dayplayer rate for "
7015 "the right to reuse that performance. We're talking about a clip of less than "
7016 "a minute, but to reuse that performance in the CD-ROM the rate at the time "
7017 "was about $600. So we had to identify the people—some of them were "
7018 "hard to identify because in Eastwood movies you can't tell who's the guy "
7019 "crashing through the glass—is it the actor or is it the stuntman? And "
7020 "then we just, we put together a team, my assistant and some others, and we "
7021 "just started calling people."
7024 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7025 #: freeculture.xml:5222
7027 "Some actors were glad to help—Donald Sutherland, for example, followed "
7028 "up himself to be sure that the rights had been cleared. Others were "
7029 "dumbfounded at their good fortune. Alben would ask, <quote>Hey, can I pay "
7030 "you $600 or maybe if you were in two films, you know, $1,200?</quote> And "
7031 "they would say, <quote>Are you for real? Hey, I'd love to get "
7032 "$1,200.</quote> And some of course were a bit difficult (estranged ex-wives, "
7033 "in particular). But eventually, Alben and his team had cleared the rights to "
7034 "this retrospective CD-ROM on Clint Eastwood's career."
7037 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7038 #: freeculture.xml:5233
7040 "It was one <emphasis>year</emphasis> later—<quote>and even then we "
7041 "weren't sure whether we were totally in the clear.</quote>"
7044 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7045 #: freeculture.xml:5238
7047 "Alben is proud of his work. The project was the first of its kind and the "
7048 "only time he knew of that a team had undertaken such a massive project for "
7049 "the purpose of releasing a retrospective."
7052 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
7053 #: freeculture.xml:5244
7055 "Everyone thought it would be too hard. Everyone just threw up their hands "
7056 "and said, <quote>Oh, my gosh, a film, it's so many copyrights, there's the "
7057 "music, there's the screenplay, there's the director, there's the "
7058 "actors.</quote> But we just broke it down. We just put it into its "
7059 "constituent parts and said, <quote>Okay, there's this many actors, this many "
7060 "directors, … this many musicians,</quote> and we just went at it very "
7061 "systematically and cleared the rights."
7065 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7066 #: freeculture.xml:5256
7068 "And no doubt, the product itself was exceptionally good. Eastwood loved it, "
7069 "and it sold very well."
7072 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
7073 #: freeculture.xml:5260
7074 msgid "Drucker, Peter"
7078 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
7079 #: freeculture.xml:5268
7081 "U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Acquisition Management, "
7082 "<citetitle>Seven Steps to Performance-Based Services "
7083 "Acquisition</citetitle>, available at <ulink "
7084 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #22</ulink>."
7087 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7088 #: freeculture.xml:5262
7090 "But I pressed Alben about how weird it seems that it would have to take a "
7091 "year's work simply to clear rights. No doubt Alben had done this "
7092 "efficiently, but as Peter Drucker has famously quipped, <quote>There is "
7093 "nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at "
7094 "all.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Did it make sense, I "
7095 "asked Alben, that this is the way a new work has to be made?"
7098 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7099 #: freeculture.xml:5276
7101 "For, as he acknowledged, <quote>very few … have the time and "
7102 "resources, and the will to do this,</quote> and thus, very few such works "
7103 "would ever be made. Does it make sense, I asked him, from the standpoint of "
7104 "what anybody really thought they were ever giving rights for originally, "
7105 "that you would have to go clear rights for these kinds of clips?"
7108 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
7109 #: freeculture.xml:5284
7111 "I don't think so. When an actor renders a performance in a movie, he or she "
7112 "gets paid very well. … And then when 30 seconds of that performance "
7113 "is used in a new product that is a retrospective of somebody's career, I "
7114 "don't think that that person … should be compensated for that."
7117 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7118 #: freeculture.xml:5292
7120 "Or at least, is this <emphasis>how</emphasis> the artist should be "
7121 "compensated? Would it make sense, I asked, for there to be some kind of "
7122 "statutory license that someone could pay and be free to make derivative use "
7123 "of clips like this? Did it really make sense that a follow-on creator would "
7124 "have to track down every artist, actor, director, musician, and get explicit "
7125 "permission from each? Wouldn't a lot more be created if the legal part of "
7126 "the creative process could be made to be more clean?"
7130 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
7131 #: freeculture.xml:5303
7133 "Absolutely. I think that if there were some fair-licensing "
7134 "mechanism—where you weren't subject to hold-ups and you weren't "
7135 "subject to estranged former spouses—you'd see a lot more of this work, "
7136 "because it wouldn't be so daunting to try to put together a retrospective of "
7137 "someone's career and meaningfully illustrate it with lots of media from that "
7138 "person's career. You'd build in a cost as the producer of one of these "
7139 "things. You'd build in a cost of paying X dollars to the talent that "
7140 "performed. But it would be a known cost. That's the thing that trips "
7141 "everybody up and makes this kind of product hard to get off the ground. If "
7142 "you knew I have a hundred minutes of film in this product and it's going to "
7143 "cost me X, then you build your budget around it, and you can get investments "
7144 "and everything else that you need to produce it. But if you say, <quote>Oh, "
7145 "I want a hundred minutes of something and I have no idea what it's going to "
7146 "cost me, and a certain number of people are going to hold me up for "
7147 "money,</quote> then it becomes difficult to put one of these things "
7151 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7152 #: freeculture.xml:5324
7154 "Alben worked for a big company. His company was backed by some of the "
7155 "richest investors in the world. He therefore had authority and access that "
7156 "the average Web designer would not have. So if it took him a year, how long "
7157 "would it take someone else? And how much creativity is never made just "
7158 "because the costs of clearing the rights are so high? These costs are the "
7159 "burdens of a kind of regulation. Put on a Republican hat for a moment, and "
7160 "get angry for a bit. The government defines the scope of these rights, and "
7161 "the scope defined determines how much it's going to cost to negotiate "
7162 "them. (Remember the idea that land runs to the heavens, and imagine the "
7163 "pilot purchasing flythrough rights as he negotiates to fly from Los Angeles "
7164 "to San Francisco.) These rights might well have once made sense; but as "
7165 "circumstances change, they make no sense at all. Or at least, a "
7166 "well-trained, regulationminimizing Republican should look at the rights and "
7167 "ask, <quote>Does this still make sense?</quote>"
7171 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7172 #: freeculture.xml:5341
7174 "I've seen the flash of recognition when people get this point, but only a "
7175 "few times. The first was at a conference of federal judges in California. "
7176 "The judges were gathered to discuss the emerging topic of cyber-law. I was "
7177 "asked to be on the panel. Harvey Saferstein, a well-respected lawyer from an "
7178 "L.A. firm, introduced the panel with a video that he and a friend, Robert "
7179 "Fairbank, had produced."
7182 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7183 #: freeculture.xml:5351
7185 "The video was a brilliant collage of film from every period in the twentieth "
7186 "century, all framed around the idea of a <citetitle>60 Minutes</citetitle> "
7187 "episode. The execution was perfect, down to the sixty-minute stopwatch. The "
7188 "judges loved every minute of it."
7191 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
7192 #: freeculture.xml:5356
7193 msgid "Nimmer, David"
7196 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7197 #: freeculture.xml:5358
7199 "When the lights came up, I looked over to my copanelist, David Nimmer, "
7200 "perhaps the leading copyright scholar and practitioner in the nation. He had "
7201 "an astonished look on his face, as he peered across the room of over 250 "
7202 "well-entertained judges. Taking an ominous tone, he began his talk with a "
7203 "question: <quote>Do you know how many federal laws were just violated in "
7204 "this room?</quote>"
7207 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
7208 #: freeculture.xml:5365
7209 msgid "Boies, David"
7212 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7213 #: freeculture.xml:5367
7215 "For of course, the two brilliantly talented creators who made this film "
7216 "hadn't done what Alben did. They hadn't spent a year clearing the rights to "
7217 "these clips; technically, what they had done violated the law. Of course, "
7218 "it wasn't as if they or anyone were going to be prosecuted for this "
7219 "violation (the presence of 250 judges and a gaggle of federal marshals "
7220 "notwithstanding). But Nimmer was making an important point: A year before "
7221 "anyone would have heard of the word Napster, and two years before another "
7222 "member of our panel, David Boies, would defend Napster before the Ninth "
7223 "Circuit Court of Appeals, Nimmer was trying to get the judges to see that "
7224 "the law would not be friendly to the capacities that this technology would "
7225 "enable. Technology means you can now do amazing things easily; but you "
7226 "couldn't easily do them legally."
7229 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7230 #: freeculture.xml:5382
7232 "We live in a <quote>cut and paste</quote> culture enabled by "
7233 "technology. Anyone building a presentation knows the extraordinary freedom "
7234 "that the cut and paste architecture of the Internet created—in a "
7235 "second you can find just about any image you want; in another second, you "
7236 "can have it planted in your presentation."
7239 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
7240 #: freeculture.xml:5398
7244 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7245 #: freeculture.xml:5389
7247 "But presentations are just a tiny beginning. Using the Internet and its "
7248 "archives, musicians are able to string together mixes of sound never before "
7249 "imagined; filmmakers are able to build movies out of clips on computers "
7250 "around the world. An extraordinary site in Sweden takes images of "
7251 "politicians and blends them with music to create biting political "
7252 "commentary. A site called Camp Chaos has produced some of the most biting "
7253 "criticism of the record industry that there is through the mixing of Flash! "
7254 "and music. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
7257 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7258 #: freeculture.xml:5401
7260 "All of these creations are technically illegal. Even if the creators wanted "
7261 "to be <quote>legal,</quote> the cost of complying with the law is impossibly "
7262 "high. Therefore, for the law-abiding sorts, a wealth of creativity is never "
7263 "made. And for that part that is made, if it doesn't follow the clearance "
7264 "rules, it doesn't get released."
7267 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7268 #: freeculture.xml:5408
7270 "To some, these stories suggest a solution: Let's alter the mix of rights so "
7271 "that people are free to build upon our culture. Free to add or mix as they "
7272 "see fit. We could even make this change without necessarily requiring that "
7273 "the <quote>free</quote> use be free as in <quote>free beer.</quote> Instead, "
7274 "the system could simply make it easy for follow-on creators to compensate "
7275 "artists without requiring an army of lawyers to come along: a rule, for "
7276 "example, that says <quote>the royalty owed the copyright owner of an "
7277 "unregistered work for the derivative reuse of his work will be a flat 1 "
7278 "percent of net revenues, to be held in escrow for the copyright "
7279 "owner.</quote> Under this rule, the copyright owner could benefit from some "
7280 "royalty, but he would not have the benefit of a full property right (meaning "
7281 "the right to name his own price) unless he registers the work."
7284 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7285 #: freeculture.xml:5423
7287 "Who could possibly object to this? And what reason would there be for "
7288 "objecting? We're talking about work that is not now being made; which if "
7289 "made, under this plan, would produce new income for artists. What reason "
7290 "would anyone have to oppose it?"
7294 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7295 #: freeculture.xml:5429
7297 "In February 2003, DreamWorks studios announced an agreement with Mike Myers, "
7298 "the comic genius of <citetitle>Saturday Night Live</citetitle> and Austin "
7299 "Powers. According to the announcement, Myers and Dream-Works would work "
7300 "together to form a <quote>unique filmmaking pact.</quote> Under the "
7301 "agreement, DreamWorks <quote>will acquire the rights to existing motion "
7302 "picture hits and classics, write new storylines and—with the use of "
7303 "stateof-the-art digital technology—insert Myers and other actors into "
7304 "the film, thereby creating an entirely new piece of entertainment.</quote>"
7307 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7308 #: freeculture.xml:5441
7310 "The announcement called this <quote>film sampling.</quote> As Myers "
7311 "explained, <quote>Film Sampling is an exciting way to put an original spin "
7312 "on existing films and allow audiences to see old movies in a new light. Rap "
7313 "artists have been doing this for years with music and now we are able to "
7314 "take that same concept and apply it to film.</quote> Steven Spielberg is "
7315 "quoted as saying, <quote>If anyone can create a way to bring old films to "
7316 "new audiences, it is Mike.</quote>"
7319 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7320 #: freeculture.xml:5450
7322 "Spielberg is right. Film sampling by Myers will be brilliant. But if you "
7323 "don't think about it, you might miss the truly astonishing point about this "
7324 "announcement. As the vast majority of our film heritage remains under "
7325 "copyright, the real meaning of the DreamWorks announcement is just this: It "
7326 "is Mike Myers and only Mike Myers who is free to sample. Any general freedom "
7327 "to build upon the film archive of our culture, a freedom in other contexts "
7328 "presumed for us all, is now a privilege reserved for the funny and "
7329 "famous—and presumably rich."
7332 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7333 #: freeculture.xml:5460
7335 "This privilege becomes reserved for two sorts of reasons. The first "
7336 "continues the story of the last chapter: the vagueness of <quote>fair "
7337 "use.</quote> Much of <quote>sampling</quote> should be considered "
7338 "<quote>fair use.</quote> But few would rely upon so weak a doctrine to "
7339 "create. That leads to the second reason that the privilege is reserved for "
7340 "the few: The costs of negotiating the legal rights for the creative reuse of "
7341 "content are astronomically high. These costs mirror the costs with fair "
7342 "use: You either pay a lawyer to defend your fair use rights or pay a lawyer "
7343 "to track down permissions so you don't have to rely upon fair use "
7344 "rights. Either way, the creative process is a process of paying "
7345 "lawyers—again a privilege, or perhaps a curse, reserved for the few."
7348 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><title>
7349 #: freeculture.xml:5475
7350 msgid "CHAPTER NINE: Collectors"
7353 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7354 #: freeculture.xml:5477
7356 "In April 1996, millions of <quote>bots</quote>—computer codes designed "
7357 "to <quote>spider,</quote> or automatically search the Internet and copy "
7358 "content—began running across the Net. Page by page, these bots copied "
7359 "Internet-based information onto a small set of computers located in a "
7360 "basement in San Francisco's Presidio. Once the bots finished the whole of "
7361 "the Internet, they started again. Over and over again, once every two "
7362 "months, these bits of code took copies of the Internet and stored them."
7365 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7366 #: freeculture.xml:5486
7368 "By October 2001, the bots had collected more than five years of copies. And "
7369 "at a small announcement in Berkeley, California, the archive that these "
7370 "copies created, the Internet Archive, was opened to the world. Using a "
7371 "technology called <quote>the Way Back Machine,</quote> you could enter a Web "
7372 "page, and see all of its copies going back to 1996, as well as when those "
7376 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7377 #: freeculture.xml:5494
7379 "This is the thing about the Internet that Orwell would have appreciated. In "
7380 "the dystopia described in <citetitle>1984</citetitle>, old newspapers were "
7381 "constantly updated to assure that the current view of the world, approved of "
7382 "by the government, was not contradicted by previous news reports."
7386 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7387 #: freeculture.xml:5502
7389 "Thousands of workers constantly reedited the past, meaning there was no way "
7390 "ever to know whether the story you were reading today was the story that was "
7391 "printed on the date published on the paper."
7394 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7395 #: freeculture.xml:5507
7397 "It's the same with the Internet. If you go to a Web page today, there's no "
7398 "way for you to know whether the content you are reading is the same as the "
7399 "content you read before. The page may seem the same, but the content could "
7400 "easily be different. The Internet is Orwell's library—constantly "
7401 "updated, without any reliable memory."
7405 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
7406 #: freeculture.xml:5520
7408 "The temptations remain, however. Brewster Kahle reports that the White House "
7409 "changes its own press releases without notice. A May 13, 2003, press release "
7410 "stated, <quote>Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended.</quote> That was later "
7411 "changed, without notice, to <quote>Major Combat Operations in Iraq Have "
7412 "Ended.</quote> E-mail from Brewster Kahle, 1 December 2003."
7415 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7416 #: freeculture.xml:5514
7418 "Until the Way Back Machine, at least. With the Way Back Machine, and the "
7419 "Internet Archive underlying it, you can see what the Internet was. You have "
7420 "the power to see what you remember. More importantly, perhaps, you also have "
7421 "the power to find what you don't remember and what others might prefer you "
7422 "forget.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
7425 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7426 #: freeculture.xml:5528
7428 "We take it for granted that we can go back to see what we remember "
7429 "reading. Think about newspapers. If you wanted to study the reaction of your "
7430 "hometown newspaper to the race riots in Watts in 1965, or to Bull Connor's "
7431 "water cannon in 1963, you could go to your public library and look at the "
7432 "newspapers. Those papers probably exist on microfiche. If you're lucky, they "
7433 "exist in paper, too. Either way, you are free, using a library, to go back "
7434 "and remember—not just what it is convenient to remember, but remember "
7435 "something close to the truth."
7438 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7439 #: freeculture.xml:5539
7441 "It is said that those who fail to remember history are doomed to repeat "
7442 "it. That's not quite correct. We <emphasis>all</emphasis> forget "
7443 "history. The key is whether we have a way to go back to rediscover what we "
7444 "forget. More directly, the key is whether an objective past can keep us "
7445 "honest. Libraries help do that, by collecting content and keeping it, for "
7446 "schoolchildren, for researchers, for grandma. A free society presumes this "
7451 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7452 #: freeculture.xml:5548
7454 "The Internet was an exception to this presumption. Until the Internet "
7455 "Archive, there was no way to go back. The Internet was the quintessentially "
7456 "transitory medium. And yet, as it becomes more important in forming and "
7457 "reforming society, it becomes more and more important to maintain in some "
7458 "historical form. It's just bizarre to think that we have scads of archives "
7459 "of newspapers from tiny towns around the world, yet there is but one copy of "
7460 "the Internet—the one kept by the Internet Archive."
7463 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7464 #: freeculture.xml:5559
7466 "Brewster Kahle is the founder of the Internet Archive. He was a very "
7467 "successful Internet entrepreneur after he was a successful computer "
7468 "researcher. In the 1990s, Kahle decided he had had enough business "
7469 "success. It was time to become a different kind of success. So he launched "
7470 "a series of projects designed to archive human knowledge. The Internet "
7471 "Archive was just the first of the projects of this Andrew Carnegie of the "
7472 "Internet. By December of 2002, the archive had over 10 billion pages, and it "
7473 "was growing at about a billion pages a month."
7476 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7477 #: freeculture.xml:5569
7479 "The Way Back Machine is the largest archive of human knowledge in human "
7480 "history. At the end of 2002, it held <quote>two hundred and thirty terabytes "
7481 "of material</quote>—and was <quote>ten times larger than the Library "
7482 "of Congress.</quote> And this was just the first of the archives that Kahle "
7483 "set out to build. In addition to the Internet Archive, Kahle has been "
7484 "constructing the Television Archive. Television, it turns out, is even more "
7485 "ephemeral than the Internet. While much of twentieth-century culture was "
7486 "constructed through television, only a tiny proportion of that culture is "
7487 "available for anyone to see today. Three hours of news are recorded each "
7488 "evening by Vanderbilt University—thanks to a specific exemption in the "
7489 "copyright law. That content is indexed, and is available to scholars for a "
7490 "very low fee. <quote>But other than that, [television] is almost "
7491 "unavailable,</quote> Kahle told me. <quote>If you were Barbara Walters you "
7492 "could get access to [the archives], but if you are just a graduate "
7493 "student?</quote> As Kahle put it,"
7496 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><indexterm><primary>
7497 #: freeculture.xml:5586
7502 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
7503 #: freeculture.xml:5588
7505 "Do you remember when Dan Quayle was interacting with Murphy Brown? Remember "
7506 "that back and forth surreal experience of a politician interacting with a "
7507 "fictional television character? If you were a graduate student wanting to "
7508 "study that, and you wanted to get those original back and forth exchanges "
7509 "between the two, the <citetitle>60 Minutes</citetitle> episode that came out "
7510 "after it … it would be almost impossible. … Those materials "
7511 "are almost unfindable. …"
7514 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7515 #: freeculture.xml:5600
7517 "Why is that? Why is it that the part of our culture that is recorded in "
7518 "newspapers remains perpetually accessible, while the part that is recorded "
7519 "on videotape is not? How is it that we've created a world where researchers "
7520 "trying to understand the effect of media on nineteenthcentury America will "
7521 "have an easier time than researchers trying to understand the effect of "
7522 "media on twentieth-century America?"
7525 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7526 #: freeculture.xml:5608
7528 "In part, this is because of the law. Early in American copyright law, "
7529 "copyright owners were required to deposit copies of their work in "
7530 "libraries. These copies were intended both to facilitate the spread of "
7531 "knowledge and to assure that a copy of the work would be around once the "
7532 "copyright expired, so that others might access and copy the work."
7536 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
7537 #: freeculture.xml:5625
7539 "Doug Herrick, <quote>Toward a National Film Collection: Motion Pictures at "
7540 "the Library of Congress,</quote> <citetitle>Film Library "
7541 "Quarterly</citetitle> 13 nos. 2–3 (1980): 5; Anthony Slide, "
7542 "<citetitle>Nitrate Won't Wait: A History of Film Preservation in the United "
7543 "States</citetitle> ( Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 1992), 36."
7546 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7547 #: freeculture.xml:5616
7549 "These rules applied to film as well. But in 1915, the Library of Congress "
7550 "made an exception for film. Film could be copyrighted so long as such "
7551 "deposits were made. But the filmmaker was then allowed to borrow back the "
7552 "deposits—for an unlimited time at no cost. In 1915 alone, there were "
7553 "more than 5,475 films deposited and <quote>borrowed back.</quote> Thus, when "
7554 "the copyrights to films expire, there is no copy held by any library. The "
7555 "copy exists—if it exists at all—in the library archive of the "
7556 "film company.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
7559 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7560 #: freeculture.xml:5633
7562 "The same is generally true about television. Television broadcasts were "
7563 "originally not copyrighted—there was no way to capture the broadcasts, "
7564 "so there was no fear of <quote>theft.</quote> But as technology enabled "
7565 "capturing, broadcasters relied increasingly upon the law. The law required "
7566 "they make a copy of each broadcast for the work to be "
7567 "<quote>copyrighted.</quote> But those copies were simply kept by the "
7568 "broadcasters. No library had any right to them; the government didn't demand "
7569 "them. The content of this part of American culture is practically invisible "
7570 "to anyone who would look."
7574 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7575 #: freeculture.xml:5644
7577 "Kahle was eager to correct this. Before September 11, 2001, he and his "
7578 "allies had started capturing television. They selected twenty stations from "
7579 "around the world and hit the Record button. After September 11, Kahle, "
7580 "working with dozens of others, selected twenty stations from around the "
7581 "world and, beginning October 11, 2001, made their coverage during the week "
7582 "of September 11 available free on-line. Anyone could see how news reports "
7583 "from around the world covered the events of that day."
7586 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
7587 #: freeculture.xml:5671
7588 msgid "Movie Archive"
7591 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7592 #: freeculture.xml:5655
7594 "Kahle had the same idea with film. Working with Rick Prelinger, whose "
7595 "archive of film includes close to 45,000 <quote>ephemeral films</quote> "
7596 "(meaning films other than Hollywood movies, films that were never "
7597 "copyrighted), Kahle established the Movie Archive. Prelinger let Kahle "
7598 "digitize 1,300 films in this archive and post those films on the Internet to "
7599 "be downloaded for free. Prelinger's is a for-profit company. It sells copies "
7600 "of these films as stock footage. What he has discovered is that after he "
7601 "made a significant chunk available for free, his stock footage sales went up "
7602 "dramatically. People could easily find the material they wanted to use. Some "
7603 "downloaded that material and made films on their own. Others purchased "
7604 "copies to enable other films to be made. Either way, the archive enabled "
7605 "access to this important part of our culture. Want to see a copy of the "
7606 "<quote>Duck and Cover</quote> film that instructed children how to save "
7607 "themselves in the middle of nuclear attack? Go to archive.org, and you can "
7608 "download the film in a few minutes—for free. <placeholder "
7609 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
7612 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7613 #: freeculture.xml:5674
7615 "Here again, Kahle is providing access to a part of our culture that we "
7616 "otherwise could not get easily, if at all. It is yet another part of what "
7617 "defines the twentieth century that we have lost to history. The law doesn't "
7618 "require these copies to be kept by anyone, or to be deposited in an archive "
7619 "by anyone. Therefore, there is no simple way to find them."
7622 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7623 #: freeculture.xml:5682
7625 "The key here is access, not price. Kahle wants to enable free access to this "
7626 "content, but he also wants to enable others to sell access to it. His aim is "
7627 "to ensure competition in access to this important part of our culture. Not "
7628 "during the commercial life of a bit of creative property, but during a "
7629 "second life that all creative property has—a noncommercial life."
7633 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7634 #: freeculture.xml:5690
7636 "For here is an idea that we should more clearly recognize. Every bit of "
7637 "creative property goes through different <quote>lives.</quote> In its first "
7638 "life, if the creator is lucky, the content is sold. In such cases the "
7639 "commercial market is successful for the creator. The vast majority of "
7640 "creative property doesn't enjoy such success, but some clearly does. For "
7641 "that content, commercial life is extremely important. Without this "
7642 "commercial market, there would be, many argue, much less creativity."
7645 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7646 #: freeculture.xml:5702
7648 "After the commercial life of creative property has ended, our tradition has "
7649 "always supported a second life as well. A newspaper delivers the news every "
7650 "day to the doorsteps of America. The very next day, it is used to wrap fish "
7651 "or to fill boxes with fragile gifts or to build an archive of knowledge "
7652 "about our history. In this second life, the content can continue to inform "
7653 "even if that information is no longer sold."
7657 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
7658 #: freeculture.xml:5714
7660 "Dave Barns, <quote>Fledgling Career in Antique Books: Woodstock Landlord, "
7661 "Bar Owner Starts a New Chapter by Adopting Business,</quote> "
7662 "<citetitle>Chicago Tribune</citetitle>, 5 September 1997, at Metro Lake "
7663 "1L. Of books published between 1927 and 1946, only 2.2 percent were in print "
7664 "in 2002. R. Anthony Reese, <quote>The First Sale Doctrine in the Era of "
7665 "Digital Networks,</quote> <citetitle>Boston College Law Review</citetitle> "
7666 "44 (2003): 593 n. 51."
7669 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7670 #: freeculture.xml:5711
7672 "The same has always been true about books. A book goes out of print very "
7673 "quickly (the average today is after about a year<placeholder "
7674 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>). After it is out of print, it can be sold in "
7675 "used book stores without the copyright owner getting anything and stored in "
7676 "libraries, where many get to read the book, also for free. Used book stores "
7677 "and libraries are thus the second life of a book. That second life is "
7678 "extremely important to the spread and stability of culture."
7681 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7682 #: freeculture.xml:5728
7684 "Yet increasingly, any assumption about a stable second life for creative "
7685 "property does not hold true with the most important components of popular "
7686 "culture in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. For "
7687 "these—television, movies, music, radio, the Internet—there is no "
7688 "guarantee of a second life. For these sorts of culture, it is as if we've "
7689 "replaced libraries with Barnes & Noble superstores. With this culture, "
7690 "what's accessible is nothing but what a certain limited market demands. "
7691 "Beyond that, culture disappears."
7695 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7696 #: freeculture.xml:5739
7698 "For most of the twentieth century, it was economics that made this so. It "
7699 "would have been insanely expensive to collect and make accessible all "
7700 "television and film and music: The cost of analog copies is extraordinarily "
7701 "high. So even though the law in principle would have restricted the ability "
7702 "of a Brewster Kahle to copy culture generally, the real restriction was "
7703 "economics. The market made it impossibly difficult to do anything about this "
7704 "ephemeral culture; the law had little practical effect."
7707 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7708 #: freeculture.xml:5751
7710 "Perhaps the single most important feature of the digital revolution is that "
7711 "for the first time since the Library of Alexandria, it is feasible to "
7712 "imagine constructing archives that hold all culture produced or distributed "
7713 "publicly. Technology makes it possible to imagine an archive of all books "
7714 "published, and increasingly makes it possible to imagine an archive of all "
7715 "moving images and sound."
7718 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7719 #: freeculture.xml:5759
7721 "The scale of this potential archive is something we've never imagined "
7722 "before. The Brewster Kahles of our history have dreamed about it; but we are "
7723 "for the first time at a point where that dream is possible. As Kahle "
7727 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
7728 #: freeculture.xml:5766
7730 "It looks like there's about two to three million recordings of music. "
7731 "Ever. There are about a hundred thousand theatrical releases of movies, "
7732 "… and about one to two million movies [distributed] during the "
7733 "twentieth century. There are about twenty-six million different titles of "
7734 "books. All of these would fit on computers that would fit in this room and "
7735 "be able to be afforded by a small company. So we're at a turning point in "
7736 "our history. Universal access is the goal. And the opportunity of leading a "
7737 "different life, based on this, is … thrilling. It could be one of the "
7738 "things humankind would be most proud of. Up there with the Library of "
7739 "Alexandria, putting a man on the moon, and the invention of the printing "
7744 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7745 #: freeculture.xml:5780
7747 "Kahle is not the only librarian. The Internet Archive is not the only "
7748 "archive. But Kahle and the Internet Archive suggest what the future of "
7749 "libraries or archives could be. <emphasis>When</emphasis> the commercial "
7750 "life of creative property ends, I don't know. But it does. And whenever it "
7751 "does, Kahle and his archive hint at a world where this knowledge, and "
7752 "culture, remains perpetually available. Some will draw upon it to understand "
7753 "it; some to criticize it. Some will use it, as Walt Disney did, to re-create "
7754 "the past for the future. These technologies promise something that had "
7755 "become unimaginable for much of our past—a future "
7756 "<emphasis>for</emphasis> our past. The technology of digital arts could make "
7757 "the dream of the Library of Alexandria real again."
7760 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7761 #: freeculture.xml:5795
7763 "Technologists have thus removed the economic costs of building such an "
7764 "archive. But lawyers' costs remain. For as much as we might like to call "
7765 "these <quote>archives,</quote> as warm as the idea of a "
7766 "<quote>library</quote> might seem, the <quote>content</quote> that is "
7767 "collected in these digital spaces is also someone's <quote>property.</quote> "
7768 "And the law of property restricts the freedoms that Kahle and others would "
7772 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><title>
7773 #: freeculture.xml:5805
7774 msgid "CHAPTER TEN: <quote>Property</quote>"
7777 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
7778 #: freeculture.xml:5814
7779 msgid "Johnson, Lyndon"
7782 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
7783 #: freeculture.xml:5815 freeculture.xml:9510
7784 msgid "Kennedy, John F."
7787 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7788 #: freeculture.xml:5807
7790 "Jack Valenti has been the president of the Motion Picture Association of "
7791 "America since 1966. He first came to Washington, D.C., with Lyndon Johnson's "
7792 "administration—literally. The famous picture of Johnson's swearing-in "
7793 "on Air Force One after the assassination of President Kennedy has Valenti in "
7794 "the background. In his almost forty years of running the MPAA, Valenti has "
7795 "established himself as perhaps the most prominent and effective lobbyist in "
7796 "Washington. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder "
7797 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
7800 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
7801 #: freeculture.xml:5828
7802 msgid "Disney, Inc."
7805 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
7806 #: freeculture.xml:5829
7807 msgid "Sony Pictures Entertainment"
7810 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
7811 #: freeculture.xml:5830
7815 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
7816 #: freeculture.xml:5831
7817 msgid "Paramount Pictures"
7820 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
7821 #: freeculture.xml:5832
7822 msgid "Twentieth Century Fox"
7825 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
7826 #: freeculture.xml:5833
7827 msgid "Universal Pictures"
7830 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
7831 #: freeculture.xml:5834 freeculture.xml:7228
7832 msgid "Warner Brothers"
7835 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7836 #: freeculture.xml:5818
7838 "The MPAA is the American branch of the international Motion Picture "
7839 "Association. It was formed in 1922 as a trade association whose goal was to "
7840 "defend American movies against increasing domestic criticism. The "
7841 "organization now represents not only filmmakers but producers and "
7842 "distributors of entertainment for television, video, and cable. Its board is "
7843 "made up of the chairmen and presidents of the seven major producers and "
7844 "distributors of motion picture and television programs in the United States: "
7845 "Walt Disney, Sony Pictures Entertainment, MGM, Paramount Pictures, Twentieth "
7846 "Century Fox, Universal Studios, and Warner Brothers. <placeholder "
7847 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/> "
7848 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"2\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
7849 "id=\"3\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"4\"/> <placeholder "
7850 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"5\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"6\"/>"
7854 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7855 #: freeculture.xml:5838
7857 "Valenti is only the third president of the MPAA. No president before him has "
7858 "had as much influence over that organization, or over Washington. As a "
7859 "Texan, Valenti has mastered the single most important political skill of a "
7860 "Southerner—the ability to appear simple and slow while hiding a "
7861 "lightning-fast intellect. To this day, Valenti plays the simple, humble "
7862 "man. But this Harvard MBA, and author of four books, who finished high "
7863 "school at the age of fifteen and flew more than fifty combat missions in "
7864 "World War II, is no Mr. Smith. When Valenti went to Washington, he mastered "
7865 "the city in a quintessentially Washingtonian way."
7868 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7869 #: freeculture.xml:5850
7871 "In defending artistic liberty and the freedom of speech that our culture "
7872 "depends upon, the MPAA has done important good. In crafting the MPAA rating "
7873 "system, it has probably avoided a great deal of speech-regulating harm. But "
7874 "there is an aspect to the organization's mission that is both the most "
7875 "radical and the most important. This is the organization's effort, "
7876 "epitomized in Valenti's every act, to redefine the meaning of "
7877 "<quote>creative property.</quote>"
7880 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7881 #: freeculture.xml:5859
7882 msgid "In 1982, Valenti's testimony to Congress captured the strategy perfectly:"
7886 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
7887 #: freeculture.xml:5873
7889 "Home Recording of Copyrighted Works: Hearings on H.R. 4783, H.R. 4794, "
7890 "H.R. 4808, H.R. 5250, H.R. 5488, and H.R. 5705 Before the Subcommittee on "
7891 "Courts, Civil Liberties, and the Administration of Justice of the Committee "
7892 "on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, 97th Cong., 2nd "
7893 "sess. (1982): 65 (testimony of Jack Valenti)."
7896 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
7897 #: freeculture.xml:5864
7899 "No matter the lengthy arguments made, no matter the charges and the "
7900 "counter-charges, no matter the tumult and the shouting, reasonable men and "
7901 "women will keep returning to the fundamental issue, the central theme which "
7902 "animates this entire debate: <emphasis>Creative property owners must be "
7903 "accorded the same rights and protection resident in all other property "
7904 "owners in the nation</emphasis>. That is the issue. That is the "
7905 "question. And that is the rostrum on which this entire hearing and the "
7906 "debates to follow must rest.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
7910 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7911 #: freeculture.xml:5883
7913 "The strategy of this rhetoric, like the strategy of most of Valenti's "
7914 "rhetoric, is brilliant and simple and brilliant because simple. The "
7915 "<quote>central theme</quote> to which <quote>reasonable men and "
7916 "women</quote> will return is this: <quote>Creative property owners must be "
7917 "accorded the same rights and protections resident in all other property "
7918 "owners in the nation.</quote> There are no second-class citizens, Valenti "
7919 "might have continued. There should be no second-class property owners."
7922 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7923 #: freeculture.xml:5894
7925 "This claim has an obvious and powerful intuitive pull. It is stated with "
7926 "such clarity as to make the idea as obvious as the notion that we use "
7927 "elections to pick presidents. But in fact, there is no more extreme a claim "
7928 "made by <emphasis>anyone</emphasis> who is serious in this debate than this "
7929 "claim of Valenti's. Jack Valenti, however sweet and however brilliant, is "
7930 "perhaps the nation's foremost extremist when it comes to the nature and "
7931 "scope of <quote>creative property.</quote> His views have "
7932 "<emphasis>no</emphasis> reasonable connection to our actual legal tradition, "
7933 "even if the subtle pull of his Texan charm has slowly redefined that "
7934 "tradition, at least in Washington."
7938 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
7939 #: freeculture.xml:5909
7941 "Lawyers speak of <quote>property</quote> not as an absolute thing, but as a "
7942 "bundle of rights that are sometimes associated with a particular "
7943 "object. Thus, my <quote>property right</quote> to my car gives me the right "
7944 "to exclusive use, but not the right to drive at 150 miles an hour. For the "
7945 "best effort to connect the ordinary meaning of <quote>property</quote> to "
7946 "<quote>lawyer talk,</quote> see Bruce Ackerman, <citetitle>Private Property "
7947 "and the Constitution</citetitle> (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1977), "
7951 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7952 #: freeculture.xml:5906
7954 "While <quote>creative property</quote> is certainly <quote>property</quote> "
7955 "in a nerdy and precise sense that lawyers are trained to "
7956 "understand,<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> it has never been the "
7957 "case, nor should it be, that <quote>creative property owners</quote> have "
7958 "been <quote>accorded the same rights and protection resident in all other "
7959 "property owners.</quote> Indeed, if creative property owners were given the "
7960 "same rights as all other property owners, that would effect a radical, and "
7961 "radically undesirable, change in our tradition."
7964 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7965 #: freeculture.xml:5924
7967 "Valenti knows this. But he speaks for an industry that cares squat for our "
7968 "tradition and the values it represents. He speaks for an industry that is "
7969 "instead fighting to restore the tradition that the British overturned in "
7970 "1710. In the world that Valenti's changes would create, a powerful few would "
7971 "exercise powerful control over how our creative culture would develop."
7975 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7976 #: freeculture.xml:5932
7978 "I have two purposes in this chapter. The first is to convince you that, "
7979 "historically, Valenti's claim is absolutely wrong. The second is to convince "
7980 "you that it would be terribly wrong for us to reject our history. We have "
7981 "always treated rights in creative property differently from the rights "
7982 "resident in all other property owners. They have never been the same. And "
7983 "they should never be the same, because, however counterintuitive this may "
7984 "seem, to make them the same would be to fundamentally weaken the opportunity "
7985 "for new creators to create. Creativity depends upon the owners of "
7986 "creativity having less than perfect control."
7989 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
7990 #: freeculture.xml:5947
7992 "Organizations such as the MPAA, whose board includes the most powerful of "
7993 "the old guard, have little interest, their rhetoric notwithstanding, in "
7994 "assuring that the new can displace them. No organization does. No person "
7995 "does. (Ask me about tenure, for example.) But what's good for the MPAA is "
7996 "not necessarily good for America. A society that defends the ideals of free "
7997 "culture must preserve precisely the opportunity for new creativity to "
7998 "threaten the old. To get just a hint that there is something fundamentally "
7999 "wrong in Valenti's argument, we need look no further than the United States "
8000 "Constitution itself."
8003 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
8004 #: freeculture.xml:5959
8006 "The framers of our Constitution loved <quote>property.</quote> Indeed, so "
8007 "strongly did they love property that they built into the Constitution an "
8008 "important requirement. If the government takes your property—if it "
8009 "condemns your house, or acquires a slice of land from your farm—it is "
8010 "required, under the Fifth Amendment's <quote>Takings Clause,</quote> to pay "
8011 "you <quote>just compensation</quote> for that taking. The Constitution thus "
8012 "guarantees that property is, in a certain sense, sacred. It cannot "
8013 "<emphasis>ever</emphasis> be taken from the property owner unless the "
8014 "government pays for the privilege."
8018 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
8019 #: freeculture.xml:5970
8021 "Yet the very same Constitution speaks very differently about what Valenti "
8022 "calls <quote>creative property.</quote> In the clause granting Congress the "
8023 "power to create <quote>creative property,</quote> the Constitution "
8024 "<emphasis>requires</emphasis> that after a <quote>limited time,</quote> "
8025 "Congress take back the rights that it has granted and set the "
8026 "<quote>creative property</quote> free to the public domain. Yet when "
8027 "Congress does this, when the expiration of a copyright term "
8028 "<quote>takes</quote> your copyright and turns it over to the public domain, "
8029 "Congress does not have any obligation to pay <quote>just "
8030 "compensation</quote> for this <quote>taking.</quote> Instead, the same "
8031 "Constitution that requires compensation for your land requires that you lose "
8032 "your <quote>creative property</quote> right without any compensation at all."
8035 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
8036 #: freeculture.xml:5985
8038 "The Constitution thus on its face states that these two forms of property "
8039 "are not to be accorded the same rights. They are plainly to be treated "
8040 "differently. Valenti is therefore not just asking for a change in our "
8041 "tradition when he argues that creative-property owners should be accorded "
8042 "the same rights as every other property-right owner. He is effectively "
8043 "arguing for a change in our Constitution itself."
8046 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
8047 #: freeculture.xml:5994
8049 "Arguing for a change in our Constitution is not necessarily wrong. There "
8050 "was much in our original Constitution that was plainly wrong. The "
8051 "Constitution of 1789 entrenched slavery; it left senators to be appointed "
8052 "rather than elected; it made it possible for the electoral college to "
8053 "produce a tie between the president and his own vice president (as it did in "
8054 "1800). The framers were no doubt extraordinary, but I would be the first to "
8055 "admit that they made big mistakes. We have since rejected some of those "
8056 "mistakes; no doubt there could be others that we should reject as well. So "
8057 "my argument is not simply that because Jefferson did it, we should, too."
8060 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
8061 #: freeculture.xml:6006
8063 "Instead, my argument is that because Jefferson did it, we should at least "
8064 "try to understand <emphasis>why</emphasis>. Why did the framers, fanatical "
8065 "property types that they were, reject the claim that creative property be "
8066 "given the same rights as all other property? Why did they require that for "
8067 "creative property there must be a public domain?"
8070 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
8071 #: freeculture.xml:6014
8073 "To answer this question, we need to get some perspective on the history of "
8074 "these <quote>creative property</quote> rights, and the control that they "
8075 "enabled. Once we see clearly how differently these rights have been "
8076 "defined, we will be in a better position to ask the question that should be "
8077 "at the core of this war: Not <emphasis>whether</emphasis> creative property "
8078 "should be protected, but how. Not <emphasis>whether</emphasis> we will "
8079 "enforce the rights the law gives to creative-property owners, but what the "
8080 "particular mix of rights ought to be. Not <emphasis>whether</emphasis> "
8081 "artists should be paid, but whether institutions designed to assure that "
8082 "artists get paid need also control how culture develops."
8086 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
8087 #: freeculture.xml:6029
8089 "To answer these questions, we need a more general way to talk about how "
8090 "property is protected. More precisely, we need a more general way than the "
8091 "narrow language of the law allows. In <citetitle>Code and Other Laws of "
8092 "Cyberspace</citetitle>, I used a simple model to capture this more general "
8093 "perspective. For any particular right or regulation, this model asks how "
8094 "four different modalities of regulation interact to support or weaken the "
8095 "right or regulation. I represented it with this diagram:"
8098 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><figure><title>
8099 #: freeculture.xml:6038
8101 "How four different modalities of regulation interact to support or weaken "
8102 "the right or regulation."
8105 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure>
8106 #: freeculture.xml:6039 freeculture.xml:6216 freeculture.xml:6519
8107 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1331.png\"></graphic>"
8110 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
8111 #: freeculture.xml:6042
8113 "At the center of this picture is a regulated dot: the individual or group "
8114 "that is the target of regulation, or the holder of a right. (In each case "
8115 "throughout, we can describe this either as regulation or as a right. For "
8116 "simplicity's sake, I will speak only of regulations.) The ovals represent "
8117 "four ways in which the individual or group might be regulated— either "
8118 "constrained or, alternatively, enabled. Law is the most obvious constraint "
8119 "(to lawyers, at least). It constrains by threatening punishments after the "
8120 "fact if the rules set in advance are violated. So if, for example, you "
8121 "willfully infringe Madonna's copyright by copying a song from her latest CD "
8122 "and posting it on the Web, you can be punished with a $150,000 fine. The "
8123 "fine is an ex post punishment for violating an ex ante rule. It is imposed "
8124 "by the state. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
8127 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
8128 #: freeculture.xml:6059
8130 "Norms are a different kind of constraint. They, too, punish an individual "
8131 "for violating a rule. But the punishment of a norm is imposed by a "
8132 "community, not (or not only) by the state. There may be no law against "
8133 "spitting, but that doesn't mean you won't be punished if you spit on the "
8134 "ground while standing in line at a movie. The punishment might not be harsh, "
8135 "though depending upon the community, it could easily be more harsh than many "
8136 "of the punishments imposed by the state. The mark of the difference is not "
8137 "the severity of the rule, but the source of the enforcement."
8140 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
8141 #: freeculture.xml:6070
8143 "The market is a third type of constraint. Its constraint is effected through "
8144 "conditions: You can do X if you pay Y; you'll be paid M if you do N. These "
8145 "constraints are obviously not independent of law or norms—it is "
8146 "property law that defines what must be bought if it is to be taken legally; "
8147 "it is norms that say what is appropriately sold. But given a set of norms, "
8148 "and a background of property and contract law, the market imposes a "
8149 "simultaneous constraint upon how an individual or group might behave."
8152 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
8153 #: freeculture.xml:6080
8155 "Finally, and for the moment, perhaps, most mysteriously, "
8156 "<quote>architecture</quote>—the physical world as one finds "
8157 "it—is a constraint on behavior. A fallen bridge might constrain your "
8158 "ability to get across a river. Railroad tracks might constrain the ability "
8159 "of a community to integrate its social life. As with the market, "
8160 "architecture does not effect its constraint through ex post "
8161 "punishments. Instead, also as with the market, architecture effects its "
8162 "constraint through simultaneous conditions. These conditions are imposed not "
8163 "by courts enforcing contracts, or by police punishing theft, but by nature, "
8164 "by <quote>architecture.</quote> If a 500-pound boulder blocks your way, it "
8165 "is the law of gravity that enforces this constraint. If a $500 airplane "
8166 "ticket stands between you and a flight to New York, it is the market that "
8167 "enforces this constraint."
8171 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
8172 #: freeculture.xml:6097
8174 "So the first point about these four modalities of regulation is obvious: "
8175 "They interact. Restrictions imposed by one might be reinforced by "
8176 "another. Or restrictions imposed by one might be undermined by another."
8179 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
8180 #: freeculture.xml:6103
8182 "The second point follows directly: If we want to understand the effective "
8183 "freedom that anyone has at a given moment to do any particular thing, we "
8184 "have to consider how these four modalities interact. Whether or not there "
8185 "are other constraints (there may well be; my claim is not about "
8186 "comprehensiveness), these four are among the most significant, and any "
8187 "regulator (whether controlling or freeing) must consider how these four in "
8188 "particular interact."
8191 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
8192 #: freeculture.xml:6112
8193 msgid "driving speed, constraints on"
8196 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
8197 #: freeculture.xml:6115
8199 "So, for example, consider the <quote>freedom</quote> to drive a car at a "
8200 "high speed. That freedom is in part restricted by laws: speed limits that "
8201 "say how fast you can drive in particular places at particular times. It is "
8202 "in part restricted by architecture: speed bumps, for example, slow most "
8203 "rational drivers; governors in buses, as another example, set the maximum "
8204 "rate at which the driver can drive. The freedom is in part restricted by the "
8205 "market: Fuel efficiency drops as speed increases, thus the price of gasoline "
8206 "indirectly constrains speed. And finally, the norms of a community may or "
8207 "may not constrain the freedom to speed. Drive at 50 mph by a school in your "
8208 "own neighborhood and you're likely to be punished by the neighbors. The same "
8209 "norm wouldn't be as effective in a different town, or at night."
8213 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
8214 #: freeculture.xml:6133
8216 "By describing the way law affects the other three modalities, I don't mean "
8217 "to suggest that the other three don't affect law. Obviously, they do. Law's "
8218 "only distinction is that it alone speaks as if it has a right "
8219 "self-consciously to change the other three. The right of the other three is "
8220 "more timidly expressed. See Lawrence Lessig, <citetitle>Code: And Other "
8221 "Laws of Cyberspace</citetitle> (New York: Basic Books, 1999): 90–95; "
8222 "Lawrence Lessig, <quote>The New Chicago School,</quote> <citetitle>Journal "
8223 "of Legal Studies</citetitle>, June 1998."
8227 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
8228 #: freeculture.xml:6129
8230 "The final point about this simple model should also be fairly clear: While "
8231 "these four modalities are analytically independent, law has a special role "
8232 "in affecting the three.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> The law, in "
8233 "other words, sometimes operates to increase or decrease the constraint of a "
8234 "particular modality. Thus, the law might be used to increase taxes on "
8235 "gasoline, so as to increase the incentives to drive more slowly. The law "
8236 "might be used to mandate more speed bumps, so as to increase the difficulty "
8237 "of driving rapidly. The law might be used to fund ads that stigmatize "
8238 "reckless driving. Or the law might be used to require that other laws be "
8239 "more strict—a federal requirement that states decrease the speed "
8240 "limit, for example—so as to decrease the attractiveness of fast "
8244 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><figure><title>
8245 #: freeculture.xml:6157
8246 msgid "Law has a special role in affecting the three."
8249 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><figure>
8250 #: freeculture.xml:6158
8251 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1361.png\"></graphic>"
8254 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
8255 #: freeculture.xml:6198
8256 msgid "Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)"
8259 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
8260 #: freeculture.xml:6199
8261 msgid "Commons, John R."
8264 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
8265 #: freeculture.xml:6169
8267 "Some people object to this way of talking about <quote>liberty.</quote> They "
8268 "object because their focus when considering the constraints that exist at "
8269 "any particular moment are constraints imposed exclusively by the "
8270 "government. For instance, if a storm destroys a bridge, these people think "
8271 "it is meaningless to say that one's liberty has been restrained. A bridge "
8272 "has washed out, and it's harder to get from one place to another. To talk "
8273 "about this as a loss of freedom, they say, is to confuse the stuff of "
8274 "politics with the vagaries of ordinary life. I don't mean to deny the value "
8275 "in this narrower view, which depends upon the context of the inquiry. I do, "
8276 "however, mean to argue against any insistence that this narrower view is the "
8277 "only proper view of liberty. As I argued in <citetitle>Code</citetitle>, we "
8278 "come from a long tradition of political thought with a broader focus than "
8279 "the narrow question of what the government did when. John Stuart Mill "
8280 "defended freedom of speech, for example, from the tyranny of narrow minds, "
8281 "not from the fear of government prosecution; John Stuart Mill, <citetitle>On "
8282 "Liberty</citetitle> (Indiana: Hackett Publishing Co., 1978), 19. John "
8283 "R. Commons famously defended the economic freedom of labor from constraints "
8284 "imposed by the market; John R. Commons, <quote>The Right to Work,</quote> in "
8285 "Malcom Rutherford and Warren J. Samuels, eds., <citetitle>John R. Commons: "
8286 "Selected Essays</citetitle> (London: Routledge: 1997), 62. The Americans "
8287 "with Disabilities Act increases the liberty of people with physical "
8288 "disabilities by changing the architecture of certain public places, thereby "
8289 "making access to those places easier; 42 <citetitle>United States "
8290 "Code</citetitle>, section 12101 (2000). Each of these interventions to "
8291 "change existing conditions changes the liberty of a particular group. The "
8292 "effect of those interventions should be accounted for in order to understand "
8293 "the effective liberty that each of these groups might face. <placeholder "
8294 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
8297 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
8298 #: freeculture.xml:6161
8300 "These constraints can thus change, and they can be changed. To understand "
8301 "the effective protection of liberty or protection of property at any "
8302 "particular moment, we must track these changes over time. A restriction "
8303 "imposed by one modality might be erased by another. A freedom enabled by one "
8304 "modality might be displaced by another.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
8308 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><title>
8309 #: freeculture.xml:6203
8310 msgid "Why Hollywood Is Right"
8313 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8314 #: freeculture.xml:6205
8316 "The most obvious point that this model reveals is just why, or just how, "
8317 "Hollywood is right. The copyright warriors have rallied Congress and the "
8318 "courts to defend copyright. This model helps us see why that rallying makes "
8322 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8323 #: freeculture.xml:6211
8324 msgid "Let's say this is the picture of copyright's regulation before the Internet:"
8327 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure><title>
8328 #: freeculture.xml:6215 freeculture.xml:6518
8329 msgid "Copyright's regulation before the Internet."
8333 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8334 #: freeculture.xml:6220
8336 "There is balance between law, norms, market, and architecture. The law "
8337 "limits the ability to copy and share content, by imposing penalties on those "
8338 "who copy and share content. Those penalties are reinforced by technologies "
8339 "that make it hard to copy and share content (architecture) and expensive to "
8340 "copy and share content (market). Finally, those penalties are mitigated by "
8341 "norms we all recognize—kids, for example, taping other kids' "
8342 "records. These uses of copyrighted material may well be infringement, but "
8343 "the norms of our society (before the Internet, at least) had no problem with "
8344 "this form of infringement."
8347 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8348 #: freeculture.xml:6232
8350 "Enter the Internet, or, more precisely, technologies such as MP3s and p2p "
8351 "sharing. Now the constraint of architecture changes dramatically, as does "
8352 "the constraint of the market. And as both the market and architecture relax "
8353 "the regulation of copyright, norms pile on. The happy balance (for the "
8354 "warriors, at least) of life before the Internet becomes an effective state "
8355 "of anarchy after the Internet."
8359 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8360 #: freeculture.xml:6240
8362 "Thus the sense of, and justification for, the warriors' response. "
8363 "Technology has changed, the warriors say, and the effect of this change, "
8364 "when ramified through the market and norms, is that a balance of protection "
8365 "for the copyright owners' rights has been lost. This is Iraq after the fall "
8366 "of Saddam, but this time no government is justifying the looting that "
8370 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure><title>
8371 #: freeculture.xml:6250
8372 msgid "effective state of anarchy after the Internet."
8375 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure>
8376 #: freeculture.xml:6251
8377 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1381.png\"></graphic>"
8380 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8381 #: freeculture.xml:6254
8383 "Neither this analysis nor the conclusions that follow are new to the "
8384 "warriors. Indeed, in a <quote>White Paper</quote> prepared by the Commerce "
8385 "Department (one heavily influenced by the copyright warriors) in 1995, this "
8386 "mix of regulatory modalities had already been identified and the strategy to "
8387 "respond already mapped. In response to the changes the Internet had "
8388 "effected, the White Paper argued (1) Congress should strengthen intellectual "
8389 "property law, (2) businesses should adopt innovative marketing techniques, "
8390 "(3) technologists should push to develop code to protect copyrighted "
8391 "material, and (4) educators should educate kids to better protect copyright."
8395 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8396 #: freeculture.xml:6266
8398 "This mixed strategy is just what copyright needed—if it was to "
8399 "preserve the particular balance that existed before the change induced by "
8400 "the Internet. And it's just what we should expect the content industry to "
8401 "push for. It is as American as apple pie to consider the happy life you have "
8402 "as an entitlement, and to look to the law to protect it if something comes "
8403 "along to change that happy life. Homeowners living in a flood plain have no "
8404 "hesitation appealing to the government to rebuild (and rebuild again) when a "
8405 "flood (architecture) wipes away their property (law). Farmers have no "
8406 "hesitation appealing to the government to bail them out when a virus "
8407 "(architecture) devastates their crop. Unions have no hesitation appealing to "
8408 "the government to bail them out when imports (market) wipe out the "
8409 "U.S. steel industry."
8412 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8413 #: freeculture.xml:6283
8415 "Thus, there's nothing wrong or surprising in the content industry's campaign "
8416 "to protect itself from the harmful consequences of a technological "
8417 "innovation. And I would be the last person to argue that the changing "
8418 "technology of the Internet has not had a profound effect on the content "
8419 "industry's way of doing business, or as John Seely Brown describes it, its "
8420 "<quote>architecture of revenue.</quote>"
8423 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
8424 #: freeculture.xml:6290
8425 msgid "railroad industry"
8429 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
8430 #: freeculture.xml:6300
8432 "See Geoffrey Smith, <quote>Film vs. Digital: Can Kodak Build a "
8433 "Bridge?</quote> BusinessWeek online, 2 August 1999, available at <ulink "
8434 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #23</ulink>. For a more recent "
8435 "analysis of Kodak's place in the market, see Chana R. Schoenberger, "
8436 "<quote>Can Kodak Make Up for Lost Moments?</quote> Forbes.com, 6 October "
8437 "2003, available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link "
8441 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8442 #: freeculture.xml:6292
8444 "But just because a particular interest asks for government support, it "
8445 "doesn't follow that support should be granted. And just because technology "
8446 "has weakened a particular way of doing business, it doesn't follow that the "
8447 "government should intervene to support that old way of doing "
8448 "business. Kodak, for example, has lost perhaps as much as 20 percent of "
8449 "their traditional film market to the emerging technologies of digital "
8450 "cameras.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Does anyone believe the "
8451 "government should ban digital cameras just to support Kodak? Highways have "
8452 "weakened the freight business for railroads. Does anyone think we should ban "
8453 "trucks from roads <emphasis>for the purpose of</emphasis> protecting the "
8454 "railroads? Closer to the subject of this book, remote channel changers have "
8455 "weakened the <quote>stickiness</quote> of television advertising (if a "
8456 "boring commercial comes on the TV, the remote makes it easy to surf ), and "
8457 "it may well be that this change has weakened the television advertising "
8458 "market. But does anyone believe we should regulate remotes to reinforce "
8459 "commercial television? (Maybe by limiting them to function only once a "
8460 "second, or to switch to only ten channels within an hour?)"
8464 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
8465 #: freeculture.xml:6332
8467 "Fred Warshofsky, <citetitle>The Patent Wars</citetitle> (New York: Wiley, "
8468 "1994), 170–71."
8471 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
8472 #: freeculture.xml:6341 freeculture.xml:12812
8476 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8477 #: freeculture.xml:6322
8479 "The obvious answer to these obviously rhetorical questions is no. In a free "
8480 "society, with a free market, supported by free enterprise and free trade, "
8481 "the government's role is not to support one way of doing business against "
8482 "others. Its role is not to pick winners and protect them against loss. If "
8483 "the government did this generally, then we would never have any progress. As "
8484 "Microsoft chairman Bill Gates wrote in 1991, in a memo criticizing software "
8485 "patents, <quote>established companies have an interest in excluding future "
8486 "competitors.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> And relative "
8487 "to a startup, established companies also have the means. (Think RCA and FM "
8488 "radio.) A world in which competitors with new ideas must fight not only the "
8489 "market but also the government is a world in which competitors with new "
8490 "ideas will not succeed. It is a world of stasis and increasingly "
8491 "concentrated stagnation. It is the Soviet Union under Brezhnev. "
8492 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
8495 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8496 #: freeculture.xml:6344
8498 "Thus, while it is understandable for industries threatened with new "
8499 "technologies that change the way they do business to look to the government "
8500 "for protection, it is the special duty of policy makers to guarantee that "
8501 "that protection not become a deterrent to progress. It is the duty of policy "
8502 "makers, in other words, to assure that the changes they create, in response "
8503 "to the request of those hurt by changing technology, are changes that "
8504 "preserve the incentives and opportunities for innovation and change."
8507 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8508 #: freeculture.xml:6354
8510 "In the context of laws regulating speech—which include, obviously, "
8511 "copyright law—that duty is even stronger. When the industry "
8512 "complaining about changing technologies is asking Congress to respond in a "
8513 "way that burdens speech and creativity, policy makers should be especially "
8514 "wary of the request. It is always a bad deal for the government to get into "
8515 "the business of regulating speech markets. The risks and dangers of that "
8516 "game are precisely why our framers created the First Amendment to our "
8517 "Constitution: <quote>Congress shall make no law … abridging the "
8518 "freedom of speech.</quote> So when Congress is being asked to pass laws that "
8519 "would <quote>abridge</quote> the freedom of speech, it should ask— "
8520 "carefully—whether such regulation is justified."
8524 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8525 #: freeculture.xml:6368
8527 "My argument just now, however, has nothing to do with whether the changes "
8528 "that are being pushed by the copyright warriors are "
8529 "<quote>justified.</quote> My argument is about their effect. For before we "
8530 "get to the question of justification, a hard question that depends a great "
8531 "deal upon your values, we should first ask whether we understand the effect "
8532 "of the changes the content industry wants."
8535 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8536 #: freeculture.xml:6377
8537 msgid "Here's the metaphor that will capture the argument to follow."
8540 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
8541 #: freeculture.xml:6380
8545 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
8546 #: freeculture.xml:6388
8547 msgid "Müller, Paul Hermann"
8550 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8551 #: freeculture.xml:6383
8553 "In 1873, the chemical DDT was first synthesized. In 1948, Swiss chemist Paul "
8554 "Hermann Müller won the Nobel Prize for his work demonstrating the "
8555 "insecticidal properties of DDT. By the 1950s, the insecticide was widely "
8556 "used around the world to kill disease-carrying pests. It was also used to "
8557 "increase farm production. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
8560 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8561 #: freeculture.xml:6391
8563 "No one doubts that killing disease-carrying pests or increasing crop "
8564 "production is a good thing. No one doubts that the work of Müller was "
8565 "important and valuable and probably saved lives, possibly millions."
8568 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
8569 #: freeculture.xml:6395 freeculture.xml:6401
8570 msgid "Carson, Rachel"
8573 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
8574 #: freeculture.xml:6402
8575 msgid "Silent Sprint (Carson)"
8578 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8579 #: freeculture.xml:6397
8581 "But in 1962, Rachel Carson published <citetitle>Silent Spring</citetitle>, "
8582 "which argued that DDT, whatever its primary benefits, was also having "
8583 "unintended environmental consequences. Birds were losing the ability to "
8584 "reproduce. Whole chains of the ecology were being destroyed. <placeholder "
8585 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
8588 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8589 #: freeculture.xml:6405
8591 "No one set out to destroy the environment. Paul Müller certainly did not aim "
8592 "to harm any birds. But the effort to solve one set of problems produced "
8593 "another set which, in the view of some, was far worse than the problems that "
8594 "were originally attacked. Or more accurately, the problems DDT caused were "
8595 "worse than the problems it solved, at least when considering the other, more "
8596 "environmentally friendly ways to solve the problems that DDT was meant to "
8601 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
8602 #: freeculture.xml:6418
8604 "See, for example, James Boyle, <quote>A Politics of Intellectual Property: "
8605 "Environmentalism for the Net?</quote> <citetitle>Duke Law "
8606 "Journal</citetitle> 47 (1997): 87."
8610 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8611 #: freeculture.xml:6414
8613 "It is to this image precisely that Duke University law professor James Boyle "
8614 "appeals when he argues that we need an <quote>environmentalism</quote> for "
8615 "culture.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> His point, and the point I "
8616 "want to develop in the balance of this chapter, is not that the aims of "
8617 "copyright are flawed. Or that authors should not be paid for their work. Or "
8618 "that music should be given away <quote>for free.</quote> The point is that "
8619 "some of the ways in which we might protect authors will have unintended "
8620 "consequences for the cultural environment, much like DDT had for the natural "
8621 "environment. And just as criticism of DDT is not an endorsement of malaria "
8622 "or an attack on farmers, so, too, is criticism of one particular set of "
8623 "regulations protecting copyright not an endorsement of anarchy or an attack "
8624 "on authors. It is an environment of creativity that we seek, and we should "
8625 "be aware of our actions' effects on the environment."
8628 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8629 #: freeculture.xml:6435
8631 "My argument, in the balance of this chapter, tries to map exactly this "
8632 "effect. No doubt the technology of the Internet has had a dramatic effect on "
8633 "the ability of copyright owners to protect their content. But there should "
8634 "also be little doubt that when you add together the changes in copyright law "
8635 "over time, plus the change in technology that the Internet is undergoing "
8636 "just now, the net effect of these changes will not be only that copyrighted "
8637 "work is effectively protected. Also, and generally missed, the net effect of "
8638 "this massive increase in protection will be devastating to the environment "
8642 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8643 #: freeculture.xml:6446
8645 "In a line: To kill a gnat, we are spraying DDT with consequences for free "
8646 "culture that will be far more devastating than that this gnat will be lost."
8649 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><title>
8650 #: freeculture.xml:6453
8654 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8655 #: freeculture.xml:6455
8657 "America copied English copyright law. Actually, we copied and improved "
8658 "English copyright law. Our Constitution makes the purpose of <quote>creative "
8659 "property</quote> rights clear; its express limitations reinforce the English "
8660 "aim to avoid overly powerful publishers."
8663 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8664 #: freeculture.xml:6461
8666 "The power to establish <quote>creative property</quote> rights is granted to "
8667 "Congress in a way that, for our Constitution, at least, is very odd. Article "
8668 "I, section 8, clause 8 of our Constitution states that:"
8672 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8673 #: freeculture.xml:6466
8675 "Congress has the power to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, "
8676 "by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right "
8677 "to their respective Writings and Discoveries. We can call this the "
8678 "<quote>Progress Clause,</quote> for notice what this clause does not say. It "
8679 "does not say Congress has the power to grant <quote>creative property "
8680 "rights.</quote> It says that Congress has the power <emphasis>to promote "
8681 "progress</emphasis>. The grant of power is its purpose, and its purpose is a "
8682 "public one, not the purpose of enriching publishers, nor even primarily the "
8683 "purpose of rewarding authors."
8686 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8687 #: freeculture.xml:6479
8689 "The Progress Clause expressly limits the term of copyrights. As we saw in "
8690 "chapter <xref xrefstyle=\"select: labelnumber\" linkend=\"founders\"/>, the "
8691 "English limited the term of copyright so as to assure that a few would not "
8692 "exercise disproportionate control over culture by exercising "
8693 "disproportionate control over publishing. We can assume the framers followed "
8694 "the English for a similar purpose. Indeed, unlike the English, the framers "
8695 "reinforced that objective, by requiring that copyrights extend <quote>to "
8696 "Authors</quote> only."
8699 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8700 #: freeculture.xml:6489
8702 "The design of the Progress Clause reflects something about the "
8703 "Constitution's design in general. To avoid a problem, the framers built "
8704 "structure. To prevent the concentrated power of publishers, they built a "
8705 "structure that kept copyrights away from publishers and kept them short. To "
8706 "prevent the concentrated power of a church, they banned the federal "
8707 "government from establishing a church. To prevent concentrating power in the "
8708 "federal government, they built structures to reinforce the power of the "
8709 "states—including the Senate, whose members were at the time selected "
8710 "by the states, and an electoral college, also selected by the states, to "
8711 "select the president. In each case, a <emphasis>structure</emphasis> built "
8712 "checks and balances into the constitutional frame, structured to prevent "
8713 "otherwise inevitable concentrations of power."
8716 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8717 #: freeculture.xml:6504
8719 "I doubt the framers would recognize the regulation we call "
8720 "<quote>copyright</quote> today. The scope of that regulation is far beyond "
8721 "anything they ever considered. To begin to understand what they did, we need "
8722 "to put our <quote>copyright</quote> in context: We need to see how it has "
8723 "changed in the 210 years since they first struck its design."
8727 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8728 #: freeculture.xml:6511
8730 "Some of these changes come from the law: some in light of changes in "
8731 "technology, and some in light of changes in technology given a particular "
8732 "concentration of market power. In terms of our model, we started here:"
8735 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8736 #: freeculture.xml:6522
8737 msgid "We will end here:"
8740 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure><title>
8741 #: freeculture.xml:6525
8742 msgid "<quote>Copyright</quote> today."
8745 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure>
8746 #: freeculture.xml:6526
8747 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1442.png\"></graphic>"
8751 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8752 #: freeculture.xml:6529
8753 msgid "Let me explain how."
8756 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><title>
8757 #: freeculture.xml:6534
8758 msgid "Law: Duration"
8761 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
8762 #: freeculture.xml:6550
8763 msgid "Crosskey, William W."
8766 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
8767 #: freeculture.xml:6544
8769 "William W. Crosskey, <citetitle>Politics and the Constitution in the History "
8770 "of the United States</citetitle> (London: Cambridge University Press, 1953), "
8771 "vol. 1, 485–86: <quote>extinguish[ing], by plain implication of `the "
8772 "supreme Law of the Land,' <emphasis>the perpetual rights which authors had, "
8773 "or were supposed by some to have, under the Common Law</emphasis></quote> "
8774 "(emphasis added). <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
8777 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8778 #: freeculture.xml:6536
8780 "When the first Congress enacted laws to protect creative property, it faced "
8781 "the same uncertainty about the status of creative property that the English "
8782 "had confronted in 1774. Many states had passed laws protecting creative "
8783 "property, and some believed that these laws simply supplemented common law "
8784 "rights that already protected creative authorship.<placeholder "
8785 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> This meant that there was no guaranteed public "
8786 "domain in the United States in 1790. If copyrights were protected by the "
8787 "common law, then there was no simple way to know whether a work published in "
8788 "the United States was controlled or free. Just as in England, this lingering "
8789 "uncertainty would make it hard for publishers to rely upon a public domain "
8790 "to reprint and distribute works."
8793 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8794 #: freeculture.xml:6560
8796 "That uncertainty ended after Congress passed legislation granting "
8797 "copyrights. Because federal law overrides any contrary state law, federal "
8798 "protections for copyrighted works displaced any state law protections. Just "
8799 "as in England the Statute of Anne eventually meant that the copyrights for "
8800 "all English works expired, a federal statute meant that any state copyrights "
8804 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8805 #: freeculture.xml:6568
8807 "In 1790, Congress enacted the first copyright law. It created a federal "
8808 "copyright and secured that copyright for fourteen years. If the author was "
8809 "alive at the end of that fourteen years, then he could opt to renew the "
8810 "copyright for another fourteen years. If he did not renew the copyright, his "
8811 "work passed into the public domain."
8815 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
8816 #: freeculture.xml:6583
8818 "Although 13,000 titles were published in the United States from 1790 to "
8819 "1799, only 556 copyright registrations were filed; John Tebbel, <citetitle>A "
8820 "History of Book Publishing in the United States</citetitle>, vol. 1, "
8821 "<citetitle>The Creation of an Industry, 1630–1865</citetitle> (New "
8822 "York: Bowker, 1972), 141. Of the 21,000 imprints recorded before 1790, only "
8823 "twelve were copyrighted under the 1790 act; William J. Maher, "
8824 "<citetitle>Copyright Term, Retrospective Extension and the Copyright Law of "
8825 "1790 in Historical Context</citetitle>, 7–10 (2002), available at "
8826 "<ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #25</ulink>. Thus, the "
8827 "overwhelming majority of works fell immediately into the public domain. Even "
8828 "those works that were copyrighted fell into the public domain quickly, "
8829 "because the term of copyright was short. The initial term of copyright was "
8830 "fourteen years, with the option of renewal for an additional fourteen "
8831 "years. Copyright Act of May 31, 1790, §1, 1 stat. 124."
8834 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8835 #: freeculture.xml:6575
8837 "While there were many works created in the United States in the first ten "
8838 "years of the Republic, only 5 percent of the works were actually registered "
8839 "under the federal copyright regime. Of all the work created in the United "
8840 "States both before 1790 and from 1790 through 1800, 95 percent immediately "
8841 "passed into the public domain; the balance would pass into the pubic domain "
8842 "within twenty-eight years at most, and more likely within fourteen "
8843 "years.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
8847 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8848 #: freeculture.xml:6599
8850 "This system of renewal was a crucial part of the American system of "
8851 "copyright. It assured that the maximum terms of copyright would be granted "
8852 "only for works where they were wanted. After the initial term of fourteen "
8853 "years, if it wasn't worth it to an author to renew his copyright, then it "
8854 "wasn't worth it to society to insist on the copyright, either."
8858 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
8859 #: freeculture.xml:6614
8861 "Few copyright holders ever chose to renew their copyrights. For instance, of "
8862 "the 25,006 copyrights registered in 1883, only 894 were renewed in 1910. For "
8863 "a year-by-year analysis of copyright renewal rates, see Barbara A. Ringer, "
8864 "<quote>Study No. 31: Renewal of Copyright,</quote> <citetitle>Studies on "
8865 "Copyright</citetitle>, vol. 1 (New York: Practicing Law Institute, 1963), "
8866 "618. For a more recent and comprehensive analysis, see William M. Landes and "
8867 "Richard A. Posner, <quote>Indefinitely Renewable Copyright,</quote> "
8868 "<citetitle>University of Chicago Law Review</citetitle> 70 (2003): 471, "
8869 "498–501, and accompanying figures."
8872 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8873 #: freeculture.xml:6608
8875 "Fourteen years may not seem long to us, but for the vast majority of "
8876 "copyright owners at that time, it was long enough: Only a small minority of "
8877 "them renewed their copyright after fourteen years; the balance allowed their "
8878 "work to pass into the public domain.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
8883 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
8884 #: freeculture.xml:6629
8885 msgid "See Ringer, ch. 9, n. 2."
8888 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8889 #: freeculture.xml:6625
8891 "Even today, this structure would make sense. Most creative work has an "
8892 "actual commercial life of just a couple of years. Most books fall out of "
8893 "print after one year.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> When that "
8894 "happens, the used books are traded free of copyright regulation. Thus the "
8895 "books are no longer <emphasis>effectively</emphasis> controlled by "
8896 "copyright. The only practical commercial use of the books at that time is to "
8897 "sell the books as used books; that use—because it does not involve "
8898 "publication—is effectively free."
8901 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8902 #: freeculture.xml:6637
8904 "In the first hundred years of the Republic, the term of copyright was "
8905 "changed once. In 1831, the term was increased from a maximum of 28 years to "
8906 "a maximum of 42 by increasing the initial term of copyright from 14 years to "
8907 "28 years. In the next fifty years of the Republic, the term increased once "
8908 "again. In 1909, Congress extended the renewal term of 14 years to 28 years, "
8909 "setting a maximum term of 56 years."
8912 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8913 #: freeculture.xml:6645
8915 "Then, beginning in 1962, Congress started a practice that has defined "
8916 "copyright law since. Eleven times in the last forty years, Congress has "
8917 "extended the terms of existing copyrights; twice in those forty years, "
8918 "Congress extended the term of future copyrights. Initially, the extensions "
8919 "of existing copyrights were short, a mere one to two years. In 1976, "
8920 "Congress extended all existing copyrights by nineteen years. And in 1998, "
8921 "in the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, Congress extended the term "
8922 "of existing and future copyrights by twenty years."
8926 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8927 #: freeculture.xml:6655
8929 "The effect of these extensions is simply to toll, or delay, the passing of "
8930 "works into the public domain. This latest extension means that the public "
8931 "domain will have been tolled for thirty-nine out of fifty-five years, or 70 "
8932 "percent of the time since 1962. Thus, in the twenty years after the Sonny "
8933 "Bono Act, while one million patents will pass into the public domain, zero "
8934 "copyrights will pass into the public domain by virtue of the expiration of a "
8938 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8939 #: freeculture.xml:6666
8941 "The effect of these extensions has been exacerbated by another, "
8942 "little-noticed change in the copyright law. Remember I said that the framers "
8943 "established a two-part copyright regime, requiring a copyright owner to "
8944 "renew his copyright after an initial term. The requirement of renewal meant "
8945 "that works that no longer needed copyright protection would pass more "
8946 "quickly into the public domain. The works remaining under protection would "
8947 "be those that had some continuing commercial value."
8950 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8951 #: freeculture.xml:6676
8953 "The United States abandoned this sensible system in 1976. For all works "
8954 "created after 1978, there was only one copyright term—the maximum "
8955 "term. For <quote>natural</quote> authors, that term was life plus fifty "
8956 "years. For corporations, the term was seventy-five years. Then, in 1992, "
8957 "Congress abandoned the renewal requirement for all works created before "
8958 "1978. All works still under copyright would be accorded the maximum term "
8959 "then available. After the Sonny Bono Act, that term was ninety-five years."
8962 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8963 #: freeculture.xml:6686
8965 "This change meant that American law no longer had an automatic way to assure "
8966 "that works that were no longer exploited passed into the public domain. And "
8967 "indeed, after these changes, it is unclear whether it is even possible to "
8968 "put works into the public domain. The public domain is orphaned by these "
8969 "changes in copyright law. Despite the requirement that terms be "
8970 "<quote>limited,</quote> we have no evidence that anything will limit them."
8974 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
8975 #: freeculture.xml:6703
8977 "These statistics are understated. Between the years 1910 and 1962 (the first "
8978 "year the renewal term was extended), the average term was never more than "
8979 "thirty-two years, and averaged thirty years. See Landes and Posner, "
8980 "<quote>Indefinitely Renewable Copyright,</quote> loc. cit."
8983 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
8984 #: freeculture.xml:6695
8986 "The effect of these changes on the average duration of copyright is "
8987 "dramatic. In 1973, more than 85 percent of copyright owners failed to renew "
8988 "their copyright. That meant that the average term of copyright in 1973 was "
8989 "just 32.2 years. Because of the elimination of the renewal requirement, the "
8990 "average term of copyright is now the maximum term. In thirty years, then, "
8991 "the average term has tripled, from 32.2 years to 95 years.<placeholder "
8992 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
8995 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><title>
8996 #: freeculture.xml:6712
9000 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9001 #: freeculture.xml:6714
9003 "The <quote>scope</quote> of a copyright is the range of rights granted by "
9004 "the law. The scope of American copyright has changed dramatically. Those "
9005 "changes are not necessarily bad. But we should understand the extent of the "
9006 "changes if we're to keep this debate in context."
9009 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9010 #: freeculture.xml:6720
9012 "In 1790, that scope was very narrow. Copyright covered only <quote>maps, "
9013 "charts, and books.</quote> That means it didn't cover, for example, music or "
9014 "architecture. More significantly, the right granted by a copyright gave the "
9015 "author the exclusive right to <quote>publish</quote> copyrighted works. That "
9016 "means someone else violated the copyright only if he republished the work "
9017 "without the copyright owner's permission. Finally, the right granted by a "
9018 "copyright was an exclusive right to that particular book. The right did not "
9019 "extend to what lawyers call <quote>derivative works.</quote> It would not, "
9020 "therefore, interfere with the right of someone other than the author to "
9021 "translate a copyrighted book, or to adapt the story to a different form "
9022 "(such as a drama based on a published book)."
9025 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9026 #: freeculture.xml:6733
9028 "This, too, has changed dramatically. While the contours of copyright today "
9029 "are extremely hard to describe simply, in general terms, the right covers "
9030 "practically any creative work that is reduced to a tangible form. It covers "
9031 "music as well as architecture, drama as well as computer programs. It gives "
9032 "the copyright owner of that creative work not only the exclusive right to "
9033 "<quote>publish</quote> the work, but also the exclusive right of control "
9034 "over any <quote>copies</quote> of that work. And most significant for our "
9035 "purposes here, the right gives the copyright owner control over not only his "
9036 "or her particular work, but also any <quote>derivative work</quote> that "
9037 "might grow out of the original work. In this way, the right covers more "
9038 "creative work, protects the creative work more broadly, and protects works "
9039 "that are based in a significant way on the initial creative work."
9043 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9044 #: freeculture.xml:6748
9046 "At the same time that the scope of copyright has expanded, procedural "
9047 "limitations on the right have been relaxed. I've already described the "
9048 "complete removal of the renewal requirement in 1992. In addition to the "
9049 "renewal requirement, for most of the history of American copyright law, "
9050 "there was a requirement that a work be registered before it could receive "
9051 "the protection of a copyright. There was also a requirement that any "
9052 "copyrighted work be marked either with that famous © or the word "
9053 "<emphasis>copyright</emphasis>. And for most of the history of American "
9054 "copyright law, there was a requirement that works be deposited with the "
9055 "government before a copyright could be secured."
9058 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9059 #: freeculture.xml:6762
9061 "The reason for the registration requirement was the sensible understanding "
9062 "that for most works, no copyright was required. Again, in the first ten "
9063 "years of the Republic, 95 percent of works eligible for copyright were never "
9064 "copyrighted. Thus, the rule reflected the norm: Most works apparently didn't "
9065 "need copyright, so registration narrowed the regulation of the law to the "
9066 "few that did. The same reasoning justified the requirement that a work be "
9067 "marked as copyrighted—that way it was easy to know whether a copyright "
9068 "was being claimed. The requirement that works be deposited was to assure "
9069 "that after the copyright expired, there would be a copy of the work "
9070 "somewhere so that it could be copied by others without locating the original "
9074 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9075 #: freeculture.xml:6776
9077 "All of these <quote>formalities</quote> were abolished in the American "
9078 "system when we decided to follow European copyright law. There is no "
9079 "requirement that you register a work to get a copyright; the copyright now "
9080 "is automatic; the copyright exists whether or not you mark your work with a "
9081 "©; and the copyright exists whether or not you actually make a copy "
9082 "available for others to copy."
9085 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9086 #: freeculture.xml:6784
9087 msgid "Consider a practical example to understand the scope of these differences."
9091 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
9092 #: freeculture.xml:6795
9094 "See Thomas Bender and David Sampliner, <quote>Poets, Pirates, and the "
9095 "Creation of American Literature,</quote> 29 <citetitle>New York University "
9096 "Journal of International Law and Politics</citetitle> 255 (1997), and James "
9097 "Gilraeth, ed., Federal Copyright Records, 1790–1800 (U.S. G.P.O., "
9101 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9102 #: freeculture.xml:6788
9104 "If, in 1790, you wrote a book and you were one of the 5 percent who actually "
9105 "copyrighted that book, then the copyright law protected you against another "
9106 "publisher's taking your book and republishing it without your "
9107 "permission. The aim of the act was to regulate publishers so as to prevent "
9108 "that kind of unfair competition. In 1790, there were 174 publishers in the "
9109 "United States.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> The Copyright Act "
9110 "was thus a tiny regulation of a tiny proportion of a tiny part of the "
9111 "creative market in the United States—publishers."
9115 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9116 #: freeculture.xml:6807
9118 "The act left other creators totally unregulated. If I copied your poem by "
9119 "hand, over and over again, as a way to learn it by heart, my act was totally "
9120 "unregulated by the 1790 act. If I took your novel and made a play based upon "
9121 "it, or if I translated it or abridged it, none of those activities were "
9122 "regulated by the original copyright act. These creative activities remained "
9123 "free, while the activities of publishers were restrained."
9126 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9127 #: freeculture.xml:6816
9129 "Today the story is very different: If you write a book, your book is "
9130 "automatically protected. Indeed, not just your book. Every e-mail, every "
9131 "note to your spouse, every doodle, <emphasis>every</emphasis> creative act "
9132 "that's reduced to a tangible form—all of this is automatically "
9133 "copyrighted. There is no need to register or mark your work. The protection "
9134 "follows the creation, not the steps you take to protect it."
9137 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9138 #: freeculture.xml:6825
9140 "That protection gives you the right (subject to a narrow range of fair use "
9141 "exceptions) to control how others copy the work, whether they copy it to "
9142 "republish it or to share an excerpt."
9145 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9146 #: freeculture.xml:6830
9148 "That much is the obvious part. Any system of copyright would control "
9149 "competing publishing. But there's a second part to the copyright of today "
9150 "that is not at all obvious. This is the protection of <quote>derivative "
9151 "rights.</quote> If you write a book, no one can make a movie out of your "
9152 "book without permission. No one can translate it without permission. "
9153 "CliffsNotes can't make an abridgment unless permission is granted. All of "
9154 "these derivative uses of your original work are controlled by the copyright "
9155 "holder. The copyright, in other words, is now not just an exclusive right to "
9156 "your writings, but an exclusive right to your writings and a large "
9157 "proportion of the writings inspired by them."
9160 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9161 #: freeculture.xml:6844
9163 "It is this derivative right that would seem most bizarre to our framers, "
9164 "though it has become second nature to us. Initially, this expansion was "
9165 "created to deal with obvious evasions of a narrower copyright. If I write a "
9166 "book, can you change one word and then claim a copyright in a new and "
9167 "different book? Obviously that would make a joke of the copyright, so the "
9168 "law was properly expanded to include those slight modifications as well as "
9169 "the verbatim original work."
9172 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
9173 #: freeculture.xml:6866
9175 "Jonathan Zittrain, <quote>The Copyright Cage,</quote> <citetitle>Legal "
9176 "Affairs</citetitle>, July/August 2003, available at <ulink "
9177 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #26</ulink>. <placeholder "
9178 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
9181 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9182 #: freeculture.xml:6856
9184 "In preventing that joke, the law created an astonishing power within a free "
9185 "culture—at least, it's astonishing when you understand that the law "
9186 "applies not just to the commercial publisher but to anyone with a "
9187 "computer. I understand the wrong in duplicating and selling someone else's "
9188 "work. But whatever <emphasis>that</emphasis> wrong is, transforming someone "
9189 "else's work is a different wrong. Some view transformation as no wrong at "
9190 "all—they believe that our law, as the framers penned it, should not "
9191 "protect derivative rights at all.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> "
9192 "Whether or not you go that far, it seems plain that whatever wrong is "
9193 "involved is fundamentally different from the wrong of direct piracy."
9196 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
9197 #: freeculture.xml:6888
9198 msgid "Rubenfeld, Jeb"
9201 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
9202 #: freeculture.xml:6881
9204 "Professor Rubenfeld has presented a powerful constitutional argument about "
9205 "the difference that copyright law should draw (from the perspective of the "
9206 "First Amendment) between mere <quote>copies</quote> and derivative "
9207 "works. See Jed Rubenfeld, <quote>The Freedom of Imagination: Copyright's "
9208 "Constitutionality,</quote> <citetitle>Yale Law Journal</citetitle> 112 "
9209 "(2002): 1–60 (see especially pp. 53–59). <placeholder "
9210 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
9213 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9214 #: freeculture.xml:6876
9216 "Yet copyright law treats these two different wrongs in the same way. I can "
9217 "go to court and get an injunction against your pirating my book. I can go to "
9218 "court and get an injunction against your transformative use of my "
9219 "book.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> These two different uses of "
9220 "my creative work are treated the same."
9223 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9224 #: freeculture.xml:6893
9226 "This again may seem right to you. If I wrote a book, then why should you be "
9227 "able to write a movie that takes my story and makes money from it without "
9228 "paying me or crediting me? Or if Disney creates a creature called "
9229 "<quote>Mickey Mouse,</quote> why should you be able to make Mickey Mouse "
9230 "toys and be the one to trade on the value that Disney originally created?"
9233 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9234 #: freeculture.xml:6901
9236 "These are good arguments, and, in general, my point is not that the "
9237 "derivative right is unjustified. My aim just now is much narrower: simply to "
9238 "make clear that this expansion is a significant change from the rights "
9239 "originally granted."
9242 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><title>
9243 #: freeculture.xml:6908
9244 msgid "Law and Architecture: Reach"
9248 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
9249 #: freeculture.xml:6915
9251 "This is a simplification of the law, but not much of one. The law certainly "
9252 "regulates more than <quote>copies</quote>—a public performance of a "
9253 "copyrighted song, for example, is regulated even though performance per se "
9254 "doesn't make a copy; 17 <citetitle>United States Code</citetitle>, section "
9255 "106(4). And it certainly sometimes doesn't regulate a <quote>copy</quote>; "
9256 "17 <citetitle>United States Code</citetitle>, section 112(a). But the "
9257 "presumption under the existing law (which regulates <quote>copies;</quote> "
9258 "17 <citetitle>United States Code</citetitle>, section 102) is that if there "
9259 "is a copy, there is a right."
9262 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9263 #: freeculture.xml:6910
9265 "Whereas originally the law regulated only publishers, the change in "
9266 "copyright's scope means that the law today regulates publishers, users, and "
9267 "authors. It regulates them because all three are capable of making copies, "
9268 "and the core of the regulation of copyright law is copies.<placeholder "
9269 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
9273 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9274 #: freeculture.xml:6927
9276 "<quote>Copies.</quote> That certainly sounds like the obvious thing for "
9277 "<emphasis>copy</emphasis>right law to regulate. But as with Jack Valenti's "
9278 "argument at the start of this chapter, that <quote>creative property</quote> "
9279 "deserves the <quote>same rights</quote> as all other property, it is the "
9280 "<emphasis>obvious</emphasis> that we need to be most careful about. For "
9281 "while it may be obvious that in the world before the Internet, copies were "
9282 "the obvious trigger for copyright law, upon reflection, it should be obvious "
9283 "that in the world with the Internet, copies should <emphasis>not</emphasis> "
9284 "be the trigger for copyright law. More precisely, they should not "
9285 "<emphasis>always</emphasis> be the trigger for copyright law."
9289 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
9290 #: freeculture.xml:6945
9292 "Thus, my argument is not that in each place that copyright law extends, we "
9293 "should repeal it. It is instead that we should have a good argument for its "
9294 "extending where it does, and should not determine its reach on the basis of "
9295 "arbitrary and automatic changes caused by technology."
9298 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9299 #: freeculture.xml:6940
9301 "This is perhaps the central claim of this book, so let me take this very "
9302 "slowly so that the point is not easily missed. My claim is that the Internet "
9303 "should at least force us to rethink the conditions under which the law of "
9304 "copyright automatically applies,<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> "
9305 "because it is clear that the current reach of copyright was never "
9306 "contemplated, much less chosen, by the legislators who enacted copyright "
9310 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9311 #: freeculture.xml:6956
9313 "We can see this point abstractly by beginning with this largely empty "
9317 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure><title>
9318 #: freeculture.xml:6960
9319 msgid "All potential uses of a book."
9322 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure>
9323 #: freeculture.xml:6961
9324 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1521.png\"></graphic>"
9328 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9329 #: freeculture.xml:6965
9331 "Think about a book in real space, and imagine this circle to represent all "
9332 "its potential <emphasis>uses</emphasis>. Most of these uses are unregulated "
9333 "by copyright law, because the uses don't create a copy. If you read a book, "
9334 "that act is not regulated by copyright law. If you give someone the book, "
9335 "that act is not regulated by copyright law. If you resell a book, that act "
9336 "is not regulated (copyright law expressly states that after the first sale "
9337 "of a book, the copyright owner can impose no further conditions on the "
9338 "disposition of the book). If you sleep on the book or use it to hold up a "
9339 "lamp or let your puppy chew it up, those acts are not regulated by copyright "
9340 "law, because those acts do not make a copy."
9343 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure><title>
9344 #: freeculture.xml:6978
9345 msgid "Examples of unregulated uses of a book."
9348 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure>
9349 #: freeculture.xml:6979
9350 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1531.png\"></graphic>"
9353 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9354 #: freeculture.xml:6982
9356 "Obviously, however, some uses of a copyrighted book are regulated by "
9357 "copyright law. Republishing the book, for example, makes a copy. It is "
9358 "therefore regulated by copyright law. Indeed, this particular use stands at "
9359 "the core of this circle of possible uses of a copyrighted work. It is the "
9360 "paradigmatic use properly regulated by copyright regulation (see first "
9361 "diagram on next page)."
9364 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9365 #: freeculture.xml:6990
9367 "Finally, there is a tiny sliver of otherwise regulated copying uses that "
9368 "remain unregulated because the law considers these <quote>fair uses.</quote>"
9371 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure><title>
9372 #: freeculture.xml:6995
9374 "Republishing stands at the core of this circle of possible uses of a "
9378 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure>
9379 #: freeculture.xml:6996
9380 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1541.png\"></graphic>"
9383 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9384 #: freeculture.xml:6999
9386 "These are uses that themselves involve copying, but which the law treats as "
9387 "unregulated because public policy demands that they remain unregulated. You "
9388 "are free to quote from this book, even in a review that is quite negative, "
9389 "without my permission, even though that quoting makes a copy. That copy "
9390 "would ordinarily give the copyright owner the exclusive right to say whether "
9391 "the copy is allowed or not, but the law denies the owner any exclusive right "
9392 "over such <quote>fair uses</quote> for public policy (and possibly First "
9393 "Amendment) reasons."
9396 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure><title>
9397 #: freeculture.xml:7009
9398 msgid "Unregulated copying considered <quote>fair uses.</quote>"
9401 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure>
9402 #: freeculture.xml:7010
9403 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1542.png\"></graphic>"
9406 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure><title>
9407 #: freeculture.xml:7014
9409 "Uses that before were presumptively unregulated are now presumptively "
9413 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure>
9414 #: freeculture.xml:7015
9415 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1551.png\"></graphic>"
9419 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9420 #: freeculture.xml:7019
9422 "In real space, then, the possible uses of a book are divided into three "
9423 "sorts: (1) unregulated uses, (2) regulated uses, and (3) regulated uses that "
9424 "are nonetheless deemed <quote>fair</quote> regardless of the copyright "
9429 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
9430 #: freeculture.xml:7027
9432 "I don't mean <quote>nature</quote> in the sense that it couldn't be "
9433 "different, but rather that its present instantiation entails a copy. Optical "
9434 "networks need not make copies of content they transmit, and a digital "
9435 "network could be designed to delete anything it copies so that the same "
9436 "number of copies remain."
9439 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9440 #: freeculture.xml:7024
9442 "Enter the Internet—a distributed, digital network where every use of a "
9443 "copyrighted work produces a copy.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> "
9444 "And because of this single, arbitrary feature of the design of a digital "
9445 "network, the scope of category 1 changes dramatically. Uses that before were "
9446 "presumptively unregulated are now presumptively regulated. No longer is "
9447 "there a set of presumptively unregulated uses that define a freedom "
9448 "associated with a copyrighted work. Instead, each use is now subject to the "
9449 "copyright, because each use also makes a copy—category 1 gets sucked "
9450 "into category 2. And those who would defend the unregulated uses of "
9451 "copyrighted work must look exclusively to category 3, fair uses, to bear the "
9452 "burden of this shift."
9456 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9457 #: freeculture.xml:7045
9459 "So let's be very specific to make this general point clear. Before the "
9460 "Internet, if you purchased a book and read it ten times, there would be no "
9461 "plausible <emphasis>copyright</emphasis>-related argument that the copyright "
9462 "owner could make to control that use of her book. Copyright law would have "
9463 "nothing to say about whether you read the book once, ten times, or every "
9464 "night before you went to bed. None of those instances of "
9465 "use—reading— could be regulated by copyright law because none of "
9466 "those uses produced a copy."
9469 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9470 #: freeculture.xml:7057
9472 "But the same book as an e-book is effectively governed by a different set of "
9473 "rules. Now if the copyright owner says you may read the book only once or "
9474 "only once a month, then <emphasis>copyright law</emphasis> would aid the "
9475 "copyright owner in exercising this degree of control, because of the "
9476 "accidental feature of copyright law that triggers its application upon there "
9477 "being a copy. Now if you read the book ten times and the license says you "
9478 "may read it only five times, then whenever you read the book (or any portion "
9479 "of it) beyond the fifth time, you are making a copy of the book contrary to "
9480 "the copyright owner's wish."
9483 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9484 #: freeculture.xml:7069
9486 "There are some people who think this makes perfect sense. My aim just now is "
9487 "not to argue about whether it makes sense or not. My aim is only to make "
9488 "clear the change. Once you see this point, a few other points also become "
9492 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9493 #: freeculture.xml:7075
9495 "First, making category 1 disappear is not anything any policy maker ever "
9496 "intended. Congress did not think through the collapse of the presumptively "
9497 "unregulated uses of copyrighted works. There is no evidence at all that "
9498 "policy makers had this idea in mind when they allowed our policy here to "
9499 "shift. Unregulated uses were an important part of free culture before the "
9503 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9504 #: freeculture.xml:7083
9506 "Second, this shift is especially troubling in the context of transformative "
9507 "uses of creative content. Again, we can all understand the wrong in "
9508 "commercial piracy. But the law now purports to regulate "
9509 "<emphasis>any</emphasis> transformation you make of creative work using a "
9510 "machine. <quote>Copy and paste</quote> and <quote>cut and paste</quote> "
9511 "become crimes. Tinkering with a story and releasing it to others exposes the "
9512 "tinkerer to at least a requirement of justification. However troubling the "
9513 "expansion with respect to copying a particular work, it is extraordinarily "
9514 "troubling with respect to transformative uses of creative work."
9518 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9519 #: freeculture.xml:7095
9521 "Third, this shift from category 1 to category 2 puts an extraordinary burden "
9522 "on category 3 (<quote>fair use</quote>) that fair use never before had to "
9523 "bear. If a copyright owner now tried to control how many times I could read "
9524 "a book on-line, the natural response would be to argue that this is a "
9525 "violation of my fair use rights. But there has never been any litigation "
9526 "about whether I have a fair use right to read, because before the Internet, "
9527 "reading did not trigger the application of copyright law and hence the need "
9528 "for a fair use defense. The right to read was effectively protected before "
9529 "because reading was not regulated."
9532 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9533 #: freeculture.xml:7109
9535 "This point about fair use is totally ignored, even by advocates for free "
9536 "culture. We have been cornered into arguing that our rights depend upon fair "
9537 "use—never even addressing the earlier question about the expansion in "
9538 "effective regulation. A thin protection grounded in fair use makes sense "
9539 "when the vast majority of uses are <emphasis>unregulated</emphasis>. But "
9540 "when everything becomes presumptively regulated, then the protections of "
9541 "fair use are not enough."
9544 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9545 #: freeculture.xml:7119
9547 "The case of Video Pipeline is a good example. Video Pipeline was in the "
9548 "business of making <quote>trailer</quote> advertisements for movies "
9549 "available to video stores. The video stores displayed the trailers as a way "
9550 "to sell videos. Video Pipeline got the trailers from the film distributors, "
9551 "put the trailers on tape, and sold the tapes to the retail stores."
9554 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9555 #: freeculture.xml:7126
9557 "The company did this for about fifteen years. Then, in 1997, it began to "
9558 "think about the Internet as another way to distribute these previews. The "
9559 "idea was to expand their <quote>selling by sampling</quote> technique by "
9560 "giving on-line stores the same ability to enable <quote>browsing.</quote> "
9561 "Just as in a bookstore you can read a few pages of a book before you buy the "
9562 "book, so, too, you would be able to sample a bit from the movie on-line "
9563 "before you bought it."
9567 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9568 #: freeculture.xml:7135
9570 "In 1998, Video Pipeline informed Disney and other film distributors that it "
9571 "intended to distribute the trailers through the Internet (rather than "
9572 "sending the tapes) to distributors of their videos. Two years later, Disney "
9573 "told Video Pipeline to stop. The owner of Video Pipeline asked Disney to "
9574 "talk about the matter—he had built a business on distributing this "
9575 "content as a way to help sell Disney films; he had customers who depended "
9576 "upon his delivering this content. Disney would agree to talk only if Video "
9577 "Pipeline stopped the distribution immediately. Video Pipeline thought it "
9578 "was within their <quote>fair use</quote> rights to distribute the clips as "
9579 "they had. So they filed a lawsuit to ask the court to declare that these "
9580 "rights were in fact their rights."
9583 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9584 #: freeculture.xml:7150
9586 "Disney countersued—for $100 million in damages. Those damages were "
9587 "predicated upon a claim that Video Pipeline had <quote>willfully "
9588 "infringed</quote> on Disney's copyright. When a court makes a finding of "
9589 "willful infringement, it can award damages not on the basis of the actual "
9590 "harm to the copyright owner, but on the basis of an amount set in the "
9591 "statute. Because Video Pipeline had distributed seven hundred clips of "
9592 "Disney movies to enable video stores to sell copies of those movies, Disney "
9593 "was now suing Video Pipeline for $100 million."
9596 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9597 #: freeculture.xml:7160
9599 "Disney has the right to control its property, of course. But the video "
9600 "stores that were selling Disney's films also had some sort of right to be "
9601 "able to sell the films that they had bought from Disney. Disney's claim in "
9602 "court was that the stores were allowed to sell the films and they were "
9603 "permitted to list the titles of the films they were selling, but they were "
9604 "not allowed to show clips of the films as a way of selling them without "
9605 "Disney's permission."
9608 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9609 #: freeculture.xml:7169
9611 "Now, you might think this is a close case, and I think the courts would "
9612 "consider it a close case. My point here is to map the change that gives "
9613 "Disney this power. Before the Internet, Disney couldn't really control how "
9614 "people got access to their content. Once a video was in the marketplace, the "
9615 "<quote>first-sale doctrine</quote> would free the seller to use the video as "
9616 "he wished, including showing portions of it in order to engender sales of "
9617 "the entire movie video. But with the Internet, it becomes possible for "
9618 "Disney to centralize control over access to this content. Because each use "
9619 "of the Internet produces a copy, use on the Internet becomes subject to the "
9620 "copyright owner's control. The technology expands the scope of effective "
9621 "control, because the technology builds a copy into every transaction."
9625 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9626 #: freeculture.xml:7184
9628 "No doubt, a potential is not yet an abuse, and so the potential for control "
9629 "is not yet the abuse of control. Barnes & Noble has the right to say you "
9630 "can't touch a book in their store; property law gives them that right. But "
9631 "the market effectively protects against that abuse. If Barnes & Noble "
9632 "banned browsing, then consumers would choose other bookstores. Competition "
9633 "protects against the extremes. And it may well be (my argument so far does "
9634 "not even question this) that competition would prevent any similar danger "
9635 "when it comes to copyright. Sure, publishers exercising the rights that "
9636 "authors have assigned to them might try to regulate how many times you read "
9637 "a book, or try to stop you from sharing the book with anyone. But in a "
9638 "competitive market such as the book market, the dangers of this happening "
9642 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9643 #: freeculture.xml:7199
9645 "Again, my aim so far is simply to map the changes that this changed "
9646 "architecture enables. Enabling technology to enforce the control of "
9647 "copyright means that the control of copyright is no longer defined by "
9648 "balanced policy. The control of copyright is simply what private owners "
9649 "choose. In some contexts, at least, that fact is harmless. But in some "
9650 "contexts it is a recipe for disaster."
9653 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><title>
9654 #: freeculture.xml:7208
9655 msgid "Architecture and Law: Force"
9658 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9659 #: freeculture.xml:7210
9661 "The disappearance of unregulated uses would be change enough, but a second "
9662 "important change brought about by the Internet magnifies its "
9663 "significance. This second change does not affect the reach of copyright "
9664 "regulation; it affects how such regulation is enforced."
9667 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9668 #: freeculture.xml:7216
9670 "In the world before digital technology, it was generally the law that "
9671 "controlled whether and how someone was regulated by copyright law. The law, "
9672 "meaning a court, meaning a judge: In the end, it was a human, trained in the "
9673 "tradition of the law and cognizant of the balances that tradition embraced, "
9674 "who said whether and how the law would restrict your freedom."
9677 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
9678 #: freeculture.xml:7223
9682 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
9683 #: freeculture.xml:7225 freeculture.xml:7404
9684 msgid "Marx Brothers"
9688 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
9689 #: freeculture.xml:7239
9691 "See David Lange, <quote>Recognizing the Public Domain,</quote> "
9692 "<citetitle>Law and Contemporary Problems</citetitle> 44 (1981): "
9696 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9697 #: freeculture.xml:7231
9699 "There's a famous story about a battle between the Marx Brothers and Warner "
9700 "Brothers. The Marxes intended to make a parody of "
9701 "<citetitle>Casablanca</citetitle>. Warner Brothers objected. They wrote a "
9702 "nasty letter to the Marxes, warning them that there would be serious legal "
9703 "consequences if they went forward with their plan.<placeholder "
9704 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
9707 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
9708 #: freeculture.xml:7248
9710 "Ibid. See also Vaidhyanathan, <citetitle>Copyrights and "
9711 "Copywrongs</citetitle>, 1–3. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
9715 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9716 #: freeculture.xml:7244
9718 "This led the Marx Brothers to respond in kind. They warned Warner Brothers "
9719 "that the Marx Brothers <quote>were brothers long before you "
9720 "were.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> The Marx Brothers "
9721 "therefore owned the word <citetitle>brothers</citetitle>, and if Warner "
9722 "Brothers insisted on trying to control <citetitle>Casablanca</citetitle>, "
9723 "then the Marx Brothers would insist on control over "
9724 "<citetitle>brothers</citetitle>."
9727 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9728 #: freeculture.xml:7258
9730 "An absurd and hollow threat, of course, because Warner Brothers, like the "
9731 "Marx Brothers, knew that no court would ever enforce such a silly "
9732 "claim. This extremism was irrelevant to the real freedoms anyone (including "
9733 "Warner Brothers) enjoyed."
9736 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9737 #: freeculture.xml:7264
9739 "On the Internet, however, there is no check on silly rules, because on the "
9740 "Internet, increasingly, rules are enforced not by a human but by a machine: "
9741 "Increasingly, the rules of copyright law, as interpreted by the copyright "
9742 "owner, get built into the technology that delivers copyrighted content. It "
9743 "is code, rather than law, that rules. And the problem with code regulations "
9744 "is that, unlike law, code has no shame. Code would not get the humor of the "
9745 "Marx Brothers. The consequence of that is not at all funny."
9748 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
9749 #: freeculture.xml:7277
9750 msgid "Adobe eBook Reader"
9753 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9754 #: freeculture.xml:7280
9755 msgid "Consider the life of my Adobe eBook Reader."
9758 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9759 #: freeculture.xml:7283
9761 "An e-book is a book delivered in electronic form. An Adobe eBook is not a "
9762 "book that Adobe has published; Adobe simply produces the software that "
9763 "publishers use to deliver e-books. It provides the technology, and the "
9764 "publisher delivers the content by using the technology."
9767 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9768 #: freeculture.xml:7290
9769 msgid "On the next page is a picture of an old version of my Adobe eBook Reader."
9773 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9774 #: freeculture.xml:7294
9776 "As you can see, I have a small collection of e-books within this e-book "
9777 "library. Some of these books reproduce content that is in the public domain: "
9778 "<citetitle>Middlemarch</citetitle>, for example, is in the public domain. "
9779 "Some of them reproduce content that is not in the public domain: My own book "
9780 "<citetitle>The Future of Ideas</citetitle> is not yet within the public "
9781 "domain. Consider <citetitle>Middlemarch</citetitle> first. If you click on "
9782 "my e-book copy of <citetitle>Middlemarch</citetitle>, you'll see a fancy "
9783 "cover, and then a button at the bottom called Permissions."
9786 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure><title>
9787 #: freeculture.xml:7307
9788 msgid "Picture of an old version of Adobe eBook Reader"
9791 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure>
9792 #: freeculture.xml:7308
9793 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1611.png\"></graphic>"
9796 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9797 #: freeculture.xml:7311
9799 "If you click on the Permissions button, you'll see a list of the permissions "
9800 "that the publisher purports to grant with this book."
9803 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure><title>
9804 #: freeculture.xml:7315
9805 msgid "List of the permissions that the publisher purports to grant."
9808 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure>
9809 #: freeculture.xml:7316
9810 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1612.png\"></graphic>"
9814 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9815 #: freeculture.xml:7320
9817 "According to my eBook Reader, I have the permission to copy to the clipboard "
9818 "of the computer ten text selections every ten days. (So far, I've copied no "
9819 "text to the clipboard.) I also have the permission to print ten pages from "
9820 "the book every ten days. Lastly, I have the permission to use the Read Aloud "
9821 "button to hear <citetitle>Middlemarch</citetitle> read aloud through the "
9825 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
9826 #: freeculture.xml:7330
9830 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
9831 #: freeculture.xml:7331
9832 msgid "<citetitle>Politics</citetitle>, (Aristotle)"
9835 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9836 #: freeculture.xml:7328
9838 "Here's the e-book for another work in the public domain (including the "
9839 "translation): Aristotle's <citetitle>Politics</citetitle>. <placeholder "
9840 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
9843 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure><title>
9844 #: freeculture.xml:7334
9845 msgid "E-book of Aristotle;s <quote>Politics</quote>"
9848 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure>
9849 #: freeculture.xml:7335
9850 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1621.png\"></graphic>"
9853 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9854 #: freeculture.xml:7338
9856 "According to its permissions, no printing or copying is permitted at "
9857 "all. But fortunately, you can use the Read Aloud button to hear the book."
9860 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure><title>
9861 #: freeculture.xml:7343
9862 msgid "List of the permissions for Aristotle;s <quote>Politics</quote>."
9865 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure>
9866 #: freeculture.xml:7344
9867 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1622.png\"></graphic>"
9870 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9871 #: freeculture.xml:7347
9873 "Finally (and most embarrassingly), here are the permissions for the original "
9874 "e-book version of my last book, <citetitle>The Future of Ideas</citetitle>:"
9877 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure><title>
9878 #: freeculture.xml:7353
9879 msgid "List of the permissions for <quote>The Future of Ideas</quote>."
9882 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure>
9883 #: freeculture.xml:7354
9884 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1631.png\"></graphic>"
9887 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9888 #: freeculture.xml:7357
9889 msgid "No copying, no printing, and don't you dare try to listen to this book!"
9893 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
9894 #: freeculture.xml:7367
9896 "In principle, a contract might impose a requirement on me. I might, for "
9897 "example, buy a book from you that includes a contract that says I will read "
9898 "it only three times, or that I promise to read it three times. But that "
9899 "obligation (and the limits for creating that obligation) would come from the "
9900 "contract, not from copyright law, and the obligations of contract would not "
9901 "necessarily pass to anyone who subsequently acquired the book."
9904 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9905 #: freeculture.xml:7360
9907 "Now, the Adobe eBook Reader calls these controls "
9908 "<quote>permissions</quote>— as if the publisher has the power to "
9909 "control how you use these works. For works under copyright, the copyright "
9910 "owner certainly does have the power—up to the limits of the copyright "
9911 "law. But for work not under copyright, there is no such copyright "
9912 "power.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> When my e-book of "
9913 "<citetitle>Middlemarch</citetitle> says I have the permission to copy only "
9914 "ten text selections into the memory every ten days, what that really means "
9915 "is that the eBook Reader has enabled the publisher to control how I use the "
9916 "book on my computer, far beyond the control that the law would enable."
9919 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9920 #: freeculture.xml:7382
9922 "The control comes instead from the code—from the technology within "
9923 "which the e-book <quote>lives.</quote> Though the e-book says that these are "
9924 "permissions, they are not the sort of <quote>permissions</quote> that most "
9925 "of us deal with. When a teenager gets <quote>permission</quote> to stay out "
9926 "till midnight, she knows (unless she's Cinderella) that she can stay out "
9927 "till 2 A.M., but will suffer a punishment if she's caught. But when the "
9928 "Adobe eBook Reader says I have the permission to make ten copies of the text "
9929 "into the computer's memory, that means that after I've made ten copies, the "
9930 "computer will not make any more. The same with the printing restrictions: "
9931 "After ten pages, the eBook Reader will not print any more pages. It's the "
9932 "same with the silly restriction that says that you can't use the Read Aloud "
9933 "button to read my book aloud—it's not that the company will sue you if "
9934 "you do; instead, if you push the Read Aloud button with my book, the machine "
9935 "simply won't read aloud."
9938 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9939 #: freeculture.xml:7400
9941 "These are <emphasis>controls</emphasis>, not permissions. Imagine a world "
9942 "where the Marx Brothers sold word processing software that, when you tried "
9943 "to type <quote>Warner Brothers,</quote> erased <quote>Brothers</quote> from "
9944 "the sentence. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
9947 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9948 #: freeculture.xml:7407
9950 "This is the future of copyright law: not so much copyright "
9951 "<emphasis>law</emphasis> as copyright <emphasis>code</emphasis>. The "
9952 "controls over access to content will not be controls that are ratified by "
9953 "courts; the controls over access to content will be controls that are coded "
9954 "by programmers. And whereas the controls that are built into the law are "
9955 "always to be checked by a judge, the controls that are built into the "
9956 "technology have no similar built-in check."
9959 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9960 #: freeculture.xml:7416
9962 "How significant is this? Isn't it always possible to get around the controls "
9963 "built into the technology? Software used to be sold with technologies that "
9964 "limited the ability of users to copy the software, but those were trivial "
9965 "protections to defeat. Why won't it be trivial to defeat these protections "
9969 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9970 #: freeculture.xml:7423
9972 "We've only scratched the surface of this story. Return to the Adobe eBook "
9976 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
9977 #: freeculture.xml:7433
9978 msgid "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Carroll)"
9981 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
9982 #: freeculture.xml:7427
9984 "Early in the life of the Adobe eBook Reader, Adobe suffered a public "
9985 "relations nightmare. Among the books that you could download for free on the "
9986 "Adobe site was a copy of <citetitle>Alice's Adventures in "
9987 "Wonderland</citetitle>. This wonderful book is in the public domain. Yet "
9988 "when you clicked on Permissions for that book, you got the following report: "
9989 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
9992 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure><title>
9993 #: freeculture.xml:7436
9994 msgid "List of the permissions for <quote>Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</quote>."
9997 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure>
9998 #: freeculture.xml:7438
9999 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1641.png\"></graphic>"
10002 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10003 #: freeculture.xml:7442
10005 "Here was a public domain children's book that you were not allowed to copy, "
10006 "not allowed to lend, not allowed to give, and, as the "
10007 "<quote>permissions</quote> indicated, not allowed to <quote>read "
10011 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10012 #: freeculture.xml:7447
10014 "The public relations nightmare attached to that final permission. For the "
10015 "text did not say that you were not permitted to use the Read Aloud button; "
10016 "it said you did not have the permission to read the book aloud. That led "
10017 "some people to think that Adobe was restricting the right of parents, for "
10018 "example, to read the book to their children, which seemed, to say the least, "
10022 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10023 #: freeculture.xml:7455
10025 "Adobe responded quickly that it was absurd to think that it was trying to "
10026 "restrict the right to read a book aloud. Obviously it was only restricting "
10027 "the ability to use the Read Aloud button to have the book read aloud. But "
10028 "the question Adobe never did answer is this: Would Adobe thus agree that a "
10029 "consumer was free to use software to hack around the restrictions built into "
10030 "the eBook Reader? If some company (call it Elcomsoft) developed a program to "
10031 "disable the technological protection built into an Adobe eBook so that a "
10032 "blind person, say, could use a computer to read the book aloud, would Adobe "
10033 "agree that such a use of an eBook Reader was fair? Adobe didn't answer "
10034 "because the answer, however absurd it might seem, is no."
10037 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10038 #: freeculture.xml:7468
10040 "The point is not to blame Adobe. Indeed, Adobe is among the most innovative "
10041 "companies developing strategies to balance open access to content with "
10042 "incentives for companies to innovate. But Adobe's technology enables "
10043 "control, and Adobe has an incentive to defend this control. That incentive "
10044 "is understandable, yet what it creates is often crazy."
10047 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10048 #: freeculture.xml:7477
10050 "To see the point in a particularly absurd context, consider a favorite story "
10051 "of mine that makes the same point."
10054 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
10055 #: freeculture.xml:7481 freeculture.xml:7630 freeculture.xml:7701 freeculture.xml:7807
10056 msgid "Aibo robotic dog"
10059 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
10060 #: freeculture.xml:7484 freeculture.xml:7633 freeculture.xml:7702 freeculture.xml:7808
10061 msgid "robotic dog"
10064 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
10065 #: freeculture.xml:7487 freeculture.xml:7636 freeculture.xml:7704 freeculture.xml:7810
10069 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><secondary>
10070 #: freeculture.xml:7488 freeculture.xml:7637 freeculture.xml:7705 freeculture.xml:7811
10071 msgid "Aibo robotic dog produced by"
10074 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10075 #: freeculture.xml:7491
10077 "Consider the robotic dog made by Sony named <quote>Aibo.</quote> The Aibo "
10078 "learns tricks, cuddles, and follows you around. It eats only electricity and "
10079 "that doesn't leave that much of a mess (at least in your house)."
10082 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10083 #: freeculture.xml:7496
10085 "The Aibo is expensive and popular. Fans from around the world have set up "
10086 "clubs to trade stories. One fan in particular set up a Web site to enable "
10087 "information about the Aibo dog to be shared. This fan set <beginpage "
10088 "pagenum=\"165\"/> up aibopet.com (and aibohack.com, but that resolves to the "
10089 "same site), and on that site he provided information about how to teach an "
10090 "Aibo to do tricks in addition to the ones Sony had taught it."
10093 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10094 #: freeculture.xml:7505
10096 "<quote>Teach</quote> here has a special meaning. Aibos are just cute "
10097 "computers. You teach a computer how to do something by programming it "
10098 "differently. So to say that aibopet.com was giving information about how to "
10099 "teach the dog to do new tricks is just to say that aibopet.com was giving "
10100 "information to users of the Aibo pet about how to hack their computer "
10101 "<quote>dog</quote> to make it do new tricks (thus, aibohack.com)."
10104 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10105 #: freeculture.xml:7513
10107 "If you're not a programmer or don't know many programmers, the word "
10108 "<citetitle>hack</citetitle> has a particularly unfriendly "
10109 "connotation. Nonprogrammers hack bushes or weeds. Nonprogrammers in horror "
10110 "movies do even worse. But to programmers, or coders, as I call them, "
10111 "<citetitle>hack</citetitle> is a much more positive "
10112 "term. <citetitle>Hack</citetitle> just means code that enables the program "
10113 "to do something it wasn't originally intended or enabled to do. If you buy a "
10114 "new printer for an old computer, you might find the old computer doesn't "
10115 "run, or <quote>drive,</quote> the printer. If you discovered that, you'd "
10116 "later be happy to discover a hack on the Net by someone who has written a "
10117 "driver to enable the computer to drive the printer you just bought."
10120 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10121 #: freeculture.xml:7527
10123 "Some hacks are easy. Some are unbelievably hard. Hackers as a community like "
10124 "to challenge themselves and others with increasingly difficult "
10125 "tasks. There's a certain respect that goes with the talent to hack "
10126 "well. There's a well-deserved respect that goes with the talent to hack "
10130 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10131 #: freeculture.xml:7534
10133 "The Aibo fan was displaying a bit of both when he hacked the program and "
10134 "offered to the world a bit of code that would enable the Aibo to dance "
10135 "jazz. The dog wasn't programmed to dance jazz. It was a clever bit of "
10136 "tinkering that turned the dog into a more talented creature than Sony had "
10141 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10142 #: freeculture.xml:7544
10144 "I've told this story in many contexts, both inside and outside the United "
10145 "States. Once I was asked by a puzzled member of the audience, is it "
10146 "permissible for a dog to dance jazz in the United States? We forget that "
10147 "stories about the backcountry still flow across much of the world. So let's "
10148 "just be clear before we continue: It's not a crime anywhere (anymore) to "
10149 "dance jazz. Nor is it a crime to teach your dog to dance jazz. Nor should it "
10150 "be a crime (though we don't have a lot to go on here) to teach your robot "
10151 "dog to dance jazz. Dancing jazz is a completely legal activity. One imagines "
10152 "that the owner of aibopet.com thought, <emphasis>What possible problem could "
10153 "there be with teaching a robot dog to dance?</emphasis>"
10156 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10157 #: freeculture.xml:7560
10159 "Let's put the dog to sleep for a minute, and turn to a pony show— not "
10160 "literally a pony show, but rather a paper that a Princeton academic named Ed "
10161 "Felten prepared for a conference. This Princeton academic is well known and "
10162 "respected. He was hired by the government in the Microsoft case to test "
10163 "Microsoft's claims about what could and could not be done with its own "
10164 "code. In that trial, he demonstrated both his brilliance and his "
10165 "coolness. Under heavy badgering by Microsoft lawyers, Ed Felten stood his "
10166 "ground. He was not about to be bullied into being silent about something he "
10170 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
10171 #: freeculture.xml:7583 freeculture.xml:10053
10172 msgid "Electronic Frontier Foundation"
10175 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
10176 #: freeculture.xml:7573
10178 "See Pamela Samuelson, <quote>Anticircumvention Rules: Threat to "
10179 "Science,</quote> <citetitle>Science</citetitle> 293 (2001): 2028; Brendan "
10180 "I. Koerner, <quote>Play Dead: Sony Muzzles the Techies Who Teach a Robot Dog "
10181 "New Tricks,</quote> <citetitle>American Prospect</citetitle>, January 2002; "
10182 "<quote>Court Dismisses Computer Scientists' Challenge to DMCA,</quote> "
10183 "<citetitle>Intellectual Property Litigation Reporter</citetitle>, 11 "
10184 "December 2001; Bill Holland, <quote>Copyright Act Raising Free-Speech "
10185 "Concerns,</quote> <citetitle>Billboard</citetitle>, May 2001; Janelle Brown, "
10186 "<quote>Is the RIAA Running Scared?</quote> Salon.com, April 2001; Electronic "
10187 "Frontier Foundation, <quote>Frequently Asked Questions about "
10188 "<citetitle>Felten and USENIX</citetitle> v. <citetitle>RIAA</citetitle> "
10189 "Legal Case,</quote> available at <ulink "
10190 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #27</ulink>. <placeholder "
10191 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
10194 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10195 #: freeculture.xml:7571
10197 "But Felten's bravery was really tested in April 2001.<placeholder "
10198 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> He and a group of colleagues were working on a "
10199 "paper to be submitted at conference. The paper was intended to describe the "
10200 "weakness in an encryption system being developed by the Secure Digital Music "
10201 "Initiative as a technique to control the distribution of music."
10204 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10205 #: freeculture.xml:7591
10207 "The SDMI coalition had as its goal a technology to enable content owners to "
10208 "exercise much better control over their content than the Internet, as it "
10209 "originally stood, granted them. Using encryption, SDMI hoped to develop a "
10210 "standard that would allow the content owner to say <quote>this music cannot "
10211 "be copied,</quote> and have a computer respect that command. The technology "
10212 "was to be part of a <quote>trusted system</quote> of control that would get "
10213 "content owners to trust the system of the Internet much more."
10216 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10217 #: freeculture.xml:7601
10219 "When SDMI thought it was close to a standard, it set up a competition. In "
10220 "exchange for providing contestants with the code to an SDMI-encrypted bit of "
10221 "content, contestants were to try to crack it and, if they did, report the "
10222 "problems to the consortium."
10226 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10227 #: freeculture.xml:7608
10229 "Felten and his team figured out the encryption system quickly. He and the "
10230 "team saw the weakness of this system as a type: Many encryption systems "
10231 "would suffer the same weakness, and Felten and his team thought it "
10232 "worthwhile to point this out to those who study encryption."
10235 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10236 #: freeculture.xml:7614
10238 "Let's review just what Felten was doing. Again, this is the United "
10239 "States. We have a principle of free speech. We have this principle not just "
10240 "because it is the law, but also because it is a really great idea. A "
10241 "strongly protected tradition of free speech is likely to encourage a wide "
10242 "range of criticism. That criticism is likely, in turn, to improve the "
10243 "systems or people or ideas criticized."
10246 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10247 #: freeculture.xml:7622
10249 "What Felten and his colleagues were doing was publishing a paper describing "
10250 "the weakness in a technology. They were not spreading free music, or "
10251 "building and deploying this technology. The paper was an academic essay, "
10252 "unintelligible to most people. But it clearly showed the weakness in the "
10253 "SDMI system, and why SDMI would not, as presently constituted, succeed."
10256 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10257 #: freeculture.xml:7640
10259 "What links these two, aibopet.com and Felten, is the letters they then "
10260 "received. Aibopet.com received a letter from Sony about the aibopet.com "
10261 "hack. Though a jazz-dancing dog is perfectly legal, Sony wrote:"
10264 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
10265 #: freeculture.xml:7647
10267 "Your site contains information providing the means to circumvent AIBO-ware's "
10268 "copy protection protocol constituting a violation of the anti-circumvention "
10269 "provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act."
10272 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10273 #: freeculture.xml:7656
10275 "And though an academic paper describing the weakness in a system of "
10276 "encryption should also be perfectly legal, Felten received a letter from an "
10277 "RIAA lawyer that read:"
10281 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
10282 #: freeculture.xml:7662
10284 "Any disclosure of information gained from participating in the Public "
10285 "Challenge would be outside the scope of activities permitted by the "
10286 "Agreement and could subject you and your research team to actions under the "
10287 "Digital Millennium Copyright Act (<quote>DMCA</quote>)."
10290 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10291 #: freeculture.xml:7670
10293 "In both cases, this weirdly Orwellian law was invoked to control the spread "
10294 "of information. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act made spreading such "
10295 "information an offense."
10298 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10299 #: freeculture.xml:7675
10301 "The DMCA was enacted as a response to copyright owners' first fear about "
10302 "cyberspace. The fear was that copyright control was effectively dead; the "
10303 "response was to find technologies that might compensate. These new "
10304 "technologies would be copyright protection technologies— technologies "
10305 "to control the replication and distribution of copyrighted material. They "
10306 "were designed as <emphasis>code</emphasis> to modify the original "
10307 "<emphasis>code</emphasis> of the Internet, to reestablish some protection "
10308 "for copyright owners."
10311 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10312 #: freeculture.xml:7686
10314 "The DMCA was a bit of law intended to back up the protection of this code "
10315 "designed to protect copyrighted material. It was, we could say, "
10316 "<emphasis>legal code</emphasis> intended to buttress <emphasis>software "
10317 "code</emphasis> which itself was intended to support the <emphasis>legal "
10318 "code of copyright</emphasis>."
10321 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10322 #: freeculture.xml:7693
10324 "But the DMCA was not designed merely to protect copyrighted works to the "
10325 "extent copyright law protected them. Its protection, that is, did not end at "
10326 "the line that copyright law drew. The DMCA regulated devices that were "
10327 "designed to circumvent copyright protection measures. It was designed to ban "
10328 "those devices, whether or not the use of the copyrighted material made "
10329 "possible by that circumvention would have been a copyright violation."
10333 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10334 #: freeculture.xml:7708
10336 "Aibopet.com and Felten make the point. The Aibo hack circumvented a "
10337 "copyright protection system for the purpose of enabling the dog to dance "
10338 "jazz. That enablement no doubt involved the use of copyrighted material. But "
10339 "as aibopet.com's site was noncommercial, and the use did not enable "
10340 "subsequent copyright infringements, there's no doubt that aibopet.com's hack "
10341 "was fair use of Sony's copyrighted material. Yet fair use is not a defense "
10342 "to the DMCA. The question is not whether the use of the copyrighted material "
10343 "was a copyright violation. The question is whether a copyright protection "
10344 "system was circumvented."
10347 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10348 #: freeculture.xml:7720
10350 "The threat against Felten was more attenuated, but it followed the same line "
10351 "of reasoning. By publishing a paper describing how a copyright protection "
10352 "system could be circumvented, the RIAA lawyer suggested, Felten himself was "
10353 "distributing a circumvention technology. Thus, even though he was not "
10354 "himself infringing anyone's copyright, his academic paper was enabling "
10355 "others to infringe others' copyright."
10358 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
10359 #: freeculture.xml:7727 freeculture.xml:7760
10360 msgid "Rogers, Fred"
10363 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
10364 #: freeculture.xml:7737 freeculture.xml:7773 freeculture.xml:7805
10365 msgid "Conrad, Paul"
10368 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10369 #: freeculture.xml:7729
10371 "The bizarreness of these arguments is captured in a cartoon drawn in 1981 by "
10372 "Paul Conrad. At that time, a court in California had held that the VCR could "
10373 "be banned because it was a copyright-infringing technology: It enabled "
10374 "consumers to copy films without the permission of the copyright owner. No "
10375 "doubt there were uses of the technology that were legal: Fred Rogers, aka "
10376 "<quote><citetitle>Mr. Rogers</citetitle>,</quote> for example, had testified "
10377 "in that case that he wanted people to feel free to tape Mr. Rogers' "
10378 "Neighborhood. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
10381 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
10382 #: freeculture.xml:7756
10384 "<citetitle>Sony Corporation of America</citetitle> v. <citetitle>Universal "
10385 "City Studios, Inc</citetitle>., 464 U.S. 417, 455 fn. 27 (1984). Rogers "
10386 "never changed his view about the VCR. See James Lardner, <citetitle>Fast "
10387 "Forward: Hollywood, the Japanese, and the Onslaught of the VCR</citetitle> "
10388 "(New York: W. W. Norton, 1987), 270–71. <placeholder "
10389 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
10392 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
10393 #: freeculture.xml:7741
10395 "Some public stations, as well as commercial stations, program the "
10396 "<quote>Neighborhood</quote> at hours when some children cannot use it. I "
10397 "think that it's a real service to families to be able to record such "
10398 "programs and show them at appropriate times. I have always felt that with "
10399 "the advent of all of this new technology that allows people to tape the "
10400 "<quote>Neighborhood</quote> off-the-air, and I'm speaking for the "
10401 "<quote>Neighborhood</quote> because that's what I produce, that they then "
10402 "become much more active in the programming of their family's television "
10403 "life. Very frankly, I am opposed to people being programmed by others. My "
10404 "whole approach in broadcasting has always been <quote>You are an important "
10405 "person just the way you are. You can make healthy decisions.</quote> Maybe "
10406 "I'm going on too long, but I just feel that anything that allows a person to "
10407 "be more active in the control of his or her life, in a healthy way, is "
10408 "important.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
10412 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10413 #: freeculture.xml:7766
10415 "Even though there were uses that were legal, because there were some uses "
10416 "that were illegal, the court held the companies producing the VCR "
10420 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10421 #: freeculture.xml:7771
10423 "This led Conrad to draw the cartoon below, which we can adopt to the DMCA. "
10424 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
10427 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10428 #: freeculture.xml:7776
10429 msgid "No argument I have can top this picture, but let me try to get close."
10432 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10433 #: freeculture.xml:7779
10435 "The anticircumvention provisions of the DMCA target copyright circumvention "
10436 "technologies. Circumvention technologies can be used for different "
10437 "ends. They can be used, for example, to enable massive pirating of "
10438 "copyrighted material—a bad end. Or they can be used to enable the use "
10439 "of particular copyrighted materials in ways that would be considered fair "
10440 "use—a good end."
10444 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10445 #: freeculture.xml:7787
10447 "A handgun can be used to shoot a police officer or a child. Most would agree "
10448 "such a use is bad. Or a handgun can be used for target practice or to "
10449 "protect against an intruder. At least some would say that such a use would "
10450 "be good. It, too, is a technology that has both good and bad uses."
10453 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure><title>
10454 #: freeculture.xml:7795
10455 msgid "VCR/handgun cartoon."
10458 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure>
10459 #: freeculture.xml:7796
10460 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1711.png\"></graphic>"
10463 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10464 #: freeculture.xml:7799
10466 "The obvious point of Conrad's cartoon is the weirdness of a world where guns "
10467 "are legal, despite the harm they can do, while VCRs (and circumvention "
10468 "technologies) are illegal. Flash: <emphasis>No one ever died from copyright "
10469 "circumvention</emphasis>. Yet the law bans circumvention technologies "
10470 "absolutely, despite the potential that they might do some good, but permits "
10471 "guns, despite the obvious and tragic harm they do. <placeholder "
10472 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
10475 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10476 #: freeculture.xml:7814
10478 "The Aibo and RIAA examples demonstrate how copyright owners are changing the "
10479 "balance that copyright law grants. Using code, copyright owners restrict "
10480 "fair use; using the DMCA, they punish those who would attempt to evade the "
10481 "restrictions on fair use that they impose through code. Technology becomes a "
10482 "means by which fair use can be erased; the law of the DMCA backs up that "
10486 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10487 #: freeculture.xml:7822
10489 "This is how <emphasis>code</emphasis> becomes <emphasis>law</emphasis>. The "
10490 "controls built into the technology of copy and access protection become "
10491 "rules the violation of which is also a violation of the law. In this way, "
10492 "the code extends the law—increasing its regulation, even if the "
10493 "subject it regulates (activities that would otherwise plainly constitute "
10494 "fair use) is beyond the reach of the law. Code becomes law; code extends the "
10495 "law; code thus extends the control that copyright owners effect—at "
10496 "least for those copyright holders with the lawyers who can write the nasty "
10497 "letters that Felten and aibopet.com received."
10500 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10501 #: freeculture.xml:7834
10503 "There is one final aspect of the interaction between architecture and law "
10504 "that contributes to the force of copyright's regulation. This is the ease "
10505 "with which infringements of the law can be detected. For contrary to the "
10506 "rhetoric common at the birth of cyberspace that on the Internet, no one "
10507 "knows you're a dog, increasingly, given changing technologies deployed on "
10508 "the Internet, it is easy to find the dog who committed a legal wrong. The "
10509 "technologies of the Internet are open to snoops as well as sharers, and the "
10510 "snoops are increasingly good at tracking down the identity of those who "
10511 "violate the rules."
10515 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
10516 #: freeculture.xml:7853
10518 "For an early and prescient analysis, see Rebecca Tushnet, <quote>Legal "
10519 "Fictions, Copyright, Fan Fiction, and a New Common Law,</quote> "
10520 "<citetitle>Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Journal</citetitle> 17 "
10524 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10525 #: freeculture.xml:7847
10527 "For example, imagine you were part of a <citetitle>Star Trek</citetitle> fan "
10528 "club. You gathered every month to share trivia, and maybe to enact a kind of "
10529 "fan fiction about the show. One person would play Spock, another, Captain "
10530 "Kirk. The characters would begin with a plot from a real story, then simply "
10531 "continue it.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
10534 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10535 #: freeculture.xml:7859
10537 "Before the Internet, this was, in effect, a totally unregulated activity. "
10538 "No matter what happened inside your club room, you would never be interfered "
10539 "with by the copyright police. You were free in that space to do as you "
10540 "wished with this part of our culture. You were allowed to build on it as you "
10541 "wished without fear of legal control."
10544 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10545 #: freeculture.xml:7866
10547 "But if you moved your club onto the Internet, and made it generally "
10548 "available for others to join, the story would be very different. Bots "
10549 "scouring the Net for trademark and copyright infringement would quickly find "
10550 "your site. Your posting of fan fiction, depending upon the ownership of the "
10551 "series that you're depicting, could well inspire a lawyer's threat. And "
10552 "ignoring the lawyer's threat would be extremely costly indeed. The law of "
10553 "copyright is extremely efficient. The penalties are severe, and the process "
10557 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10558 #: freeculture.xml:7876
10560 "This change in the effective force of the law is caused by a change in the "
10561 "ease with which the law can be enforced. That change too shifts the law's "
10562 "balance radically. It is as if your car transmitted the speed at which you "
10563 "traveled at every moment that you drove; that would be just one step before "
10564 "the state started issuing tickets based upon the data you transmitted. That "
10565 "is, in effect, what is happening here."
10568 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><title>
10569 #: freeculture.xml:7885
10570 msgid "Market: Concentration"
10574 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10575 #: freeculture.xml:7887
10577 "So copyright's duration has increased dramatically—tripled in the past "
10578 "thirty years. And copyright's scope has increased as well—from "
10579 "regulating only publishers to now regulating just about everyone. And "
10580 "copyright's reach has changed, as every action becomes a copy and hence "
10581 "presumptively regulated. And as technologists find better ways to control "
10582 "the use of content, and as copyright is increasingly enforced through "
10583 "technology, copyright's force changes, too. Misuse is easier to find and "
10584 "easier to control. This regulation of the creative process, which began as a "
10585 "tiny regulation governing a tiny part of the market for creative work, has "
10586 "become the single most important regulator of creativity there is. It is a "
10587 "massive expansion in the scope of the government's control over innovation "
10588 "and creativity; it would be totally unrecognizable to those who gave birth "
10589 "to copyright's control."
10592 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10593 #: freeculture.xml:7905
10595 "Still, in my view, all of these changes would not matter much if it weren't "
10596 "for one more change that we must also consider. This is a change that is in "
10597 "some sense the most familiar, though its significance and scope are not well "
10598 "understood. It is the one that creates precisely the reason to be concerned "
10599 "about all the other changes I have described."
10602 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10603 #: freeculture.xml:7912
10605 "This is the change in the concentration and integration of the media. In "
10606 "the past twenty years, the nature of media ownership has undergone a radical "
10607 "alteration, caused by changes in legal rules governing the media. Before "
10608 "this change happened, the different forms of media were owned by separate "
10609 "media companies. Now, the media is increasingly owned by only a few "
10610 "companies. Indeed, after the changes that the FCC announced in June 2003, "
10611 "most expect that within a few years, we will live in a world where just "
10612 "three companies control more than percent of the media."
10615 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10616 #: freeculture.xml:7923
10617 msgid "These changes are of two sorts: the scope of concentration, and its nature."
10621 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
10622 #: freeculture.xml:7931
10624 "FCC Oversight: Hearing Before the Senate Commerce, Science and "
10625 "Transportation Committee, 108th Cong., 1st sess. (22 May 2003) (statement "
10626 "of Senator John McCain)."
10630 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
10631 #: freeculture.xml:7938
10633 "Lynette Holloway, <quote>Despite a Marketing Blitz, CD Sales Continue to "
10634 "Slide,</quote> <citetitle>New York Times</citetitle>, 23 December 2002."
10638 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
10639 #: freeculture.xml:7944
10641 "Molly Ivins, <quote>Media Consolidation Must Be Stopped,</quote> "
10642 "<citetitle>Charleston Gazette</citetitle>, 31 May 2003."
10645 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
10646 #: freeculture.xml:7947
10650 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
10651 #: freeculture.xml:7948 freeculture.xml:9287
10655 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
10656 #: freeculture.xml:7949
10657 msgid "McCain, John"
10660 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
10661 #: freeculture.xml:7950 freeculture.xml:9288
10662 msgid "Universal Music Group"
10665 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
10666 #: freeculture.xml:7951
10667 msgid "Warner Music Group"
10670 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10671 #: freeculture.xml:7927
10673 "Changes in scope are the easier ones to describe. As Senator John McCain "
10674 "summarized the data produced in the FCC's review of media ownership, "
10675 "<quote>five companies control 85 percent of our media "
10676 "sources.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> The five recording "
10677 "labels of Universal Music Group, BMG, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music "
10678 "Group, and EMI control 84.8 percent of the U.S. music market.<placeholder "
10679 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/> The <quote>five largest cable companies pipe "
10680 "programming to 74 percent of the cable subscribers "
10681 "nationwide.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"2\"/> <placeholder "
10682 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"3\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"4\"/> "
10683 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"5\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
10684 "id=\"6\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"7\"/>"
10688 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10689 #: freeculture.xml:7954
10691 "The story with radio is even more dramatic. Before deregulation, the "
10692 "nation's largest radio broadcasting conglomerate owned fewer than "
10693 "seventy-five stations. Today <emphasis>one</emphasis> company owns more than "
10694 "1,200 stations. During that period of consolidation, the total number of "
10695 "radio owners dropped by 34 percent. Today, in most markets, the two largest "
10696 "broadcasters control 74 percent of that market's revenues. Overall, just "
10697 "four companies control 90 percent of the nation's radio advertising "
10701 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10702 #: freeculture.xml:7965
10704 "Newspaper ownership is becoming more concentrated as well. Today, there are "
10705 "six hundred fewer daily newspapers in the United States than there were "
10706 "eighty years ago, and ten companies control half of the nation's "
10707 "circulation. There are twenty major newspaper publishers in the United "
10708 "States. The top ten film studios receive 99 percent of all film revenue. The "
10709 "ten largest cable companies account for 85 percent of all cable "
10710 "revenue. This is a market far from the free press the framers sought to "
10711 "protect. Indeed, it is a market that is quite well protected— by the "
10715 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
10716 #: freeculture.xml:7979 freeculture.xml:7996
10717 msgid "Fallows, James"
10720 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10721 #: freeculture.xml:7976
10723 "Concentration in size alone is one thing. The more invidious change is in "
10724 "the nature of that concentration. As author James Fallows put it in a recent "
10725 "article about Rupert Murdoch, <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
10728 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
10729 #: freeculture.xml:7994
10731 "James Fallows, <quote>The Age of Murdoch,</quote> <citetitle>Atlantic "
10732 "Monthly</citetitle> (September 2003): 89. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
10736 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
10737 #: freeculture.xml:7983
10739 "Murdoch's companies now constitute a production system unmatched in its "
10740 "integration. They supply content—Fox movies … Fox TV shows "
10741 "… Fox-controlled sports broadcasts, plus newspapers and books. They "
10742 "sell the content to the public and to advertisers—in newspapers, on "
10743 "the broadcast network, on the cable channels. And they operate the physical "
10744 "distribution system through which the content reaches the "
10745 "customers. Murdoch's satellite systems now distribute News Corp. content in "
10746 "Europe and Asia; if Murdoch becomes DirecTV's largest single owner, that "
10747 "system will serve the same function in the United States.<placeholder "
10748 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
10751 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10752 #: freeculture.xml:8001
10754 "The pattern with Murdoch is the pattern of modern media. Not just large "
10755 "companies owning many radio stations, but a few companies owning as many "
10756 "outlets of media as possible. A picture describes this pattern better than a "
10757 "thousand words could do:"
10760 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure><title>
10761 #: freeculture.xml:8007
10762 msgid "Pattern of modern media ownership."
10765 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><figure>
10766 #: freeculture.xml:8008
10767 msgid "<graphic fileref=\"images/1761.png\"></graphic>"
10771 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10772 #: freeculture.xml:8012
10774 "Does this concentration matter? Will it affect what is made, or what is "
10775 "distributed? Or is it merely a more efficient way to produce and distribute "
10779 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10780 #: freeculture.xml:8017
10782 "My view was that concentration wouldn't matter. I thought it was nothing "
10783 "more than a more efficient financial structure. But now, after reading and "
10784 "listening to a barrage of creators try to convince me to the contrary, I am "
10785 "beginning to change my mind."
10788 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10789 #: freeculture.xml:8023
10791 "Here's a representative story that begins to suggest how this integration "
10795 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
10796 #: freeculture.xml:8026
10797 msgid "Lear, Norman"
10800 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
10801 #: freeculture.xml:8028 freeculture.xml:8091
10802 msgid "All in the Family"
10805 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10806 #: freeculture.xml:8030
10808 "In 1969, Norman Lear created a pilot for <citetitle>All in the "
10809 "Family</citetitle>. He took the pilot to ABC. The network didn't like it. It "
10810 "was too edgy, they told Lear. Make it again. Lear made a second pilot, more "
10811 "edgy than the first. ABC was exasperated. You're missing the point, they "
10812 "told Lear. We wanted less edgy, not more."
10816 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
10817 #: freeculture.xml:8042
10819 "Leonard Hill, <quote>The Axis of Access,</quote> remarks before Weidenbaum "
10820 "Center Forum, <quote>Entertainment Economics: The Movie Industry,</quote> "
10821 "St. Louis, Missouri, 3 April 2003 (transcript of prepared remarks available "
10822 "at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #28</ulink>; for the "
10823 "Lear story, not included in the prepared remarks, see <ulink "
10824 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #29</ulink>)."
10827 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10828 #: freeculture.xml:8037
10830 "Rather than comply, Lear simply took the show elsewhere. CBS was happy to "
10831 "have the series; ABC could not stop Lear from walking. The copyrights that "
10832 "Lear held assured an independence from network control.<placeholder "
10833 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
10837 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10838 #: freeculture.xml:8053
10840 "The network did not control those copyrights because the law forbade the "
10841 "networks from controlling the content they syndicated. The law required a "
10842 "separation between the networks and the content producers; that separation "
10843 "would guarantee Lear freedom. And as late as 1992, because of these rules, "
10844 "the vast majority of prime time television—75 percent of it—was "
10845 "<quote>independent</quote> of the networks."
10849 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
10850 #: freeculture.xml:8072
10852 "NewsCorp./DirecTV Merger and Media Consolidation: Hearings on Media "
10853 "Ownership Before the Senate Commerce Committee, 108th Cong., 1st "
10854 "sess. (2003) (testimony of Gene Kimmelman on behalf of Consumers Union and "
10855 "the Consumer Federation of America), available at <ulink "
10856 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #30</ulink>. Kimmelman quotes "
10857 "Victoria Riskin, president of Writers Guild of America, West, in her Remarks "
10858 "at FCC En Banc Hearing, Richmond, Virginia, 27 February 2003."
10861 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10862 #: freeculture.xml:8062
10864 "In 1994, the FCC abandoned the rules that required this independence. After "
10865 "that change, the networks quickly changed the balance. In 1985, there were "
10866 "twenty-five independent television production studios; in 2002, only five "
10867 "independent television studios remained. <quote>In 1992, only 15 percent of "
10868 "new series were produced for a network by a company it controlled. Last "
10869 "year, the percentage of shows produced by controlled companies more than "
10870 "quintupled to 77 percent.</quote> <quote>In 1992, 16 new series were "
10871 "produced independently of conglomerate control, last year there was "
10872 "one.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> In 2002, 75 percent of "
10873 "prime time television was owned by the networks that ran it. <quote>In the "
10874 "ten-year period between 1992 and 2002, the number of prime time television "
10875 "hours per week produced by network studios increased over 200%, whereas the "
10876 "number of prime time television hours per week produced by independent "
10877 "studios decreased 63%.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/>"
10880 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10881 #: freeculture.xml:8093
10883 "Today, another Norman Lear with another <citetitle>All in the "
10884 "Family</citetitle> would find that he had the choice either to make the show "
10885 "less edgy or to be fired: The content of any show developed for a network is "
10886 "increasingly owned by the network."
10889 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
10890 #: freeculture.xml:8102
10891 msgid "Diller, Barry"
10894 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
10895 #: freeculture.xml:8103
10896 msgid "Moyers, Bill"
10899 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10900 #: freeculture.xml:8099
10902 "While the number of channels has increased dramatically, the ownership of "
10903 "those channels has narrowed to an ever smaller and smaller few. As Barry "
10904 "Diller said to Bill Moyers, <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> "
10905 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
10909 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
10910 #: freeculture.xml:8116
10912 "<quote>Barry Diller Takes on Media Deregulation,</quote> <citetitle>Now with "
10913 "Bill Moyers</citetitle>, Bill Moyers, 25 April 2003, edited transcript "
10914 "available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #31</ulink>."
10917 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
10918 #: freeculture.xml:8107
10920 "Well, if you have companies that produce, that finance, that air on their "
10921 "channel and then distribute worldwide everything that goes through their "
10922 "controlled distribution system, then what you get is fewer and fewer actual "
10923 "voices participating in the process. [We u]sed to have dozens and dozens of "
10924 "thriving independent production companies producing television programs. Now "
10925 "you have less than a handful.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
10928 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10929 #: freeculture.xml:8123
10931 "This narrowing has an effect on what is produced. The product of such large "
10932 "and concentrated networks is increasingly homogenous. Increasingly "
10933 "safe. Increasingly sterile. The product of news shows from networks like "
10934 "this is increasingly tailored to the message the network wants to "
10935 "convey. This is not the communist party, though from the inside, it must "
10936 "feel a bit like the communist party. No one can question without risk of "
10937 "consequence—not necessarily banishment to Siberia, but punishment "
10938 "nonetheless. Independent, critical, different views are quashed. This is not "
10939 "the environment for a democracy."
10942 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
10943 #: freeculture.xml:8134
10944 msgid "Clark, Kim B."
10948 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
10949 #: freeculture.xml:8143
10951 "Clayton M. Christensen, <citetitle>The Innovator's Dilemma: The "
10952 "Revolutionary National Bestseller that Changed the Way We Do "
10953 "Business</citetitle> (Cambridge: Harvard Business School Press, "
10954 "1997). Christensen acknowledges that the idea was first suggested by Dean "
10955 "Kim Clark. See Kim B. Clark, <quote>The Interaction of Design Hierarchies "
10956 "and Market Concepts in Technological Evolution,</quote> <citetitle>Research "
10957 "Policy</citetitle> 14 (1985): 235–51. For a more recent study, see "
10958 "Richard Foster and Sarah Kaplan, <citetitle>Creative Destruction: Why "
10959 "Companies That Are Built to Last Underperform the Market—and How to "
10960 "Successfully Transform Them</citetitle> (New York: Currency/Doubleday, "
10964 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10965 #: freeculture.xml:8136
10967 "Economics itself offers a parallel that explains why this integration "
10968 "affects creativity. Clay Christensen has written about the "
10969 "<quote>Innovator's Dilemma</quote>: the fact that large traditional firms "
10970 "find it rational to ignore new, breakthrough technologies that compete with "
10971 "their core business. The same analysis could help explain why large, "
10972 "traditional media companies would find it rational to ignore new cultural "
10973 "trends.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Lumbering giants not only "
10974 "don't, but should not, sprint. Yet if the field is only open to the giants, "
10975 "there will be far too little sprinting. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
10979 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10980 #: freeculture.xml:8160
10982 "I don't think we know enough about the economics of the media market to say "
10983 "with certainty what concentration and integration will do. The efficiencies "
10984 "are important, and the effect on culture is hard to measure."
10987 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10988 #: freeculture.xml:8166
10990 "But there is a quintessentially obvious example that does strongly suggest "
10994 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
10995 #: freeculture.xml:8170
10997 "In addition to the copyright wars, we're in the middle of the drug "
10998 "wars. Government policy is strongly directed against the drug cartels; "
10999 "criminal and civil courts are filled with the consequences of this battle."
11003 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11004 #: freeculture.xml:8175
11006 "Let me hereby disqualify myself from any possible appointment to any "
11007 "position in government by saying I believe this war is a profound mistake. I "
11008 "am not pro drugs. Indeed, I come from a family once wrecked by "
11009 "drugs—though the drugs that wrecked my family were all quite legal. I "
11010 "believe this war is a profound mistake because the collateral damage from it "
11011 "is so great as to make waging the war insane. When you add together the "
11012 "burdens on the criminal justice system, the desperation of generations of "
11013 "kids whose only real economic opportunities are as drug warriors, the "
11014 "queering of constitutional protections because of the constant surveillance "
11015 "this war requires, and, most profoundly, the total destruction of the legal "
11016 "systems of many South American nations because of the power of the local "
11017 "drug cartels, I find it impossible to believe that the marginal benefit in "
11018 "reduced drug consumption by Americans could possibly outweigh these costs."
11021 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11022 #: freeculture.xml:8194
11024 "You may not be convinced. That's fine. We live in a democracy, and it is "
11025 "through votes that we are to choose policy. But to do that, we depend "
11026 "fundamentally upon the press to help inform Americans about these issues."
11029 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11030 #: freeculture.xml:8200
11032 "Beginning in 1998, the Office of National Drug Control Policy launched a "
11033 "media campaign as part of the <quote>war on drugs.</quote> The campaign "
11034 "produced scores of short film clips about issues related to illegal "
11035 "drugs. In one series (the Nick and Norm series) two men are in a bar, "
11036 "discussing the idea of legalizing drugs as a way to avoid some of the "
11037 "collateral damage from the war. One advances an argument in favor of drug "
11038 "legalization. The other responds in a powerful and effective way against the "
11039 "argument of the first. In the end, the first guy changes his mind (hey, it's "
11040 "television). The plug at the end is a damning attack on the pro-legalization "
11044 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11045 #: freeculture.xml:8212
11047 "Fair enough. It's a good ad. Not terribly misleading. It delivers its "
11048 "message well. It's a fair and reasonable message."
11051 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11052 #: freeculture.xml:8216
11054 "But let's say you think it is a wrong message, and you'd like to run a "
11055 "countercommercial. Say you want to run a series of ads that try to "
11056 "demonstrate the extraordinary collateral harm that comes from the drug "
11057 "war. Can you do it?"
11061 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11062 #: freeculture.xml:8222
11064 "Well, obviously, these ads cost lots of money. Assume you raise the "
11065 "money. Assume a group of concerned citizens donates all the money in the "
11066 "world to help you get your message out. Can you be sure your message will be "
11070 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
11071 #: freeculture.xml:8264
11075 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
11076 #: freeculture.xml:8265
11077 msgid "Marijuana Policy Project"
11080 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
11081 #: freeculture.xml:8266
11085 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
11086 #: freeculture.xml:8267
11090 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
11091 #: freeculture.xml:8268
11095 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
11096 #: freeculture.xml:8239
11098 "The Marijuana Policy Project, in February 2003, sought to place ads that "
11099 "directly responded to the Nick and Norm series on stations within the "
11100 "Washington, D.C., area. Comcast rejected the ads as <quote>against [their] "
11101 "policy.</quote> The local NBC affiliate, WRC, rejected the ads without "
11102 "reviewing them. The local ABC affiliate, WJOA, originally agreed to run the "
11103 "ads and accepted payment to do so, but later decided not to run the ads and "
11104 "returned the collected fees. Interview with Neal Levine, 15 October 2003. "
11105 "These restrictions are, of course, not limited to drug policy. See, for "
11106 "example, Nat Ives, <quote>On the Issue of an Iraq War, Advocacy Ads Meet "
11107 "with Rejection from TV Networks,</quote> <citetitle>New York "
11108 "Times</citetitle>, 13 March 2003, C4. Outside of election-related air time "
11109 "there is very little that the FCC or the courts are willing to do to even "
11110 "the playing field. For a general overview, see Rhonda Brown, <quote>Ad Hoc "
11111 "Access: The Regulation of Editorial Advertising on Television and "
11112 "Radio,</quote> <citetitle>Yale Law and Policy Review</citetitle> 6 (1988): "
11113 "449–79, and for a more recent summary of the stance of the FCC and the "
11114 "courts, see <citetitle>Radio-Television News Directors "
11115 "Association</citetitle> v. <citetitle>FCC</citetitle>, 184 F. 3d 872 "
11116 "(D.C. Cir. 1999). Municipal authorities exercise the same authority as the "
11117 "networks. In a recent example from San Francisco, the San Francisco transit "
11118 "authority rejected an ad that criticized its Muni diesel buses. Phillip "
11119 "Matier and Andrew Ross, <quote>Antidiesel Group Fuming After Muni Rejects "
11120 "Ad,</quote> SFGate.com, 16 June 2003, available at <ulink "
11121 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #32</ulink>. The ground was that "
11122 "the criticism was <quote>too controversial.</quote> <placeholder "
11123 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/> "
11124 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"2\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
11125 "id=\"3\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"4\"/> <placeholder "
11126 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"5\"/>"
11129 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11130 #: freeculture.xml:8229
11132 "No. You cannot. Television stations have a general policy of avoiding "
11133 "<quote>controversial</quote> ads. Ads sponsored by the government are deemed "
11134 "uncontroversial; ads disagreeing with the government are controversial. "
11135 "This selectivity might be thought inconsistent with the First Amendment, but "
11136 "the Supreme Court has held that stations have the right to choose what they "
11137 "run. Thus, the major channels of commercial media will refuse one side of a "
11138 "crucial debate the opportunity to present its case. And the courts will "
11139 "defend the rights of the stations to be this biased.<placeholder "
11140 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
11143 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11144 #: freeculture.xml:8272
11146 "I'd be happy to defend the networks' rights, as well—if we lived in a "
11147 "media market that was truly diverse. But concentration in the media throws "
11148 "that condition into doubt. If a handful of companies control access to the "
11149 "media, and that handful of companies gets to decide which political "
11150 "positions it will allow to be promoted on its channels, then in an obvious "
11151 "and important way, concentration matters. You might like the positions the "
11152 "handful of companies selects. But you should not like a world in which a "
11153 "mere few get to decide which issues the rest of us get to know about."
11156 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><title>
11157 #: freeculture.xml:8284
11161 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11162 #: freeculture.xml:8286
11164 "There is something innocent and obvious about the claim of the copyright "
11165 "warriors that the government should <quote>protect my property.</quote> In "
11166 "the abstract, it is obviously true and, ordinarily, totally harmless. No "
11167 "sane sort who is not an anarchist could disagree."
11171 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11172 #: freeculture.xml:8292
11174 "But when we see how dramatically this <quote>property</quote> has "
11175 "changed— when we recognize how it might now interact with both "
11176 "technology and markets to mean that the effective constraint on the liberty "
11177 "to cultivate our culture is dramatically different—the claim begins to "
11178 "seem less innocent and obvious. Given (1) the power of technology to "
11179 "supplement the law's control, and (2) the power of concentrated markets to "
11180 "weaken the opportunity for dissent, if strictly enforcing the massively "
11181 "expanded <quote>property</quote> rights granted by copyright fundamentally "
11182 "changes the freedom within this culture to cultivate and build upon our "
11183 "past, then we have to ask whether this property should be redefined."
11186 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11187 #: freeculture.xml:8308
11189 "Not starkly. Or absolutely. My point is not that we should abolish copyright "
11190 "or go back to the eighteenth century. That would be a total mistake, "
11191 "disastrous for the most important creative enterprises within our culture "
11195 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11196 #: freeculture.xml:8314
11198 "But there is a space between zero and one, Internet culture "
11199 "notwithstanding. And these massive shifts in the effective power of "
11200 "copyright regulation, tied to increased concentration of the content "
11201 "industry and resting in the hands of technology that will increasingly "
11202 "enable control over the use of culture, should drive us to consider whether "
11203 "another adjustment is called for. Not an adjustment that increases "
11204 "copyright's power. Not an adjustment that increases its term. Rather, an "
11205 "adjustment to restore the balance that has traditionally defined copyright's "
11206 "regulation—a weakening of that regulation, to strengthen creativity."
11209 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11210 #: freeculture.xml:8326
11212 "Copyright law has not been a rock of Gibraltar. It's not a set of constant "
11213 "commitments that, for some mysterious reason, teenagers and geeks now "
11214 "flout. Instead, copyright power has grown dramatically in a short period of "
11215 "time, as the technologies of distribution and creation have changed and as "
11216 "lobbyists have pushed for more control by copyright holders. Changes in the "
11217 "past in response to changes in technology suggest that we may well need "
11218 "similar changes in the future. And these changes have to be "
11219 "<emphasis>reductions</emphasis> in the scope of copyright, in response to "
11220 "the extraordinary increase in control that technology and the market enable."
11224 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11225 #: freeculture.xml:8338
11227 "For the single point that is lost in this war on pirates is a point that we "
11228 "see only after surveying the range of these changes. When you add together "
11229 "the effect of changing law, concentrated markets, and changing technology, "
11230 "together they produce an astonishing conclusion: <emphasis>Never in our "
11231 "history have fewer had a legal right to control more of the development of "
11232 "our culture than now</emphasis>."
11235 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
11236 #: freeculture.xml:8362
11238 "Siva Vaidhyanathan captures a similar point in his <quote>four "
11239 "surrenders</quote> of copyright law in the digital age. See Vaidhyanathan, "
11240 "159–60. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
11243 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11244 #: freeculture.xml:8347
11246 "Not when copyrights were perpetual, for when copyrights were perpetual, they "
11247 "affected only that precise creative work. Not when only publishers had the "
11248 "tools to publish, for the market then was much more diverse. Not when there "
11249 "were only three television networks, for even then, newspapers, film "
11250 "studios, radio stations, and publishers were independent of the "
11251 "networks. <emphasis>Never</emphasis> has copyright protected such a wide "
11252 "range of rights, against as broad a range of actors, for a term that was "
11253 "remotely as long. This form of regulation—a tiny regulation of a tiny "
11254 "part of the creative energy of a nation at the founding—is now a "
11255 "massive regulation of the overall creative process. Law plus technology plus "
11256 "the market now interact to turn this historically benign regulation into the "
11257 "most significant regulation of culture that our free society has "
11258 "known.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
11261 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11262 #: freeculture.xml:8368
11263 msgid "This has been a long chapter. Its point can now be briefly stated."
11266 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11267 #: freeculture.xml:8371
11269 "At the start of this book, I distinguished between commercial and "
11270 "noncommercial culture. In the course of this chapter, I have distinguished "
11271 "between copying a work and transforming it. We can now combine these two "
11272 "distinctions and draw a clear map of the changes that copyright law has "
11273 "undergone. In 1790, the law looked like this:"
11276 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
11277 #: freeculture.xml:8383 freeculture.xml:8420
11281 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
11282 #: freeculture.xml:8384 freeculture.xml:8421 freeculture.xml:8459 freeculture.xml:8491
11286 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
11287 #: freeculture.xml:8389 freeculture.xml:8426 freeculture.xml:8464 freeculture.xml:8496
11291 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
11292 #: freeculture.xml:8390 freeculture.xml:8427 freeculture.xml:8428 freeculture.xml:8465 freeculture.xml:8466 freeculture.xml:8497 freeculture.xml:8498 freeculture.xml:8502 freeculture.xml:8503
11296 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
11297 #: freeculture.xml:8391 freeculture.xml:8395 freeculture.xml:8396 freeculture.xml:8432 freeculture.xml:8433 freeculture.xml:8471
11301 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
11302 #: freeculture.xml:8394 freeculture.xml:8431 freeculture.xml:8469 freeculture.xml:8501
11303 msgid "Noncommercial"
11307 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11308 #: freeculture.xml:8403
11310 "The act of publishing a map, chart, and book was regulated by copyright "
11311 "law. Nothing else was. Transformations were free. And as copyright attached "
11312 "only with registration, and only those who intended to benefit commercially "
11313 "would register, copying through publishing of noncommercial work was also "
11317 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11318 #: freeculture.xml:8412
11319 msgid "By the end of the nineteenth century, the law had changed to this:"
11322 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11323 #: freeculture.xml:8440
11325 "Derivative works were now regulated by copyright law—if published, "
11326 "which again, given the economics of publishing at the time, means if offered "
11327 "commercially. But noncommercial publishing and transformation were still "
11328 "essentially free."
11331 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11332 #: freeculture.xml:8446
11334 "In 1909 the law changed to regulate copies, not publishing, and after this "
11335 "change, the scope of the law was tied to technology. As the technology of "
11336 "copying became more prevalent, the reach of the law expanded. Thus by 1975, "
11337 "as photocopying machines became more common, we could say the law began to "
11341 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
11342 #: freeculture.xml:8458 freeculture.xml:8490
11346 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
11347 #: freeculture.xml:8470
11348 msgid "©/Free"
11351 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11352 #: freeculture.xml:8478
11354 "The law was interpreted to reach noncommercial copying through, say, copy "
11355 "machines, but still much of copying outside of the commercial market "
11356 "remained free. But the consequence of the emergence of digital technologies, "
11357 "especially in the context of a digital network, means that the law now looks "
11362 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11363 #: freeculture.xml:8510
11365 "Every realm is governed by copyright law, whereas before most creativity was "
11366 "not. The law now regulates the full range of creativity— commercial or "
11367 "not, transformative or not—with the same rules designed to regulate "
11368 "commercial publishers."
11371 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11372 #: freeculture.xml:8518
11374 "Obviously, copyright law is not the enemy. The enemy is regulation that does "
11375 "no good. So the question that we should be asking just now is whether "
11376 "extending the regulations of copyright law into each of these domains "
11377 "actually does any good."
11380 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11381 #: freeculture.xml:8524
11383 "I have no doubt that it does good in regulating commercial copying. But I "
11384 "also have no doubt that it does more harm than good when regulating (as it "
11385 "regulates just now) noncommercial copying and, especially, noncommercial "
11386 "transformation. And increasingly, for the reasons sketched especially in "
11387 "chapters <xref xrefstyle=\"select: labelnumber\" linkend=\"recorders\"/> and "
11388 "<xref xrefstyle=\"select: labelnumber\" linkend=\"transformers\"/>, one "
11389 "might well wonder whether it does more harm than good for commercial "
11390 "transformation. More commercial transformative work would be created if "
11391 "derivative rights were more sharply restricted."
11394 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
11395 #: freeculture.xml:8548
11396 msgid "legal realist movement"
11399 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
11400 #: freeculture.xml:8542
11402 "It was the single most important contribution of the legal realist movement "
11403 "to demonstrate that all property rights are always crafted to balance public "
11404 "and private interests. See Thomas C. Grey, <quote>The Disintegration of "
11405 "Property,</quote> in <citetitle>Nomos XXII: Property</citetitle>, J. Roland "
11406 "Pennock and John W. Chapman, eds. (New York: New York University Press, "
11407 "1980). <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
11410 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11411 #: freeculture.xml:8536
11413 "The issue is therefore not simply whether copyright is property. Of course "
11414 "copyright is a kind of <quote>property,</quote> and of course, as with any "
11415 "property, the state ought to protect it. But first impressions "
11416 "notwithstanding, historically, this property right (as with all property "
11417 "rights<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>) has been crafted to "
11418 "balance the important need to give authors and artists incentives with the "
11419 "equally important need to assure access to creative work. This balance has "
11420 "always been struck in light of new technologies. And for almost half of our "
11421 "tradition, the <quote>copyright</quote> did not control <emphasis>at "
11422 "all</emphasis> the freedom of others to build upon or transform a creative "
11423 "work. American culture was born free, and for almost 180 years our country "
11424 "consistently protected a vibrant and rich free culture."
11428 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11429 #: freeculture.xml:8560
11431 "We achieved that free culture because our law respected important limits on "
11432 "the scope of the interests protected by <quote>property.</quote> The very "
11433 "birth of <quote>copyright</quote> as a statutory right recognized those "
11434 "limits, by granting copyright owners protection for a limited time only (the "
11435 "story of chapter 6). The tradition of <quote>fair use</quote> is animated by "
11436 "a similar concern that is increasingly under strain as the costs of "
11437 "exercising any fair use right become unavoidably high (the story of chapter "
11438 "7). Adding statutory rights where markets might stifle innovation is another "
11439 "familiar limit on the property right that copyright is (chapter 8). And "
11440 "granting archives and libraries a broad freedom to collect, claims of "
11441 "property notwithstanding, is a crucial part of guaranteeing the soul of a "
11442 "culture (chapter 9). Free cultures, like free markets, are built with "
11443 "property. But the nature of the property that builds a free culture is very "
11444 "different from the extremist vision that dominates the debate today."
11447 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11448 #: freeculture.xml:8579
11450 "Free culture is increasingly the casualty in this war on piracy. In response "
11451 "to a real, if not yet quantified, threat that the technologies of the "
11452 "Internet present to twentieth-century business models for producing and "
11453 "distributing culture, the law and technology are being transformed in a way "
11454 "that will undermine our tradition of free culture. The property right that "
11455 "is copyright is no longer the balanced right that it was, or was intended to "
11456 "be. The property right that is copyright has become unbalanced, tilted "
11457 "toward an extreme. The opportunity to create and transform becomes weakened "
11458 "in a world in which creation requires permission and creativity must check "
11462 #. type: Content of: <book><part><title>
11463 #: freeculture.xml:8596
11467 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><title>
11468 #: freeculture.xml:8600
11469 msgid "CHAPTER ELEVEN: Chimera"
11472 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
11473 #: freeculture.xml:8602
11477 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
11478 #: freeculture.xml:8605
11479 msgid "Wells, H. G."
11482 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
11483 #: freeculture.xml:8608
11484 msgid "<quote>Country of the Blind, The</quote> (Wells)"
11488 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
11489 #: freeculture.xml:8616
11491 "H. G. Wells, <quote>The Country of the Blind</quote> (1904, 1911). See "
11492 "H. G. Wells, <citetitle>The Country of the Blind and Other "
11493 "Stories</citetitle>, Michael Sherborne, ed. (New York: Oxford University "
11497 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11498 #: freeculture.xml:8612
11500 "In a well-known short story by H. G. Wells, a mountain climber named Nunez "
11501 "trips (literally, down an ice slope) into an unknown and isolated valley in "
11502 "the Peruvian Andes.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> The valley is "
11503 "extraordinarily beautiful, with <quote>sweet water, pasture, an even "
11504 "climate, slopes of rich brown soil with tangles of a shrub that bore an "
11505 "excellent fruit.</quote> But the villagers are all blind. Nunez takes this "
11506 "as an opportunity. <quote>In the Country of the Blind,</quote> he tells "
11507 "himself, <quote>the One-Eyed Man is King.</quote> So he resolves to live "
11508 "with the villagers to explore life as a king."
11511 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11512 #: freeculture.xml:8628
11514 "Things don't go quite as he planned. He tries to explain the idea of sight "
11515 "to the villagers. They don't understand. He tells them they are "
11516 "<quote>blind.</quote> They don't have the word "
11517 "<citetitle>blind</citetitle>. They think he's just thick. Indeed, as they "
11518 "increasingly notice the things he can't do (hear the sound of grass being "
11519 "stepped on, for example), they increasingly try to control him. He, in turn, "
11520 "becomes increasingly frustrated. <quote>`You don't understand,' he cried, in "
11521 "a voice that was meant to be great and resolute, and which broke. `You are "
11522 "blind and I can see. Leave me alone!'</quote>"
11526 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11527 #: freeculture.xml:8640
11529 "The villagers don't leave him alone. Nor do they see (so to speak) the "
11530 "virtue of his special power. Not even the ultimate target of his affection, "
11531 "a young woman who to him seems <quote>the most beautiful thing in the whole "
11532 "of creation,</quote> understands the beauty of sight. Nunez's description of "
11533 "what he sees <quote>seemed to her the most poetical of fancies, and she "
11534 "listened to his description of the stars and the mountains and her own sweet "
11535 "white-lit beauty as though it was a guilty indulgence.</quote> <quote>She "
11536 "did not believe,</quote> Wells tells us, and <quote>she could only half "
11537 "understand, but she was mysteriously delighted.</quote>"
11540 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11541 #: freeculture.xml:8651
11543 "When Nunez announces his desire to marry his <quote>mysteriously "
11544 "delighted</quote> love, the father and the village object. <quote>You see, "
11545 "my dear,</quote> her father instructs, <quote>he's an idiot. He has "
11546 "delusions. He can't do anything right.</quote> They take Nunez to the "
11550 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11551 #: freeculture.xml:8657
11553 "After a careful examination, the doctor gives his opinion. <quote>His brain "
11554 "is affected,</quote> he reports."
11557 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11558 #: freeculture.xml:8661
11560 "<quote>What affects it?</quote> the father asks. <quote>Those queer things "
11561 "that are called the eyes … are diseased … in such a way as to "
11562 "affect his brain.</quote>"
11565 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11566 #: freeculture.xml:8666
11568 "The doctor continues: <quote>I think I may say with reasonable certainty "
11569 "that in order to cure him completely, all that we need to do is a simple and "
11570 "easy surgical operation—namely, to remove these irritant bodies [the "
11575 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11576 #: freeculture.xml:8672
11578 "<quote>Thank Heaven for science!</quote> says the father to the doctor. They "
11579 "inform Nunez of this condition necessary for him to be allowed his bride. "
11580 "(You'll have to read the original to learn what happens in the end. I "
11581 "believe in free culture, but never in giving away the end of a story.) It "
11582 "sometimes happens that the eggs of twins fuse in the mother's womb. That "
11583 "fusion produces a <quote>chimera.</quote> A chimera is a single creature "
11584 "with two sets of DNA. The DNA in the blood, for example, might be different "
11585 "from the DNA of the skin. This possibility is an underused plot for murder "
11586 "mysteries. <quote>But the DNA shows with 100 percent certainty that she was "
11587 "not the person whose blood was at the scene. …</quote>"
11590 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11591 #: freeculture.xml:8689
11593 "Before I had read about chimeras, I would have said they were impossible. A "
11594 "single person can't have two sets of DNA. The very idea of DNA is that it is "
11595 "the code of an individual. Yet in fact, not only can two individuals have "
11596 "the same set of DNA (identical twins), but one person can have two different "
11597 "sets of DNA (a chimera). Our understanding of a <quote>person</quote> should "
11598 "reflect this reality."
11601 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11602 #: freeculture.xml:8697
11604 "The more I work to understand the current struggle over copyright and "
11605 "culture, which I've sometimes called unfairly, and sometimes not unfairly "
11606 "enough, <quote>the copyright wars,</quote> the more I think we're dealing "
11607 "with a chimera. For example, in the battle over the question <quote>What is "
11608 "p2p file sharing?</quote> both sides have it right, and both sides have it "
11609 "wrong. One side says, <quote>File sharing is just like two kids taping each "
11610 "others' records—the sort of thing we've been doing for the last thirty "
11611 "years without any question at all.</quote> That's true, at least in "
11612 "part. When I tell my best friend to try out a new CD that I've bought, but "
11613 "rather than just send the CD, I point him to my p2p server, that is, in all "
11614 "relevant respects, just like what every executive in every recording company "
11615 "no doubt did as a kid: sharing music."
11618 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11619 #: freeculture.xml:8711
11621 "But the description is also false in part. For when my p2p server is on a "
11622 "p2p network through which anyone can get access to my music, then sure, my "
11623 "friends can get access, but it stretches the meaning of "
11624 "<quote>friends</quote> beyond recognition to say <quote>my ten thousand best "
11625 "friends</quote> can get access. Whether or not sharing my music with my best "
11626 "friend is what <quote>we have always been allowed to do,</quote> we have not "
11627 "always been allowed to share music with <quote>our ten thousand best "
11631 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11632 #: freeculture.xml:8720
11634 "Likewise, when the other side says, <quote>File sharing is just like walking "
11635 "into a Tower Records and taking a CD off the shelf and walking out with "
11636 "it,</quote> that's true, at least in part. If, after Lyle Lovett (finally) "
11637 "releases a new album, rather than buying it, I go to Kazaa and find a free "
11638 "copy to take, that is very much like stealing a copy from Tower. "
11639 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
11643 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11644 #: freeculture.xml:8731
11646 "But it is not quite stealing from Tower. After all, when I take a CD from "
11647 "Tower Records, Tower has one less CD to sell. And when I take a CD from "
11648 "Tower Records, I get a bit of plastic and a cover, and something to show on "
11649 "my shelves. (And, while we're at it, we could also note that when I take a "
11650 "CD from Tower Records, the maximum fine that might be imposed on me, under "
11651 "California law, at least, is $1,000. According to the RIAA, by contrast, if "
11652 "I download a ten-song CD, I'm liable for $1,500,000 in damages.)"
11655 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11656 #: freeculture.xml:8741
11658 "The point is not that it is as neither side describes. The point is that it "
11659 "is both—both as the RIAA describes it and as Kazaa describes it. It is "
11660 "a chimera. And rather than simply denying what the other side asserts, we "
11661 "need to begin to think about how we should respond to this chimera. What "
11662 "rules should govern it?"
11665 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
11666 #: freeculture.xml:8787
11667 msgid "Conyers, John, Jr."
11670 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
11671 #: freeculture.xml:8788 freeculture.xml:9492
11672 msgid "Berman, Howard L."
11675 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
11676 #: freeculture.xml:8757
11678 "For an excellent summary, see the report prepared by GartnerG2 and the "
11679 "Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School, "
11680 "<quote>Copyright and Digital Media in a Post-Napster World,</quote> 27 June "
11681 "2003, available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link "
11682 "#33</ulink>. Reps. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and Howard L. Berman "
11683 "(D-Calif.) have introduced a bill that would treat unauthorized on-line "
11684 "copying as a felony offense with punishments ranging as high as five years "
11685 "imprisonment; see Jon Healey, <quote>House Bill Aims to Up Stakes on "
11686 "Piracy,</quote> <citetitle>Los Angeles Times</citetitle>, 17 July 2003, "
11687 "available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link "
11688 "#34</ulink>. Civil penalties are currently set at $150,000 per copied "
11689 "song. For a recent (and unsuccessful) legal challenge to the RIAA's demand "
11690 "that an ISP reveal the identity of a user accused of sharing more than 600 "
11691 "songs through a family computer, see <citetitle>RIAA</citetitle> "
11692 "v. <citetitle>Verizon Internet Services (In re. Verizon Internet "
11693 "Services)</citetitle>, 240 F. Supp. 2d 24 (D.D.C. 2003). Such a user could "
11694 "face liability ranging as high as $90 million. Such astronomical figures "
11695 "furnish the RIAA with a powerful arsenal in its prosecution of file "
11696 "sharers. Settlements ranging from $12,000 to $17,500 for four students "
11697 "accused of heavy file sharing on university networks must have seemed a mere "
11698 "pittance next to the $98 billion the RIAA could seek should the matter "
11699 "proceed to court. See Elizabeth Young, <quote>Downloading Could Lead to "
11700 "Fines,</quote> redandblack.com, August 2003, available at <ulink "
11701 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #35</ulink>. For an example of "
11702 "the RIAA's targeting of student file sharing, and of the subpoenas issued to "
11703 "universities to reveal student file-sharer identities, see James Collins, "
11704 "<quote>RIAA Steps Up Bid to Force BC, MIT to Name Students,</quote> "
11705 "<citetitle>Boston Globe</citetitle>, 8 August 2003, D3, available at <ulink "
11706 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #36</ulink>. <placeholder "
11707 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
11710 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11711 #: freeculture.xml:8748
11713 "We could respond by simply pretending that it is not a chimera. We could, "
11714 "with the RIAA, decide that every act of file sharing should be a felony. We "
11715 "could prosecute families for millions of dollars in damages just because "
11716 "file sharing occurred on a family computer. And we can get universities to "
11717 "monitor all computer traffic to make sure that no computer is used to commit "
11718 "this crime. These responses might be extreme, but each of them has either "
11719 "been proposed or actually implemented.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
11723 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11724 #: freeculture.xml:8794
11726 "Alternatively, we could respond to file sharing the way many kids act as "
11727 "though we've responded. We could totally legalize it. Let there be no "
11728 "copyright liability, either civil or criminal, for making copyrighted "
11729 "content available on the Net. Make file sharing like gossip: regulated, if "
11730 "at all, by social norms but not by law."
11733 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11734 #: freeculture.xml:8801
11736 "Either response is possible. I think either would be a mistake. Rather than "
11737 "embrace one of these two extremes, we should embrace something that "
11738 "recognizes the truth in both. And while I end this book with a sketch of a "
11739 "system that does just that, my aim in the next chapter is to show just how "
11740 "awful it would be for us to adopt the zero-tolerance extreme. I believe "
11741 "<emphasis>either</emphasis> extreme would be worse than a reasonable "
11742 "alternative. But I believe the zero-tolerance solution would be the worse "
11743 "of the two extremes."
11747 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11748 #: freeculture.xml:8813
11750 "Yet zero tolerance is increasingly our government's policy. In the middle of "
11751 "the chaos that the Internet has created, an extraordinary land grab is "
11752 "occurring. The law and technology are being shifted to give content holders "
11753 "a kind of control over our culture that they have never had before. And in "
11754 "this extremism, many an opportunity for new innovation and new creativity "
11758 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11759 #: freeculture.xml:8821
11761 "I'm not talking about the opportunities for kids to <quote>steal</quote> "
11762 "music. My focus instead is the commercial and cultural innovation that this "
11763 "war will also kill. We have never seen the power to innovate spread so "
11764 "broadly among our citizens, and we have just begun to see the innovation "
11765 "that this power will unleash. Yet the Internet has already seen the passing "
11766 "of one cycle of innovation around technologies to distribute content. The "
11767 "law is responsible for this passing. As the vice president for global public "
11768 "policy at one of these new innovators, eMusic.com, put it when criticizing "
11769 "the DMCA's added protection for copyrighted material,"
11772 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
11773 #: freeculture.xml:8834
11775 "eMusic opposes music piracy. We are a distributor of copyrighted material, "
11776 "and we want to protect those rights."
11779 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
11780 #: freeculture.xml:8838
11782 "But building a technology fortress that locks in the clout of the major "
11783 "labels is by no means the only way to protect copyright interests, nor is it "
11784 "necessarily the best. It is simply too early to answer that question. Market "
11785 "forces operating naturally may very well produce a totally different "
11790 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
11791 #: freeculture.xml:8855
11793 "WIPO and the DMCA One Year Later: Assessing Consumer Access to Digital "
11794 "Entertainment on the Internet and Other Media: Hearing Before the "
11795 "Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection, House "
11796 "Committee on Commerce, 106th Cong. 29 (1999) (statement of Peter Harter, "
11797 "vice president, Global Public Policy and Standards, EMusic.com), available "
11798 "in LEXIS, Federal Document Clearing House Congressional Testimony File."
11801 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
11802 #: freeculture.xml:8845
11804 "This is a critical point. The choices that industry sectors make with "
11805 "respect to these systems will in many ways directly shape the market for "
11806 "digital media and the manner in which digital media are distributed. This in "
11807 "turn will directly influence the options that are available to consumers, "
11808 "both in terms of the ease with which they will be able to access digital "
11809 "media and the equipment that they will require to do so. Poor choices made "
11810 "this early in the game will retard the growth of this market, hurting "
11811 "everyone's interests.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
11814 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
11815 #: freeculture.xml:8869 freeculture.xml:9220
11816 msgid "Vivendi Universal"
11819 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11820 #: freeculture.xml:8866
11822 "In April 2001, eMusic.com was purchased by Vivendi Universal, one of "
11823 "<quote>the major labels.</quote> Its position on these matters has now "
11824 "changed. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
11827 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11828 #: freeculture.xml:8872
11830 "Reversing our tradition of tolerance now will not merely quash piracy. It "
11831 "will sacrifice values that are important to this culture, and will kill "
11832 "opportunities that could be extraordinarily valuable."
11835 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><title>
11836 #: freeculture.xml:8880
11837 msgid "CHAPTER TWELVE: Harms"
11840 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11841 #: freeculture.xml:8882
11843 "To fight <quote>piracy,</quote> to protect <quote>property,</quote> the "
11844 "content industry has launched a war. Lobbying and lots of campaign "
11845 "contributions have now brought the government into this war. As with any "
11846 "war, this one will have both direct and collateral damage. As with any war "
11847 "of prohibition, these damages will be suffered most by our own people."
11850 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11851 #: freeculture.xml:8889
11853 "My aim so far has been to describe the consequences of this war, in "
11854 "particular, the consequences for <quote>free culture.</quote> But my aim now "
11855 "is to extend this description of consequences into an argument. Is this war "
11859 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11860 #: freeculture.xml:8895
11862 "In my view, it is not. There is no good reason why this time, for the first "
11863 "time, the law should defend the old against the new, just when the power of "
11864 "the property called <quote>intellectual property</quote> is at its greatest "
11868 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11869 #: freeculture.xml:8903
11871 "Yet <quote>common sense</quote> does not see it this way. Common sense is "
11872 "still on the side of the Causbys and the content industry. The extreme "
11873 "claims of control in the name of property still resonate; the uncritical "
11874 "rejection of <quote>piracy</quote> still has play."
11878 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
11879 #: freeculture.xml:8910
11881 "There will be many consequences of continuing this war. I want to describe "
11882 "just three. All three might be said to be unintended. I am quite confident "
11883 "the third is unintended. I'm less sure about the first two. The first two "
11884 "protect modern RCAs, but there is no Howard Armstrong in the wings to fight "
11885 "today's monopolists of culture."
11888 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><title>
11889 #: freeculture.xml:8917
11890 msgid "Constraining Creators"
11893 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11894 #: freeculture.xml:8919
11896 "In the next ten years we will see an explosion of digital technologies. "
11897 "These technologies will enable almost anyone to capture and share "
11898 "content. Capturing and sharing content, of course, is what humans have done "
11899 "since the dawn of man. It is how we learn and communicate. But capturing and "
11900 "sharing through digital technology is different. The fidelity and power are "
11901 "different. You could send an e-mail telling someone about a joke you saw on "
11902 "Comedy Central, or you could send the clip. You could write an essay about "
11903 "the inconsistencies in the arguments of the politician you most love to "
11904 "hate, or you could make a short film that puts statement against "
11905 "statement. You could write a poem to express your love, or you could weave "
11906 "together a string—a mash-up— of songs from your favorite artists "
11907 "in a collage and make it available on the Net."
11910 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11911 #: freeculture.xml:8934
11913 "This digital <quote>capturing and sharing</quote> is in part an extension of "
11914 "the capturing and sharing that has always been integral to our culture, and "
11915 "in part it is something new. It is continuous with the Kodak, but it "
11916 "explodes the boundaries of Kodak-like technologies. The technology of "
11917 "digital <quote>capturing and sharing</quote> promises a world of "
11918 "extraordinarily diverse creativity that can be easily and broadly "
11919 "shared. And as that creativity is applied to democracy, it will enable a "
11920 "broad range of citizens to use technology to express and criticize and "
11921 "contribute to the culture all around."
11925 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11926 #: freeculture.xml:8945
11928 "Technology has thus given us an opportunity to do something with culture "
11929 "that has only ever been possible for individuals in small groups, isolated "
11930 "from others. Think about an old man telling a story to a collection of "
11931 "neighbors in a small town. Now imagine that same storytelling extended "
11932 "across the globe."
11935 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11936 #: freeculture.xml:8955
11938 "Yet all this is possible only if the activity is presumptively legal. In the "
11939 "current regime of legal regulation, it is not. Forget file sharing for a "
11940 "moment. Think about your favorite amazing sites on the Net. Web sites that "
11941 "offer plot summaries from forgotten television shows; sites that catalog "
11942 "cartoons from the 1960s; sites that mix images and sound to criticize "
11943 "politicians or businesses; sites that gather newspaper articles on remote "
11944 "topics of science or culture. There is a vast amount of creative work spread "
11945 "across the Internet. But as the law is currently crafted, this work is "
11946 "presumptively illegal."
11949 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
11950 #: freeculture.xml:8983 freeculture.xml:9004
11954 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
11955 #: freeculture.xml:8978
11957 "See Lynne W. Jeter, <citetitle>Disconnected: Deceit and Betrayal at "
11958 "WorldCom</citetitle> (Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2003), 176, 204; "
11959 "for details of the settlement, see MCI press release, <quote>MCI Wins "
11960 "U.S. District Court Approval for SEC Settlement</quote> (7 July 2003), "
11961 "available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #37</ulink>. "
11962 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
11965 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
11966 #: freeculture.xml:8999
11967 msgid "Bush, George W."
11970 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
11971 #: freeculture.xml:8990
11973 "The bill, modeled after California's tort reform model, was passed in the "
11974 "House of Representatives but defeated in a Senate vote in July 2003. For an "
11975 "overview, see Tanya Albert, <quote>Measure Stalls in Senate: `We'll Be "
11976 "Back,' Say Tort Reformers,</quote> amednews.com, 28 July 2003, available at "
11977 "<ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #38</ulink>, and "
11978 "<quote>Senate Turns Back Malpractice Caps,</quote> CBSNews.com, 9 July 2003, "
11979 "available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link "
11980 "#39</ulink>. President Bush has continued to urge tort reform in recent "
11981 "months. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
11984 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
11985 #: freeculture.xml:8966
11987 "That presumption will increasingly chill creativity, as the examples of "
11988 "extreme penalties for vague infringements continue to proliferate. It is "
11989 "impossible to get a clear sense of what's allowed and what's not, and at the "
11990 "same time, the penalties for crossing the line are astonishingly harsh. The "
11991 "four students who were threatened by the RIAA ( Jesse Jordan of chapter 3 "
11992 "was just one) were threatened with a $98 billion lawsuit for building search "
11993 "engines that permitted songs to be copied. Yet World-Com—which "
11994 "defrauded investors of $11 billion, resulting in a loss to investors in "
11995 "market capitalization of over $200 billion—received a fine of a mere "
11996 "$750 million.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> And under legislation "
11997 "being pushed in Congress right now, a doctor who negligently removes the "
11998 "wrong leg in an operation would be liable for no more than $250,000 in "
11999 "damages for pain and suffering.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/> Can "
12000 "common sense recognize the absurdity in a world where the maximum fine for "
12001 "downloading two songs off the Internet is more than the fine for a doctor's "
12002 "negligently butchering a patient? <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"2\"/>"
12006 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
12007 #: freeculture.xml:9026
12009 "See Danit Lidor, <quote>Artists Just Wanna Be Free,</quote> "
12010 "<citetitle>Wired</citetitle>, 7 July 2003, available at <ulink "
12011 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #40</ulink>. For an overview of "
12012 "the exhibition, see <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link "
12016 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12017 #: freeculture.xml:9007
12019 "The consequence of this legal uncertainty, tied to these extremely high "
12020 "penalties, is that an extraordinary amount of creativity will either never "
12021 "be exercised, or never be exercised in the open. We drive this creative "
12022 "process underground by branding the modern-day Walt Disneys "
12023 "<quote>pirates.</quote> We make it impossible for businesses to rely upon a "
12024 "public domain, because the boundaries of the public domain are designed to "
12025 "be unclear. It never pays to do anything except pay for the right to create, "
12026 "and hence only those who can pay are allowed to create. As was the case in "
12027 "the Soviet Union, though for very different reasons, we will begin to see a "
12028 "world of underground art—not because the message is necessarily "
12029 "political, or because the subject is controversial, but because the very act "
12030 "of creating the art is legally fraught. Already, exhibits of <quote>illegal "
12031 "art</quote> tour the United States.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> "
12032 "In what does their <quote>illegality</quote> consist? In the act of mixing "
12033 "the culture around us with an expression that is critical or reflective."
12036 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12037 #: freeculture.xml:9036
12039 "Part of the reason for this fear of illegality has to do with the changing "
12040 "law. I described that change in detail in chapter <xref xrefstyle=\"select: "
12041 "labelnumber\" linkend=\"property-i\"/>. But an even bigger part has to do "
12042 "with the increasing ease with which infractions can be tracked. As users of "
12043 "file-sharing systems discovered in 2002, it is a trivial matter for "
12044 "copyright owners to get courts to order Internet service providers to reveal "
12045 "who has what content. It is as if your cassette tape player transmitted a "
12046 "list of the songs that you played in the privacy of your own home that "
12047 "anyone could tune into for whatever reason they chose."
12050 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12051 #: freeculture.xml:9048
12053 "Never in our history has a painter had to worry about whether his painting "
12054 "infringed on someone else's work; but the modern-day painter, using the "
12055 "tools of Photoshop, sharing content on the Web, must worry all the "
12056 "time. Images are all around, but the only safe images to use in the act of "
12057 "creation are those purchased from Corbis or another image farm. And in "
12058 "purchasing, censoring happens. There is a free market in pencils; we needn't "
12059 "worry about its effect on creativity. But there is a highly regulated, "
12060 "monopolized market in cultural icons; the right to cultivate and transform "
12061 "them is not similarly free."
12064 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12065 #: freeculture.xml:9059
12067 "Lawyers rarely see this because lawyers are rarely empirical. As I described "
12068 "in chapter <xref xrefstyle=\"select: labelnumber\" linkend=\"recorders\"/>, "
12069 "in response to the story about documentary filmmaker Jon Else, I have been "
12070 "lectured again and again by lawyers who insist Else's use was fair use, and "
12071 "hence I am wrong to say that the law regulates such a use."
12075 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12076 #: freeculture.xml:9070
12078 "But fair use in America simply means the right to hire a lawyer to defend "
12079 "your right to create. And as lawyers love to forget, our system for "
12080 "defending rights such as fair use is astonishingly bad—in practically "
12081 "every context, but especially here. It costs too much, it delivers too "
12082 "slowly, and what it delivers often has little connection to the justice "
12083 "underlying the claim. The legal system may be tolerable for the very rich. "
12084 "For everyone else, it is an embarrassment to a tradition that prides itself "
12085 "on the rule of law."
12088 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12089 #: freeculture.xml:9080
12091 "Judges and lawyers can tell themselves that fair use provides adequate "
12092 "<quote>breathing room</quote> between regulation by the law and the access "
12093 "the law should allow. But it is a measure of how out of touch our legal "
12094 "system has become that anyone actually believes this. The rules that "
12095 "publishers impose upon writers, the rules that film distributors impose upon "
12096 "filmmakers, the rules that newspapers impose upon journalists— these "
12097 "are the real laws governing creativity. And these rules have little "
12098 "relationship to the <quote>law</quote> with which judges comfort themselves."
12101 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12102 #: freeculture.xml:9091
12104 "For in a world that threatens $150,000 for a single willful infringement of "
12105 "a copyright, and which demands tens of thousands of dollars to even defend "
12106 "against a copyright infringement claim, and which would never return to the "
12107 "wrongfully accused defendant anything of the costs she suffered to defend "
12108 "her right to speak—in that world, the astonishingly broad regulations "
12109 "that pass under the name <quote>copyright</quote> silence speech and "
12110 "creativity. And in that world, it takes a studied blindness for people to "
12111 "continue to believe they live in a culture that is free."
12114 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12115 #: freeculture.xml:9102
12116 msgid "As Jed Horovitz, the businessman behind Video Pipeline, said to me,"
12120 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
12121 #: freeculture.xml:9106
12123 "We're losing [creative] opportunities right and left. Creative people are "
12124 "being forced not to express themselves. Thoughts are not being "
12125 "expressed. And while a lot of stuff may [still] be created, it still won't "
12126 "get distributed. Even if the stuff gets made … you're not going to "
12127 "get it distributed in the mainstream media unless you've got a little note "
12128 "from a lawyer saying, <quote>This has been cleared.</quote> You're not even "
12129 "going to get it on PBS without that kind of permission. That's the point at "
12130 "which they control it."
12133 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><title>
12134 #: freeculture.xml:9119
12135 msgid "Constraining Innovators"
12138 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12139 #: freeculture.xml:9121
12141 "The story of the last section was a crunchy-lefty story—creativity "
12142 "quashed, artists who can't speak, yada yada yada. Maybe that doesn't get you "
12143 "going. Maybe you think there's enough weird art out there, and enough "
12144 "expression that is critical of what seems to be just about everything. And "
12145 "if you think that, you might think there's little in this story to worry "
12149 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12150 #: freeculture.xml:9129
12152 "But there's an aspect of this story that is not lefty in any sense. Indeed, "
12153 "it is an aspect that could be written by the most extreme promarket "
12154 "ideologue. And if you're one of these sorts (and a special one at that, 188 "
12155 "pages into a book like this), then you can see this other aspect by "
12156 "substituting <quote>free market</quote> every place I've spoken of "
12157 "<quote>free culture.</quote> The point is the same, even if the interests "
12158 "affecting culture are more fundamental."
12161 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12162 #: freeculture.xml:9138
12164 "The charge I've been making about the regulation of culture is the same "
12165 "charge free marketers make about regulating markets. Everyone, of course, "
12166 "concedes that some regulation of markets is necessary—at a minimum, we "
12167 "need rules of property and contract, and courts to enforce both. Likewise, "
12168 "in this culture debate, everyone concedes that at least some framework of "
12169 "copyright is also required. But both perspectives vehemently insist that "
12170 "just because some regulation is good, it doesn't follow that more regulation "
12171 "is better. And both perspectives are constantly attuned to the ways in which "
12172 "regulation simply enables the powerful industries of today to protect "
12173 "themselves against the competitors of tomorrow."
12176 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
12177 #: freeculture.xml:9150 freeculture.xml:9258
12178 msgid "Barry, Hank"
12182 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12183 #: freeculture.xml:9152
12185 "This is the single most dramatic effect of the shift in regulatory strategy "
12186 "that I described in chapter <xref xrefstyle=\"select: labelnumber\" "
12187 "linkend=\"property-i\"/>. The consequence of this massive threat of "
12188 "liability tied to the murky boundaries of copyright law is that innovators "
12189 "who want to innovate in this space can safely innovate only if they have the "
12190 "sign-off from last generation's dominant industries. That lesson has been "
12191 "taught through a series of cases that were designed and executed to teach "
12192 "venture capitalists a lesson. That lesson—what former Napster CEO Hank "
12193 "Barry calls a <quote>nuclear pall</quote> that has fallen over the "
12194 "Valley—has been learned."
12197 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12198 #: freeculture.xml:9165
12200 "Consider one example to make the point, a story whose beginning I told in "
12201 "<citetitle>The Future of Ideas</citetitle> and which has progressed in a way "
12202 "that even I (pessimist extraordinaire) would never have predicted."
12205 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
12206 #: freeculture.xml:9169
12207 msgid "Roberts, Michael"
12210 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12211 #: freeculture.xml:9171
12213 "In 1997, Michael Roberts launched a company called MP3.com. MP3.com was "
12214 "keen to remake the music business. Their goal was not just to facilitate new "
12215 "ways to get access to content. Their goal was also to facilitate new ways to "
12216 "create content. Unlike the major labels, MP3.com offered creators a venue to "
12217 "distribute their creativity, without demanding an exclusive engagement from "
12221 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12222 #: freeculture.xml:9179
12224 "To make this system work, however, MP3.com needed a reliable way to "
12225 "recommend music to its users. The idea behind this alternative was to "
12226 "leverage the revealed preferences of music listeners to recommend new "
12227 "artists. If you like Lyle Lovett, you're likely to enjoy Bonnie Raitt. And "
12228 "so on. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
12231 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12232 #: freeculture.xml:9187
12234 "This idea required a simple way to gather data about user preferences. "
12235 "MP3.com came up with an extraordinarily clever way to gather this preference "
12236 "data. In January 2000, the company launched a service called "
12237 "my.mp3.com. Using software provided by MP3.com, a user would sign into an "
12238 "account and then insert into her computer a CD. The software would identify "
12239 "the CD, and then give the user access to that content. So, for example, if "
12240 "you inserted a CD by Jill Sobule, then wherever you were—at work or at "
12241 "home—you could get access to that music once you signed into your "
12242 "account. The system was therefore a kind of music-lockbox."
12246 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12247 #: freeculture.xml:9199
12249 "No doubt some could use this system to illegally copy content. But that "
12250 "opportunity existed with or without MP3.com. The aim of the my.mp3.com "
12251 "service was to give users access to their own content, and as a by-product, "
12252 "by seeing the content they already owned, to discover the kind of content "
12256 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12257 #: freeculture.xml:9208
12259 "To make this system function, however, MP3.com needed to copy 50,000 CDs to "
12260 "a server. (In principle, it could have been the user who uploaded the music, "
12261 "but that would have taken a great deal of time, and would have produced a "
12262 "product of questionable quality.) It therefore purchased 50,000 CDs from a "
12263 "store, and started the process of making copies of those CDs. Again, it "
12264 "would not serve the content from those copies to anyone except those who "
12265 "authenticated that they had a copy of the CD they wanted to access. So while "
12266 "this was 50,000 copies, it was 50,000 copies directed at giving customers "
12267 "something they had already bought."
12270 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12271 #: freeculture.xml:9223
12273 "Nine days after MP3.com launched its service, the five major labels, headed "
12274 "by the RIAA, brought a lawsuit against MP3.com. MP3.com settled with four of "
12275 "the five. Nine months later, a federal judge found MP3.com to have been "
12276 "guilty of willful infringement with respect to the fifth. Applying the law "
12277 "as it is, the judge imposed a fine against MP3.com of $118 million. MP3.com "
12278 "then settled with the remaining plaintiff, Vivendi Universal, paying over "
12279 "$54 million. Vivendi purchased MP3.com just about a year later."
12282 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12283 #: freeculture.xml:9233
12284 msgid "That part of the story I have told before. Now consider its conclusion."
12287 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12288 #: freeculture.xml:9236
12290 "After Vivendi purchased MP3.com, Vivendi turned around and filed a "
12291 "malpractice lawsuit against the lawyers who had advised it that they had a "
12292 "good faith claim that the service they wanted to offer would be considered "
12293 "legal under copyright law. This lawsuit alleged that it should have been "
12294 "obvious that the courts would find this behavior illegal; therefore, this "
12295 "lawsuit sought to punish any lawyer who had dared to suggest that the law "
12296 "was less restrictive than the labels demanded."
12300 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12301 #: freeculture.xml:9246
12303 "The clear purpose of this lawsuit (which was settled for an unspecified "
12304 "amount shortly after the story was no longer covered in the press) was to "
12305 "send an unequivocal message to lawyers advising clients in this space: It is "
12306 "not just your clients who might suffer if the content industry directs its "
12307 "guns against them. It is also you. So those of you who believe the law "
12308 "should be less restrictive should realize that such a view of the law will "
12309 "cost you and your firm dearly."
12312 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
12313 #: freeculture.xml:9257
12314 msgid "Hummer, John"
12317 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
12318 #: freeculture.xml:9259
12319 msgid "Hummer Winblad"
12323 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
12324 #: freeculture.xml:9267
12326 "See Joseph Menn, <quote>Universal, EMI Sue Napster Investor,</quote> "
12327 "<citetitle>Los Angeles Times</citetitle>, 23 April 2003. For a parallel "
12328 "argument about the effects on innovation in the distribution of music, see "
12329 "Janelle Brown, <quote>The Music Revolution Will Not Be Digitized,</quote> "
12330 "Salon.com, 1 June 2001, available at <ulink "
12331 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #42</ulink>. See also Jon "
12332 "Healey, <quote>Online Music Services Besieged,</quote> <citetitle>Los "
12333 "Angeles Times</citetitle>, 28 May 2001."
12336 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12337 #: freeculture.xml:9261
12339 "This strategy is not just limited to the lawyers. In April 2003, Universal "
12340 "and EMI brought a lawsuit against Hummer Winblad, the venture capital firm "
12341 "(VC) that had funded Napster at a certain stage of its development, its "
12342 "cofounder ( John Hummer), and general partner (Hank Barry).<placeholder "
12343 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> The claim here, as well, was that the VC should "
12344 "have recognized the right of the content industry to control how the "
12345 "industry should develop. They should be held personally liable for funding a "
12346 "company whose business turned out to be beyond the law. Here again, the aim "
12347 "of the lawsuit is transparent: Any VC now recognizes that if you fund a "
12348 "company whose business is not approved of by the dinosaurs, you are at risk "
12349 "not just in the marketplace, but in the courtroom as well. Your investment "
12350 "buys you not only a company, it also buys you a lawsuit. So extreme has the "
12351 "environment become that even car manufacturers are afraid of technologies "
12352 "that touch content. In an article in <citetitle>Business 2.0</citetitle>, "
12353 "Rafe Needleman describes a discussion with BMW: <placeholder "
12354 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"2\"/>"
12357 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><indexterm><primary>
12358 #: freeculture.xml:9291
12362 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
12363 #: freeculture.xml:9306
12364 msgid "Needleman, Rafe"
12367 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
12368 #: freeculture.xml:9302
12370 "Rafe Needleman, <quote>Driving in Cars with MP3s,</quote> "
12371 "<citetitle>Business 2.0</citetitle>, 16 June 2003, available at <ulink "
12372 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #43</ulink>. I am grateful to "
12373 "Dr. Mohammad Al-Ubaydli for this example. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
12377 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
12378 #: freeculture.xml:9293
12380 "I asked why, with all the storage capacity and computer power in the car, "
12381 "there was no way to play MP3 files. I was told that BMW engineers in Germany "
12382 "had rigged a new vehicle to play MP3s via the car's built-in sound system, "
12383 "but that the company's marketing and legal departments weren't comfortable "
12384 "with pushing this forward for release stateside. Even today, no new cars are "
12385 "sold in the United States with bona fide MP3 players. … <placeholder "
12386 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
12389 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12390 #: freeculture.xml:9311
12392 "This is the world of the mafia—filled with <quote>your money or your "
12393 "life</quote> offers, governed in the end not by courts but by the threats "
12394 "that the law empowers copyright holders to exercise. It is a system that "
12395 "will obviously and necessarily stifle new innovation. It is hard enough to "
12396 "start a company. It is impossibly hard if that company is constantly "
12397 "threatened by litigation."
12401 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12402 #: freeculture.xml:9321
12404 "The point is not that businesses should have a right to start illegal "
12405 "enterprises. The point is the definition of <quote>illegal.</quote> The law "
12406 "is a mess of uncertainty. We have no good way to know how it should apply to "
12407 "new technologies. Yet by reversing our tradition of judicial deference, and "
12408 "by embracing the astonishingly high penalties that copyright law imposes, "
12409 "that uncertainty now yields a reality which is far more conservative than is "
12410 "right. If the law imposed the death penalty for parking tickets, we'd not "
12411 "only have fewer parking tickets, we'd also have much less driving. The same "
12412 "principle applies to innovation. If innovation is constantly checked by this "
12413 "uncertain and unlimited liability, we will have much less vibrant innovation "
12414 "and much less creativity."
12417 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12418 #: freeculture.xml:9335
12420 "The point is directly parallel to the crunchy-lefty point about fair "
12421 "use. Whatever the <quote>real</quote> law is, realism about the effect of "
12422 "law in both contexts is the same. This wildly punitive system of regulation "
12423 "will systematically stifle creativity and innovation. It will protect some "
12424 "industries and some creators, but it will harm industry and creativity "
12425 "generally. Free market and free culture depend upon vibrant competition. "
12426 "Yet the effect of the law today is to stifle just this kind of competition. "
12427 "The effect is to produce an overregulated culture, just as the effect of too "
12428 "much control in the market is to produce an overregulatedregulated market."
12432 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12433 #: freeculture.xml:9347
12435 "The building of a permission culture, rather than a free culture, is the "
12436 "first important way in which the changes I have described will burden "
12437 "innovation. A permission culture means a lawyer's culture—a culture in "
12438 "which the ability to create requires a call to your lawyer. Again, I am not "
12439 "antilawyer, at least when they're kept in their proper place. I am certainly "
12440 "not antilaw. But our profession has lost the sense of its limits. And "
12441 "leaders in our profession have lost an appreciation of the high costs that "
12442 "our profession imposes upon others. The inefficiency of the law is an "
12443 "embarrassment to our tradition. And while I believe our profession should "
12444 "therefore do everything it can to make the law more efficient, it should at "
12445 "least do everything it can to limit the reach of the law where the law is "
12446 "not doing any good. The transaction costs buried within a permission culture "
12447 "are enough to bury a wide range of creativity. Someone needs to do a lot of "
12448 "justifying to justify that result. The uncertainty of the law is one burden "
12449 "on innovation. There is a second burden that operates more directly. This is "
12450 "the effort by many in the content industry to use the law to directly "
12451 "regulate the technology of the Internet so that it better protects their "
12455 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12456 #: freeculture.xml:9369
12458 "The motivation for this response is obvious. The Internet enables the "
12459 "efficient spread of content. That efficiency is a feature of the Internet's "
12460 "design. But from the perspective of the content industry, this feature is a "
12461 "<quote>bug.</quote> The efficient spread of content means that content "
12462 "distributors have a harder time controlling the distribution of content. "
12463 "One obvious response to this efficiency is thus to make the Internet less "
12464 "efficient. If the Internet enables <quote>piracy,</quote> then, this "
12465 "response says, we should break the kneecaps of the Internet."
12469 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
12470 #: freeculture.xml:9383
12472 "<quote>Copyright and Digital Media in a Post-Napster World,</quote> "
12473 "GartnerG2 and the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law "
12474 "School (2003), 33–35, available at <ulink "
12475 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #44</ulink>."
12479 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
12480 #: freeculture.xml:9396
12481 msgid "GartnerG2, 26–27."
12484 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12485 #: freeculture.xml:9379
12487 "The examples of this form of legislation are many. At the urging of the "
12488 "content industry, some in Congress have threatened legislation that would "
12489 "require computers to determine whether the content they access is protected "
12490 "or not, and to disable the spread of protected content.<placeholder "
12491 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Congress has already launched proceedings to "
12492 "explore a mandatory <quote>broadcast flag</quote> that would be required on "
12493 "any device capable of transmitting digital video (i.e., a computer), and "
12494 "that would disable the copying of any content that is marked with a "
12495 "broadcast flag. Other members of Congress have proposed immunizing content "
12496 "providers from liability for technology they might deploy that would hunt "
12497 "down copyright violators and disable their machines.<placeholder "
12498 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/>"
12502 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12503 #: freeculture.xml:9400
12505 "In one sense, these solutions seem sensible. If the problem is the code, why "
12506 "not regulate the code to remove the problem. But any regulation of technical "
12507 "infrastructure will always be tuned to the particular technology of the "
12508 "day. It will impose significant burdens and costs on the technology, but "
12509 "will likely be eclipsed by advances around exactly those requirements."
12513 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
12514 #: freeculture.xml:9414
12516 "See David McGuire, <quote>Tech Execs Square Off Over Piracy,</quote> "
12517 "Newsbytes, February 2002 (Entertainment)."
12520 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
12521 #: freeculture.xml:9420 freeculture.xml:11236
12525 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12526 #: freeculture.xml:9410
12528 "In March 2002, a broad coalition of technology companies, led by Intel, "
12529 "tried to get Congress to see the harm that such legislation would "
12530 "impose.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Their argument was "
12531 "obviously not that copyright should not be protected. Instead, they argued, "
12532 "any protection should not do more harm than good. <placeholder "
12533 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
12536 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12537 #: freeculture.xml:9423
12539 "There is one more obvious way in which this war has harmed "
12540 "innovation—again, a story that will be quite familiar to the free "
12544 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12545 #: freeculture.xml:9428
12547 "Copyright may be property, but like all property, it is also a form of "
12548 "regulation. It is a regulation that benefits some and harms others. When "
12549 "done right, it benefits creators and harms leeches. When done wrong, it is "
12550 "regulation the powerful use to defeat competitors."
12553 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
12554 #: freeculture.xml:9440
12556 "Jessica Litman, <citetitle>Digital Copyright</citetitle> (Amherst, N.Y.: "
12557 "Prometheus Books, 2001). <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
12560 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12561 #: freeculture.xml:9434
12563 "As I described in chapter <xref xrefstyle=\"select: labelnumber\" "
12564 "linkend=\"property-i\"/>, despite this feature of copyright as regulation, "
12565 "and subject to important qualifications outlined by Jessica Litman in her "
12566 "book <citetitle>Digital Copyright</citetitle>,<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
12567 "id=\"0\"/> overall this history of copyright is not bad. As chapter 10 "
12568 "details, when new technologies have come along, Congress has struck a "
12569 "balance to assure that the new is protected from the old. Compulsory, or "
12570 "statutory, licenses have been one part of that strategy. Free use (as in the "
12571 "case of the VCR) has been another."
12574 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12575 #: freeculture.xml:9451
12577 "But that pattern of deference to new technologies has now changed with the "
12578 "rise of the Internet. Rather than striking a balance between the claims of a "
12579 "new technology and the legitimate rights of content creators, both the "
12580 "courts and Congress have imposed legal restrictions that will have the "
12581 "effect of smothering the new to benefit the old."
12585 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
12586 #: freeculture.xml:9460
12588 "The only circuit court exception is found in <citetitle>Recording Industry "
12589 "Association of America (RIAA)</citetitle> v. <citetitle>Diamond Multimedia "
12590 "Systems</citetitle>, 180 F. 3d 1072 (9th Cir. 1999). There the court of "
12591 "appeals for the Ninth Circuit reasoned that makers of a portable MP3 player "
12592 "were not liable for contributory copyright infringement for a device that is "
12593 "unable to record or redistribute music (a device whose only copying function "
12594 "is to render portable a music file already stored on a user's hard drive). "
12595 "At the district court level, the only exception is found in "
12596 "<citetitle>Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, "
12597 "Inc</citetitle>. v. <citetitle>Grokster, Ltd</citetitle>., 259 F. Supp. 2d "
12598 "1029 (C.D. Cal., 2003), where the court found the link between the "
12599 "distributor and any given user's conduct too attenuated to make the "
12600 "distributor liable for contributory or vicarious infringement liability."
12603 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
12604 #: freeculture.xml:9493
12605 msgid "Hollings, Fritz"
12608 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
12609 #: freeculture.xml:9478
12611 "For example, in July 2002, Representative Howard Berman introduced the "
12612 "Peer-to-Peer Piracy Prevention Act (H.R. 5211), which would immunize "
12613 "copyright holders from liability for damage done to computers when the "
12614 "copyright holders use technology to stop copyright infringement. In August "
12615 "2002, Representative Billy Tauzin introduced a bill to mandate that "
12616 "technologies capable of rebroadcasting digital copies of films broadcast on "
12617 "TV (i.e., computers) respect a <quote>broadcast flag</quote> that would "
12618 "disable copying of that content. And in March of the same year, Senator "
12619 "Fritz Hollings introduced the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television "
12620 "Promotion Act, which mandated copyright protection technology in all digital "
12621 "media devices. See GartnerG2, <quote>Copyright and Digital Media in a "
12622 "Post-Napster World,</quote> 27 June 2003, 33–34, available at <ulink "
12623 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #44</ulink>. <placeholder "
12624 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
12627 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12628 #: freeculture.xml:9458
12630 "The response by the courts has been fairly universal.<placeholder "
12631 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> It has been mirrored in the responses "
12632 "threatened and actually implemented by Congress. I won't catalog all of "
12633 "those responses here.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/> But there is "
12634 "one example that captures the flavor of them all. This is the story of the "
12635 "demise of Internet radio."
12638 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12639 #: freeculture.xml:9501
12641 "As I described in chapter <xref xrefstyle=\"select: labelnumber\" "
12642 "linkend=\"pirates\"/>, when a radio station plays a song, the recording "
12643 "artist doesn't get paid for that <quote>radio performance</quote> unless he "
12644 "or she is also the composer. So, for example if Marilyn Monroe had recorded "
12645 "a version of <quote>Happy Birthday</quote>—to memorialize her famous "
12646 "performance before President Kennedy at Madison Square Garden— then "
12647 "whenever that recording was played on the radio, the current copyright "
12648 "owners of <quote>Happy Birthday</quote> would get some money, whereas "
12649 "Marilyn Monroe would not. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
12652 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12653 #: freeculture.xml:9513
12655 "The reasoning behind this balance struck by Congress makes some sense. The "
12656 "justification was that radio was a kind of advertising. The recording artist "
12657 "thus benefited because by playing her music, the radio station was making it "
12658 "more likely that her records would be purchased. Thus, the recording artist "
12659 "got something, even if only indirectly. Probably this reasoning had less to "
12660 "do with the result than with the power of radio stations: Their lobbyists "
12661 "were quite good at stopping any efforts to get Congress to require "
12662 "compensation to the recording artists."
12665 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12666 #: freeculture.xml:9524
12668 "Enter Internet radio. Like regular radio, Internet radio is a technology to "
12669 "stream content from a broadcaster to a listener. The broadcast travels "
12670 "across the Internet, not across the ether of radio spectrum. Thus, I can "
12671 "<quote>tune in</quote> to an Internet radio station in Berlin while sitting "
12672 "in San Francisco, even though there's no way for me to tune in to a regular "
12673 "radio station much beyond the San Francisco metropolitan area."
12676 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12677 #: freeculture.xml:9533
12679 "This feature of the architecture of Internet radio means that there are "
12680 "potentially an unlimited number of radio stations that a user could tune in "
12681 "to using her computer, whereas under the existing architecture for broadcast "
12682 "radio, there is an obvious limit to the number of broadcasters and clear "
12683 "broadcast frequencies. Internet radio could therefore be more competitive "
12684 "than regular radio; it could provide a wider range of selections. And "
12685 "because the potential audience for Internet radio is the whole world, niche "
12686 "stations could easily develop and market their content to a relatively large "
12687 "number of users worldwide. According to some estimates, more than eighty "
12688 "million users worldwide have tuned in to this new form of radio."
12692 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12693 #: freeculture.xml:9548
12695 "Internet radio is thus to radio what FM was to AM. It is an improvement "
12696 "potentially vastly more significant than the FM improvement over AM, since "
12697 "not only is the technology better, so, too, is the competition. Indeed, "
12698 "there is a direct parallel between the fight to establish FM radio and the "
12699 "fight to protect Internet radio. As one author describes Howard Armstrong's "
12700 "struggle to enable FM radio,"
12704 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
12705 #: freeculture.xml:9572
12706 msgid "Lessing, 239."
12709 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
12710 #: freeculture.xml:9558
12712 "An almost unlimited number of FM stations was possible in the shortwaves, "
12713 "thus ending the unnatural restrictions imposed on radio in the crowded "
12714 "longwaves. If FM were freely developed, the number of stations would be "
12715 "limited only by economics and competition rather than by technical "
12716 "restrictions. … Armstrong likened the situation that had grown up in "
12717 "radio to that following the invention of the printing press, when "
12718 "governments and ruling interests attempted to control this new instrument of "
12719 "mass communications by imposing restrictive licenses on it. This tyranny was "
12720 "broken only when it became possible for men freely to acquire printing "
12721 "presses and freely to run them. FM in this sense was as great an invention "
12722 "as the printing presses, for it gave radio the opportunity to strike off its "
12723 "shackles.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
12727 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
12728 #: freeculture.xml:9582
12729 msgid "Ibid., 229."
12732 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12733 #: freeculture.xml:9577
12735 "This potential for FM radio was never realized—not because Armstrong "
12736 "was wrong about the technology, but because he underestimated the power of "
12737 "<quote>vested interests, habits, customs and legislation</quote><placeholder "
12738 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> to retard the growth of this competing "
12742 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12743 #: freeculture.xml:9587
12745 "Now the very same claim could be made about Internet radio. For again, there "
12746 "is no technical limitation that could restrict the number of Internet radio "
12747 "stations. The only restrictions on Internet radio are those imposed by the "
12748 "law. Copyright law is one such law. So the first question we should ask is, "
12749 "what copyright rules would govern Internet radio?"
12753 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12754 #: freeculture.xml:9595
12756 "But here the power of the lobbyists is reversed. Internet radio is a new "
12757 "industry. The recording artists, on the other hand, have a very powerful "
12758 "lobby, the RIAA. Thus when Congress considered the phenomenon of Internet "
12759 "radio in 1995, the lobbyists had primed Congress to adopt a different rule "
12760 "for Internet radio than the rule that applies to terrestrial radio. While "
12761 "terrestrial radio does not have to pay our hypothetical Marilyn Monroe when "
12762 "it plays her hypothetical recording of <quote>Happy Birthday</quote> on the "
12763 "air, <emphasis>Internet radio does</emphasis>. Not only is the law not "
12764 "neutral toward Internet radio—the law actually burdens Internet radio "
12765 "more than it burdens terrestrial radio."
12768 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
12769 #: freeculture.xml:9634
12770 msgid "CARP (Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel)"
12773 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
12774 #: freeculture.xml:9617
12776 "This example was derived from fees set by the original Copyright Arbitration "
12777 "Royalty Panel (CARP) proceedings, and is drawn from an example offered by "
12778 "Professor William Fisher. Conference Proceedings, iLaw (Stanford), 3 July "
12779 "2003, on file with author. Professors Fisher and Zittrain submitted "
12780 "testimony in the CARP proceeding that was ultimately rejected. See Jonathan "
12781 "Zittrain, Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings and Ephemeral "
12782 "Recordings, Docket No. 2000-9, CARP DTRA 1 and 2, available at <ulink "
12783 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #45</ulink>. For an excellent "
12784 "analysis making a similar point, see Randal C. Picker, <quote>Copyright as "
12785 "Entry Policy: The Case of Digital Distribution,</quote> <citetitle>Antitrust "
12786 "Bulletin</citetitle> (Summer/Fall 2002): 461: <quote>This was not confusion, "
12787 "these are just old-fashioned entry barriers. Analog radio stations are "
12788 "protected from digital entrants, reducing entry in radio and diversity. Yes, "
12789 "this is done in the name of getting royalties to copyright holders, but, "
12790 "absent the play of powerful interests, that could have been done in a "
12791 "media-neutral way.</quote> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> "
12792 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
12795 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12796 #: freeculture.xml:9610
12798 "This financial burden is not slight. As Harvard law professor William Fisher "
12799 "estimates, if an Internet radio station distributed adfree popular music to "
12800 "(on average) ten thousand listeners, twenty-four hours a day, the total "
12801 "artist fees that radio station would owe would be over $1 million a "
12802 "year.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> A regular radio station "
12803 "broadcasting the same content would pay no equivalent fee."
12806 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12807 #: freeculture.xml:9641
12809 "The burden is not financial only. Under the original rules that were "
12810 "proposed, an Internet radio station (but not a terrestrial radio station) "
12811 "would have to collect the following data from <emphasis>every listening "
12812 "transaction</emphasis>:"
12815 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12816 #: freeculture.xml:9649
12817 msgid "name of the service;"
12820 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12821 #: freeculture.xml:9652
12822 msgid "channel of the program (AM/FM stations use station ID);"
12825 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12826 #: freeculture.xml:9655
12827 msgid "type of program (archived/looped/live);"
12830 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12831 #: freeculture.xml:9658
12832 msgid "date of transmission;"
12835 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12836 #: freeculture.xml:9661
12837 msgid "time of transmission;"
12840 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12841 #: freeculture.xml:9664
12842 msgid "time zone of origination of transmission;"
12845 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12846 #: freeculture.xml:9667
12847 msgid "numeric designation of the place of the sound recording within the program;"
12850 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12851 #: freeculture.xml:9670
12852 msgid "duration of transmission (to nearest second);"
12855 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12856 #: freeculture.xml:9673
12857 msgid "sound recording title;"
12860 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12861 #: freeculture.xml:9676
12862 msgid "ISRC code of the recording;"
12865 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12866 #: freeculture.xml:9679
12868 "release year of the album per copyright notice and in the case of "
12869 "compilation albums, the release year of the album and copy- right date of "
12873 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12874 #: freeculture.xml:9682
12875 msgid "featured recording artist;"
12878 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12879 #: freeculture.xml:9685
12880 msgid "retail album title;"
12883 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12884 #: freeculture.xml:9688
12885 msgid "recording label;"
12888 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12889 #: freeculture.xml:9691
12890 msgid "UPC code of the retail album;"
12893 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12894 #: freeculture.xml:9694
12895 msgid "catalog number;"
12898 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12899 #: freeculture.xml:9697
12900 msgid "copyright owner information;"
12903 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12904 #: freeculture.xml:9700
12905 msgid "musical genre of the channel or program (station format);"
12908 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12909 #: freeculture.xml:9703
12910 msgid "name of the service or entity;"
12913 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12914 #: freeculture.xml:9706
12915 msgid "channel or program;"
12918 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12919 #: freeculture.xml:9709
12920 msgid "date and time that the user logged in (in the user's time zone);"
12923 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12924 #: freeculture.xml:9712
12925 msgid "date and time that the user logged out (in the user's time zone);"
12928 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12929 #: freeculture.xml:9715
12930 msgid "time zone where the signal was received (user);"
12933 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12934 #: freeculture.xml:9718
12935 msgid "unique user identifier;"
12938 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
12939 #: freeculture.xml:9721
12940 msgid "the country in which the user received the transmissions."
12943 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12944 #: freeculture.xml:9726
12946 "The Librarian of Congress eventually suspended these reporting requirements, "
12947 "pending further study. And he also changed the original rates set by the "
12948 "arbitration panel charged with setting rates. But the basic difference "
12949 "between Internet radio and terrestrial radio remains: Internet radio has to "
12950 "pay a <emphasis>type of copyright fee</emphasis> that terrestrial radio does "
12954 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12955 #: freeculture.xml:9734
12957 "Why? What justifies this difference? Was there any study of the economic "
12958 "consequences from Internet radio that would justify these differences? Was "
12959 "the motive to protect artists against piracy?"
12962 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><indexterm><primary>
12963 #: freeculture.xml:9739 freeculture.xml:14331
12964 msgid "Real Networks"
12967 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
12968 #: freeculture.xml:9741
12970 "In a rare bit of candor, one RIAA expert admitted what seemed obvious to "
12971 "everyone at the time. As Alex Alben, vice president for Public Policy at "
12972 "Real Networks, told me,"
12976 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
12977 #: freeculture.xml:9747
12979 "The RIAA, which was representing the record labels, presented some testimony "
12980 "about what they thought a willing buyer would pay to a willing seller, and "
12981 "it was much higher. It was ten times higher than what radio stations pay to "
12982 "perform the same songs for the same period of time. And so the attorneys "
12983 "representing the webcasters asked the RIAA, … <quote>How do you come "
12984 "up with a rate that's so much higher? Why is it worth more than radio? "
12985 "Because here we have hundreds of thousands of webcasters who want to pay, "
12986 "and that should establish the market rate, and if you set the rate so high, "
12987 "you're going to drive the small webcasters out of business. …</quote>"
12990 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
12991 #: freeculture.xml:9762
12993 "And the RIAA experts said, <quote>Well, we don't really model this as an "
12994 "industry with thousands of webcasters, <emphasis>we think it should be an "
12995 "industry with, you know, five or seven big players who can pay a high rate "
12996 "and it's a stable, predictable market</emphasis>.</quote> (Emphasis added.)"
12999 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13000 #: freeculture.xml:9770
13002 "Translation: The aim is to use the law to eliminate competition, so that "
13003 "this platform of potentially immense competition, which would cause the "
13004 "diversity and range of content available to explode, would not cause pain to "
13005 "the dinosaurs of old. There is no one, on either the right or the left, who "
13006 "should endorse this use of the law. And yet there is practically no one, on "
13007 "either the right or the left, who is doing anything effective to prevent it."
13010 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><title>
13011 #: freeculture.xml:9780
13012 msgid "Corrupting Citizens"
13015 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13016 #: freeculture.xml:9782
13018 "Overregulation stifles creativity. It smothers innovation. It gives "
13019 "dinosaurs a veto over the future. It wastes the extraordinary opportunity "
13020 "for a democratic creativity that digital technology enables."
13023 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13024 #: freeculture.xml:9788
13026 "In addition to these important harms, there is one more that was important "
13027 "to our forebears, but seems forgotten today. Overregulation corrupts "
13028 "citizens and weakens the rule of law."
13032 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
13033 #: freeculture.xml:9797
13035 "Mike Graziano and Lee Rainie, <quote>The Music Downloading Deluge,</quote> "
13036 "Pew Internet and American Life Project (24 April 2001), available at <ulink "
13037 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #46</ulink>. The Pew Internet "
13038 "and American Life Project reported that 37 million Americans had downloaded "
13039 "music files from the Internet by early 2001."
13043 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13044 #: freeculture.xml:9793
13046 "The war that is being waged today is a war of prohibition. As with every war "
13047 "of prohibition, it is targeted against the behavior of a very large number "
13048 "of citizens. According to <citetitle>The New York Times</citetitle>, 43 "
13049 "million Americans downloaded music in May 2002.<placeholder "
13050 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> According to the RIAA, the behavior of those 43 "
13051 "million Americans is a felony. We thus have a set of rules that transform 20 "
13052 "percent of America into criminals. As the RIAA launches lawsuits against not "
13053 "only the Napsters and Kazaas of the world, but against students building "
13054 "search engines, and increasingly against ordinary users downloading content, "
13055 "the technologies for sharing will advance to further protect and hide "
13056 "illegal use. It is an arms race or a civil war, with the extremes of one "
13057 "side inviting a more extreme response by the other."
13061 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
13062 #: freeculture.xml:9831
13064 "Alex Pham, <quote>The Labels Strike Back: N.Y. Girl Settles RIAA "
13065 "Case,</quote> <citetitle>Los Angeles Times</citetitle>, 10 September 2003, "
13069 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13070 #: freeculture.xml:9818
13072 "The content industry's tactics exploit the failings of the American legal "
13073 "system. When the RIAA brought suit against Jesse Jordan, it knew that in "
13074 "Jordan it had found a scapegoat, not a defendant. The threat of having to "
13075 "pay either all the money in the world in damages ($15,000,000) or almost all "
13076 "the money in the world to defend against paying all the money in the world "
13077 "in damages ($250,000 in legal fees) led Jordan to choose to pay all the "
13078 "money he had in the world ($12,000) to make the suit go away. The same "
13079 "strategy animates the RIAA's suits against individual users. In September "
13080 "2003, the RIAA sued 261 individuals—including a twelve-year-old girl "
13081 "living in public housing and a seventy-year-old man who had no idea what "
13082 "file sharing was.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> As these "
13083 "scapegoats discovered, it will always cost more to defend against these "
13084 "suits than it would cost to simply settle. (The twelve year old, for "
13085 "example, like Jesse Jordan, paid her life savings of $2,000 to settle the "
13086 "case.) Our law is an awful system for defending rights. It is an "
13087 "embarrassment to our tradition. And the consequence of our law as it is, is "
13088 "that those with the power can use the law to quash any rights they oppose."
13092 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
13093 #: freeculture.xml:9853
13095 "Jeffrey A. Miron and Jeffrey Zwiebel, <quote>Alcohol Consumption During "
13096 "Prohibition,</quote> <citetitle>American Economic Review</citetitle> 81, "
13097 "no. 2 (1991): 242."
13101 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
13102 #: freeculture.xml:9861
13104 "National Drug Control Policy: Hearing Before the House Government Reform "
13105 "Committee, 108th Cong., 1st sess. (5 March 2003) (statement of John "
13106 "P. Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy)."
13110 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
13111 #: freeculture.xml:9871
13113 "See James Andreoni, Brian Erard, and Jonathon Feinstein, <quote>Tax "
13114 "Compliance,</quote> <citetitle>Journal of Economic Literature</citetitle> 36 "
13115 "(1998): 818 (survey of compliance literature)."
13118 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
13119 #: freeculture.xml:9878
13120 msgid "alcohol prohibition"
13123 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13124 #: freeculture.xml:9843
13126 "Wars of prohibition are nothing new in America. This one is just something "
13127 "more extreme than anything we've seen before. We experimented with alcohol "
13128 "prohibition, at a time when the per capita consumption of alcohol was 1.5 "
13129 "gallons per capita per year. The war against drinking initially reduced that "
13130 "consumption to just 30 percent of its preprohibition levels, but by the end "
13131 "of prohibition, consumption was up to 70 percent of the preprohibition "
13132 "level. Americans were drinking just about as much, but now, a vast number "
13133 "were criminals.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> We have launched a "
13134 "war on drugs aimed at reducing the consumption of regulated narcotics that 7 "
13135 "percent (or 16 million) Americans now use.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
13136 "id=\"1\"/> That is a drop from the high (so to speak) in 1979 of 14 percent "
13137 "of the population. We regulate automobiles to the point where the vast "
13138 "majority of Americans violate the law every day. We run such a complex tax "
13139 "system that a majority of cash businesses regularly cheat.<placeholder "
13140 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"2\"/> We pride ourselves on our <quote>free "
13141 "society,</quote> but an endless array of ordinary behavior is regulated "
13142 "within our society. And as a result, a huge proportion of Americans "
13143 "regularly violate at least some law. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
13147 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
13148 #: freeculture.xml:9896
13149 msgid "law schools"
13152 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13153 #: freeculture.xml:9881
13155 "This state of affairs is not without consequence. It is a particularly "
13156 "salient issue for teachers like me, whose job it is to teach law students "
13157 "about the importance of <quote>ethics.</quote> As my colleague Charlie "
13158 "Nesson told a class at Stanford, each year law schools admit thousands of "
13159 "students who have illegally downloaded music, illegally consumed alcohol and "
13160 "sometimes drugs, illegally worked without paying taxes, illegally driven "
13161 "cars. These are kids for whom behaving illegally is increasingly the "
13162 "norm. And then we, as law professors, are supposed to teach them how to "
13163 "behave ethically—how to say no to bribes, or keep client funds "
13164 "separate, or honor a demand to disclose a document that will mean that your "
13165 "case is over. Generations of Americans—more significantly in some "
13166 "parts of America than in others, but still, everywhere in America "
13167 "today—can't live their lives both normally and legally, since "
13168 "<quote>normally</quote> entails a certain degree of illegality. "
13169 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
13172 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13173 #: freeculture.xml:9899
13175 "The response to this general illegality is either to enforce the law more "
13176 "severely or to change the law. We, as a society, have to learn how to make "
13177 "that choice more rationally. Whether a law makes sense depends, in part, at "
13178 "least, upon whether the costs of the law, both intended and collateral, "
13179 "outweigh the benefits. If the costs, intended and collateral, do outweigh "
13180 "the benefits, then the law ought to be changed. Alternatively, if the costs "
13181 "of the existing system are much greater than the costs of an alternative, "
13182 "then we have a good reason to consider the alternative."
13186 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13187 #: freeculture.xml:9912
13189 "My point is not the idiotic one: Just because people violate a law, we "
13190 "should therefore repeal it. Obviously, we could reduce murder statistics "
13191 "dramatically by legalizing murder on Wednesdays and Fridays. But that "
13192 "wouldn't make any sense, since murder is wrong every day of the week. A "
13193 "society is right to ban murder always and everywhere."
13196 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13197 #: freeculture.xml:9919
13199 "My point is instead one that democracies understood for generations, but "
13200 "that we recently have learned to forget. The rule of law depends upon people "
13201 "obeying the law. The more often, and more repeatedly, we as citizens "
13202 "experience violating the law, the less we respect the law. Obviously, in "
13203 "most cases, the important issue is the law, not respect for the law. I don't "
13204 "care whether the rapist respects the law or not; I want to catch and "
13205 "incarcerate the rapist. But I do care whether my students respect the "
13206 "law. And I do care if the rules of law sow increasing disrespect because of "
13207 "the extreme of regulation they impose. Twenty million Americans have come "
13208 "of age since the Internet introduced this different idea of "
13209 "<quote>sharing.</quote> We need to be able to call these twenty million "
13210 "Americans <quote>citizens,</quote> not <quote>felons.</quote>"
13213 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13214 #: freeculture.xml:9933
13216 "When at least forty-three million citizens download content from the "
13217 "Internet, and when they use tools to combine that content in ways "
13218 "unauthorized by copyright holders, the first question we should be asking is "
13219 "not how best to involve the FBI. The first question should be whether this "
13220 "particular prohibition is really necessary in order to achieve the proper "
13221 "ends that copyright law serves. Is there another way to assure that artists "
13222 "get paid without transforming forty-three million Americans into felons? "
13223 "Does it make sense if there are other ways to assure that artists get paid "
13224 "without transforming America into a nation of felons?"
13227 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13228 #: freeculture.xml:9945
13229 msgid "This abstract point can be made more clear with a particular example."
13233 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13234 #: freeculture.xml:9948
13236 "We all own CDs. Many of us still own phonograph records. These pieces of "
13237 "plastic encode music that in a certain sense we have bought. The law "
13238 "protects our right to buy and sell that plastic: It is not a copyright "
13239 "infringement for me to sell all my classical records at a used record store "
13240 "and buy jazz records to replace them. That <quote>use</quote> of the "
13241 "recordings is free."
13244 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13245 #: freeculture.xml:9959
13247 "But as the MP3 craze has demonstrated, there is another use of phonograph "
13248 "records that is effectively free. Because these recordings were made without "
13249 "copy-protection technologies, I am <quote>free</quote> to copy, or "
13250 "<quote>rip,</quote> music from my records onto a computer hard disk. Indeed, "
13251 "Apple Corporation went so far as to suggest that <quote>freedom</quote> was "
13252 "a right: In a series of commercials, Apple endorsed the <quote>Rip, Mix, "
13253 "Burn</quote> capacities of digital technologies."
13256 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><indexterm><primary>
13257 #: freeculture.xml:9967
13261 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13262 #: freeculture.xml:9969
13264 "This <quote>use</quote> of my records is certainly valuable. I have begun a "
13265 "large process at home of ripping all of my and my wife's CDs, and storing "
13266 "them in one archive. Then, using Apple's iTunes, or a wonderful program "
13267 "called Andromeda, we can build different play lists of our music: Bach, "
13268 "Baroque, Love Songs, Love Songs of Significant Others—the potential is "
13269 "endless. And by reducing the costs of mixing play lists, these technologies "
13270 "help build a creativity with play lists that is itself independently "
13271 "valuable. Compilations of songs are creative and meaningful in their own "
13275 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13276 #: freeculture.xml:9980
13278 "This use is enabled by unprotected media—either CDs or records. But "
13279 "unprotected media also enable file sharing. File sharing threatens (or so "
13280 "the content industry believes) the ability of creators to earn a fair return "
13281 "from their creativity. And thus, many are beginning to experiment with "
13282 "technologies to eliminate unprotected media. These technologies, for "
13283 "example, would enable CDs that could not be ripped. Or they might enable spy "
13284 "programs to identify ripped content on people's machines."
13288 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13289 #: freeculture.xml:9990
13291 "If these technologies took off, then the building of large archives of your "
13292 "own music would become quite difficult. You might hang in hacker circles, "
13293 "and get technology to disable the technologies that protect the "
13294 "content. Trading in those technologies is illegal, but maybe that doesn't "
13295 "bother you much. In any case, for the vast majority of people, these "
13296 "protection technologies would effectively destroy the archiving use of "
13297 "CDs. The technology, in other words, would force us all back to the world "
13298 "where we either listened to music by manipulating pieces of plastic or were "
13299 "part of a massively complex <quote>digital rights management</quote> system."
13302 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13303 #: freeculture.xml:10004
13305 "If the only way to assure that artists get paid were the elimination of the "
13306 "ability to freely move content, then these technologies to interfere with "
13307 "the freedom to move content would be justifiable. But what if there were "
13308 "another way to assure that artists are paid, without locking down any "
13309 "content? What if, in other words, a different system could assure "
13310 "compensation to artists while also preserving the freedom to move content "
13314 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13315 #: freeculture.xml:10013
13317 "My point just now is not to prove that there is such a system. I offer a "
13318 "version of such a system in the last chapter of this book. For now, the only "
13319 "point is the relatively uncontroversial one: If a different system achieved "
13320 "the same legitimate objectives that the existing copyright system achieved, "
13321 "but left consumers and creators much more free, then we'd have a very good "
13322 "reason to pursue this alternative—namely, freedom. The choice, in "
13323 "other words, would not be between property and piracy; the choice would be "
13324 "between different property systems and the freedoms each allowed."
13327 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13328 #: freeculture.xml:10024
13330 "I believe there is a way to assure that artists are paid without turning "
13331 "forty-three million Americans into felons. But the salient feature of this "
13332 "alternative is that it would lead to a very different market for producing "
13333 "and distributing creativity. The dominant few, who today control the vast "
13334 "majority of the distribution of content in the world, would no longer "
13335 "exercise this extreme of control. Rather, they would go the way of the "
13336 "horse-drawn buggy."
13339 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13340 #: freeculture.xml:10033
13342 "Except that this generation's buggy manufacturers have already saddled "
13343 "Congress, and are riding the law to protect themselves against this new form "
13344 "of competition. For them the choice is between fortythree million Americans "
13345 "as criminals and their own survival."
13348 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13349 #: freeculture.xml:10039
13351 "It is understandable why they choose as they do. It is not understandable "
13352 "why we as a democracy continue to choose as we do. Jack Valenti is charming; "
13353 "but not so charming as to justify giving up a tradition as deep and "
13354 "important as our tradition of free culture. There's one more aspect to this "
13355 "corruption that is particularly important to civil liberties, and follows "
13356 "directly from any war of prohibition. As Electronic Frontier Foundation "
13357 "attorney Fred von Lohmann describes, this is the <quote>collateral "
13358 "damage</quote> that <quote>arises whenever you turn a very large percentage "
13359 "of the population into criminals.</quote> This is the collateral damage to "
13360 "civil liberties generally. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
13363 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><indexterm><primary>
13364 #: freeculture.xml:10058 freeculture.xml:10167
13365 msgid "von Lohmann, Fred"
13368 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13369 #: freeculture.xml:10056
13371 "<quote>If you can treat someone as a putative lawbreaker,</quote> von "
13372 "Lohmann explains, <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
13375 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
13376 #: freeculture.xml:10062
13378 "then all of a sudden a lot of basic civil liberty protections evaporate to "
13379 "one degree or another. … If you're a copyright infringer, how can you "
13380 "hope to have any privacy rights? If you're a copyright infringer, how can "
13381 "you hope to be secure against seizures of your computer? How can you hope to "
13382 "continue to receive Internet access? … Our sensibilities change as "
13383 "soon as we think, <quote>Oh, well, but that person's a criminal, a "
13384 "lawbreaker.</quote> Well, what this campaign against file sharing has done "
13385 "is turn a remarkable percentage of the American Internet-using population "
13386 "into <quote>lawbreakers.</quote>"
13389 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13390 #: freeculture.xml:10074
13392 "And the consequence of this transformation of the American public into "
13393 "criminals is that it becomes trivial, as a matter of due process, to "
13394 "effectively erase much of the privacy most would presume."
13397 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13398 #: freeculture.xml:10079
13400 "Users of the Internet began to see this generally in 2003 as the RIAA "
13401 "launched its campaign to force Internet service providers to turn over the "
13402 "names of customers who the RIAA believed were violating copyright "
13403 "law. Verizon fought that demand and lost. With a simple request to a judge, "
13404 "and without any notice to the customer at all, the identity of an Internet "
13405 "user is revealed."
13409 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
13410 #: freeculture.xml:10097
13412 "See Frank Ahrens, <quote>RIAA's Lawsuits Meet Surprised Targets; Single "
13413 "Mother in Calif., 12-Year-Old Girl in N.Y. Among Defendants,</quote> "
13414 "<citetitle>Washington Post</citetitle>, 10 September 2003, E1; Chris Cobbs, "
13415 "<quote>Worried Parents Pull Plug on File `Stealing'; With the Music Industry "
13416 "Cracking Down on File Swapping, Parents are Yanking Software from Home PCs "
13417 "to Avoid Being Sued,</quote> <citetitle>Orlando Sentinel "
13418 "Tribune</citetitle>, 30 August 2003, C1; Jefferson Graham, <quote>Recording "
13419 "Industry Sues Parents,</quote> <citetitle>USA Today</citetitle>, 15 "
13420 "September 2003, 4D; John Schwartz, <quote>She Says She's No Music Pirate. No "
13421 "Snoop Fan, Either,</quote> <citetitle>New York Times</citetitle>, 25 "
13422 "September 2003, C1; Margo Varadi, <quote>Is Brianna a Criminal?</quote> "
13423 "<citetitle>Toronto Star</citetitle>, 18 September 2003, P7."
13426 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13427 #: freeculture.xml:10088
13429 "The RIAA then expanded this campaign, by announcing a general strategy to "
13430 "sue individual users of the Internet who are alleged to have downloaded "
13431 "copyrighted music from file-sharing systems. But as we've seen, the "
13432 "potential damages from these suits are astronomical: If a family's computer "
13433 "is used to download a single CD's worth of music, the family could be liable "
13434 "for $2 million in damages. That didn't stop the RIAA from suing a number of "
13435 "these families, just as they had sued Jesse Jordan.<placeholder "
13436 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
13440 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
13441 #: freeculture.xml:10115
13443 "See <quote>Revealed: How RIAA Tracks Downloaders: Music Industry Discloses "
13444 "Some Methods Used,</quote> CNN.com, available at <ulink "
13445 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #47</ulink>."
13448 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13449 #: freeculture.xml:10111
13451 "Even this understates the espionage that is being waged by the RIAA. A "
13452 "report from CNN late last summer described a strategy the RIAA had adopted "
13453 "to track Napster users.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Using a "
13454 "sophisticated hashing algorithm, the RIAA took what is in effect a "
13455 "fingerprint of every song in the Napster catalog. Any copy of one of those "
13456 "MP3s will have the same <quote>fingerprint.</quote>"
13460 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para><footnote><para>
13461 #: freeculture.xml:10136
13463 "See Jeff Adler, <quote>Cambridge: On Campus, Pirates Are Not "
13464 "Penitent,</quote> <citetitle>Boston Globe</citetitle>, 18 May 2003, City "
13465 "Weekly, 1; Frank Ahrens, <quote>Four Students Sued over Music Sites; "
13466 "Industry Group Targets File Sharing at Colleges,</quote> "
13467 "<citetitle>Washington Post</citetitle>, 4 April 2003, E1; Elizabeth "
13468 "Armstrong, <quote>Students `Rip, Mix, Burn' at Their Own Risk,</quote> "
13469 "<citetitle>Christian Science Monitor</citetitle>, 2 September 2003, 20; "
13470 "Robert Becker and Angela Rozas, <quote>Music Pirate Hunt Turns to Loyola; "
13471 "Two Students Names Are Handed Over; Lawsuit Possible,</quote> "
13472 "<citetitle>Chicago Tribune</citetitle>, 16 July 2003, 1C; Beth Cox, "
13473 "<quote>RIAA Trains Antipiracy Guns on Universities,</quote> "
13474 "<citetitle>Internet News</citetitle>, 30 January 2003, available at <ulink "
13475 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #48</ulink>; Benny Evangelista, "
13476 "<quote>Download Warning 101: Freshman Orientation This Fall to Include "
13477 "Record Industry Warnings Against File Sharing,</quote> <citetitle>San "
13478 "Francisco Chronicle</citetitle>, 11 August 2003, E11; <quote>Raid, Letters "
13479 "Are Weapons at Universities,</quote> <citetitle>USA Today</citetitle>, 26 "
13480 "September 2000, 3D."
13483 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13484 #: freeculture.xml:10124
13486 "So imagine the following not-implausible scenario: Imagine a friend gives a "
13487 "CD to your daughter—a collection of songs just like the cassettes you "
13488 "used to make as a kid. You don't know, and neither does your daughter, where "
13489 "these songs came from. But she copies these songs onto her computer. She "
13490 "then takes her computer to college and connects it to a college network, and "
13491 "if the college network is <quote>cooperating</quote> with the RIAA's "
13492 "espionage, and she hasn't properly protected her content from the network "
13493 "(do you know how to do that yourself ?), then the RIAA will be able to "
13494 "identify your daughter as a <quote>criminal.</quote> And under the rules "
13495 "that universities are beginning to deploy,<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
13496 "id=\"0\"/> your daughter can lose the right to use the university's computer "
13497 "network. She can, in some cases, be expelled."
13500 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13501 #: freeculture.xml:10155
13503 "Now, of course, she'll have the right to defend herself. You can hire a "
13504 "lawyer for her (at $300 per hour, if you're lucky), and she can plead that "
13505 "she didn't know anything about the source of the songs or that they came "
13506 "from Napster. And it may well be that the university believes her. But the "
13507 "university might not believe her. It might treat this "
13508 "<quote>contraband</quote> as presumptive of guilt. And as any number of "
13509 "college students have already learned, our presumptions about innocence "
13510 "disappear in the middle of wars of prohibition. This war is no different. "
13511 "Says von Lohmann, <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
13514 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><blockquote><para>
13515 #: freeculture.xml:10171
13517 "So when we're talking about numbers like forty to sixty million Americans "
13518 "that are essentially copyright infringers, you create a situation where the "
13519 "civil liberties of those people are very much in peril in a general "
13520 "matter. [I don't] think [there is any] analog where you could randomly "
13521 "choose any person off the street and be confident that they were committing "
13522 "an unlawful act that could put them on the hook for potential felony "
13523 "liability or hundreds of millions of dollars of civil liability. Certainly "
13524 "we all speed, but speeding isn't the kind of an act for which we routinely "
13525 "forfeit civil liberties. Some people use drugs, and I think that's the "
13526 "closest analog, [but] many have noted that the war against drugs has eroded "
13527 "all of our civil liberties because it's treated so many Americans as "
13528 "criminals. Well, I think it's fair to say that file sharing is an order of "
13529 "magnitude larger number of Americans than drug use. … If forty to "
13530 "sixty million Americans have become lawbreakers, then we're really on a "
13531 "slippery slope to lose a lot of civil liberties for all forty to sixty "
13535 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><section><para>
13536 #: freeculture.xml:10191
13538 "When forty to sixty million Americans are considered "
13539 "<quote>criminals</quote> under the law, and when the law could achieve the "
13540 "same objective— securing rights to authors—without these "
13541 "millions being considered <quote>criminals,</quote> who is the villain? "
13542 "Americans or the law? Which is American, a constant war on our own people or "
13543 "a concerted effort through our democracy to change our law?"
13546 #. type: Content of: <book><part><title>
13547 #: freeculture.xml:10204
13551 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
13552 #: freeculture.xml:10209
13554 "So here's the picture: You're standing at the side of the road. Your car is "
13555 "on fire. You are angry and upset because in part you helped start the "
13556 "fire. Now you don't know how to put it out. Next to you is a bucket, filled "
13557 "with gasoline. Obviously, gasoline won't put the fire out."
13560 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
13561 #: freeculture.xml:10215
13563 "As you ponder the mess, someone else comes along. In a panic, she grabs the "
13564 "bucket. Before you have a chance to tell her to stop—or before she "
13565 "understands just why she should stop—the bucket is in the air. The "
13566 "gasoline is about to hit the blazing car. And the fire that gasoline will "
13567 "ignite is about to ignite everything around."
13570 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
13571 #: freeculture.xml:10223
13573 "A war about copyright rages all around—and we're all focusing on the "
13574 "wrong thing. No doubt, current technologies threaten existing businesses. "
13575 "No doubt they may threaten artists. But technologies change. The industry "
13576 "and technologists have plenty of ways to use technology to protect "
13577 "themselves against the current threats of the Internet. This is a fire that "
13578 "if let alone would burn itself out."
13582 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
13583 #: freeculture.xml:10232
13585 "Yet policy makers are not willing to leave this fire to itself. Primed with "
13586 "plenty of lobbyists' money, they are keen to intervene to eliminate the "
13587 "problem they perceive. But the problem they perceive is not the real threat "
13588 "this culture faces. For while we watch this small fire in the corner, there "
13589 "is a massive change in the way culture is made that is happening all around."
13592 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
13593 #: freeculture.xml:10240
13595 "Somehow we have to find a way to turn attention to this more important and "
13596 "fundamental issue. Somehow we have to find a way to avoid pouring gasoline "
13600 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
13601 #: freeculture.xml:10245
13603 "We have not found that way yet. Instead, we seem trapped in a simpler, "
13604 "binary view. However much many people push to frame this debate more "
13605 "broadly, it is the simple, binary view that remains. We rubberneck to look "
13606 "at the fire when we should be keeping our eyes on the road."
13609 #. type: Content of: <book><part><partintro><para>
13610 #: freeculture.xml:10251
13612 "This challenge has been my life these last few years. It has also been my "
13613 "failure. In the two chapters that follow, I describe one small brace of "
13614 "efforts, so far failed, to find a way to refocus this debate. We must "
13615 "understand these failures if we're to understand what success will require."
13618 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><title>
13619 #: freeculture.xml:10261
13620 msgid "CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Eldred"
13623 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
13624 #: freeculture.xml:10263
13625 msgid "Hawthorne, Nathaniel"
13628 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13629 #: freeculture.xml:10266
13631 "In 1995, a father was frustrated that his daughters didn't seem to like "
13632 "Hawthorne. No doubt there was more than one such father, but at least one "
13633 "did something about it. Eric Eldred, a retired computer programmer living in "
13634 "New Hampshire, decided to put Hawthorne on the Web. An electronic version, "
13635 "Eldred thought, with links to pictures and explanatory text, would make this "
13636 "nineteenth-century author's work come alive."
13639 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13640 #: freeculture.xml:10275
13642 "It didn't work—at least for his daughters. They didn't find Hawthorne "
13643 "any more interesting than before. But Eldred's experiment gave birth to a "
13644 "hobby, and his hobby begat a cause: Eldred would build a library of public "
13645 "domain works by scanning these works and making them available for free."
13649 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13650 #: freeculture.xml:10282
13652 "Eldred's library was not simply a copy of certain public domain works, "
13653 "though even a copy would have been of great value to people across the world "
13654 "who can't get access to printed versions of these works. Instead, Eldred was "
13655 "producing derivative works from these public domain works. Just as Disney "
13656 "turned Grimm into stories more accessible to the twentieth century, Eldred "
13657 "transformed Hawthorne, and many others, into a form more "
13658 "accessible—technically accessible—today."
13661 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13662 #: freeculture.xml:10293
13664 "Eldred's freedom to do this with Hawthorne's work grew from the same source "
13665 "as Disney's. Hawthorne's <citetitle>Scarlet Letter</citetitle> had passed "
13666 "into the public domain in 1907. It was free for anyone to take without the "
13667 "permission of the Hawthorne estate or anyone else. Some, such as Dover Press "
13668 "and Penguin Classics, take works from the public domain and produce printed "
13669 "editions, which they sell in bookstores across the country. Others, such as "
13670 "Disney, take these stories and turn them into animated cartoons, sometimes "
13671 "successfully (<citetitle>Cinderella</citetitle>), sometimes not "
13672 "(<citetitle>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</citetitle>, <citetitle>Treasure "
13673 "Planet</citetitle>). These are all commercial publications of public domain "
13678 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
13679 #: freeculture.xml:10317
13681 "There's a parallel here with pornography that is a bit hard to describe, but "
13682 "it's a strong one. One phenomenon that the Internet created was a world of "
13683 "noncommercial pornographers—people who were distributing porn but were "
13684 "not making money directly or indirectly from that distribution. Such a "
13685 "class didn't exist before the Internet came into being because the costs of "
13686 "distributing porn were so high. Yet this new class of distributors got "
13687 "special attention in the Supreme Court, when the Court struck down the "
13688 "Communications Decency Act of 1996. It was partly because of the burden on "
13689 "noncommercial speakers that the statute was found to exceed Congress's "
13690 "power. The same point could have been made about noncommercial publishers "
13691 "after the advent of the Internet. The Eric Eldreds of the world before the "
13692 "Internet were extremely few. Yet one would think it at least as important to "
13693 "protect the Eldreds of the world as to protect noncommercial pornographers."
13696 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13697 #: freeculture.xml:10306
13699 "The Internet created the possibility of noncommercial publications of public "
13700 "domain works. Eldred's is just one example. There are literally thousands of "
13701 "others. Hundreds of thousands from across the world have discovered this "
13702 "platform of expression and now use it to share works that are, by law, free "
13703 "for the taking. This has produced what we might call the "
13704 "<quote>noncommercial publishing industry,</quote> which before the Internet "
13705 "was limited to people with large egos or with political or social "
13706 "causes. But with the Internet, it includes a wide range of individuals and "
13707 "groups dedicated to spreading culture generally.<placeholder "
13708 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
13711 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13712 #: freeculture.xml:10334
13714 "As I said, Eldred lives in New Hampshire. In 1998, Robert Frost's collection "
13715 "of poems <citetitle>New Hampshire</citetitle> was slated to pass into the "
13716 "public domain. Eldred wanted to post that collection in his free public "
13717 "library. But Congress got in the way. As I described in chapter <xref "
13718 "xrefstyle=\"select: labelnumber\" linkend=\"property-i\"/>, in 1998, for the "
13719 "eleventh time in forty years, Congress extended the terms of existing "
13720 "copyrights—this time by twenty years. Eldred would not be free to add "
13721 "any works more recent than 1923 to his collection until 2019. Indeed, no "
13722 "copyrighted work would pass into the public domain until that year (and not "
13723 "even then, if Congress extends the term again). By contrast, in the same "
13724 "period, more than 1 million patents will pass into the public domain."
13728 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
13729 #: freeculture.xml:10355
13731 "The full text is: <quote>Sonny [Bono] wanted the term of copyright "
13732 "protection to last forever. I am informed by staff that such a change would "
13733 "violate the Constitution. I invite all of you to work with me to strengthen "
13734 "our copyright laws in all of the ways available to us. As you know, there is "
13735 "also Jack Valenti's proposal for a term to last forever less one "
13736 "day. Perhaps the Committee may look at that next Congress,</quote> 144 "
13737 "Cong. Rec. H9946, 9951-2 (October 7, 1998)."
13740 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13741 #: freeculture.xml:10350
13743 "This was the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA), enacted in "
13744 "memory of the congressman and former musician Sonny Bono, who, his widow, "
13745 "Mary Bono, says, believed that <quote>copyrights should be "
13746 "forever.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
13749 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13750 #: freeculture.xml:10366
13752 "Eldred decided to fight this law. He first resolved to fight it through "
13753 "civil disobedience. In a series of interviews, Eldred announced that he "
13754 "would publish as planned, CTEA notwithstanding. But because of a second law "
13755 "passed in 1998, the NET (No Electronic Theft) Act, his act of publishing "
13756 "would make Eldred a felon—whether or not anyone complained. This was a "
13757 "dangerous strategy for a disabled programmer to undertake."
13760 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13761 #: freeculture.xml:10375
13763 "It was here that I became involved in Eldred's battle. I was a "
13764 "constitutional scholar whose first passion was constitutional "
13765 "interpretation. And though constitutional law courses never focus upon the "
13766 "Progress Clause of the Constitution, it had always struck me as importantly "
13767 "different. As you know, the Constitution says,"
13770 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
13771 #: freeculture.xml:10386
13773 "Congress has the power to promote the Progress of Science … by "
13774 "securing for limited Times to Authors … exclusive Right to their "
13775 "… Writings. …"
13778 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13779 #: freeculture.xml:10392
13781 "As I've described, this clause is unique within the power-granting clause of "
13782 "Article I, section 8 of our Constitution. Every other clause granting power "
13783 "to Congress simply says Congress has the power to do something—for "
13784 "example, to regulate <quote>commerce among the several states</quote> or "
13785 "<quote>declare War.</quote> But here, the <quote>something</quote> is "
13786 "something quite specific—to <quote>promote … "
13787 "Progress</quote>—through means that are also specific— by "
13788 "<quote>securing</quote> <quote>exclusive Rights</quote> (i.e., copyrights) "
13789 "<quote>for limited Times.</quote>"
13792 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
13793 #: freeculture.xml:10411 freeculture.xml:11868
13794 msgid "Jaszi, Peter"
13797 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13798 #: freeculture.xml:10402
13800 "In the past forty years, Congress has gotten into the practice of extending "
13801 "existing terms of copyright protection. What puzzled me about this was, if "
13802 "Congress has the power to extend existing terms, then the Constitution's "
13803 "requirement that terms be <quote>limited</quote> will have no practical "
13804 "effect. If every time a copyright is about to expire, Congress has the power "
13805 "to extend its term, then Congress can achieve what the Constitution plainly "
13806 "forbids—perpetual terms <quote>on the installment plan,</quote> as "
13807 "Professor Peter Jaszi so nicely put it. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
13811 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13812 #: freeculture.xml:10414
13814 "As an academic, my first response was to hit the books. I remember sitting "
13815 "late at the office, scouring on-line databases for any serious consideration "
13816 "of the question. No one had ever challenged Congress's practice of extending "
13817 "existing terms. That failure may in part be why Congress seemed so "
13818 "untroubled in its habit. That, and the fact that the practice had become so "
13819 "lucrative for Congress. Congress knows that copyright owners will be willing "
13820 "to pay a great deal of money to see their copyright terms extended. And so "
13821 "Congress is quite happy to keep this gravy train going."
13824 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13825 #: freeculture.xml:10425
13827 "For this is the core of the corruption in our present system of "
13828 "government. <quote>Corruption</quote> not in the sense that representatives "
13829 "are bribed. Rather, <quote>corruption</quote> in the sense that the system "
13830 "induces the beneficiaries of Congress's acts to raise and give money to "
13831 "Congress to induce it to act. There's only so much time; there's only so "
13832 "much Congress can do. Why not limit its actions to those things it must "
13833 "do—and those things that pay? Extending copyright terms pays."
13836 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13837 #: freeculture.xml:10434
13839 "If that's not obvious to you, consider the following: Say you're one of the "
13840 "very few lucky copyright owners whose copyright continues to make money one "
13841 "hundred years after it was created. The Estate of Robert Frost is a good "
13842 "example. Frost died in 1963. His poetry continues to be extraordinarily "
13843 "valuable. Thus the Robert Frost estate benefits greatly from any extension "
13844 "of copyright, since no publisher would pay the estate any money if the poems "
13845 "Frost wrote could be published by anyone for free."
13848 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13849 #: freeculture.xml:10444
13851 "So imagine the Robert Frost estate is earning $100,000 a year from three of "
13852 "Frost's poems. And imagine the copyright for those poems is about to "
13853 "expire. You sit on the board of the Robert Frost estate. Your financial "
13854 "adviser comes to your board meeting with a very grim report:"
13858 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13859 #: freeculture.xml:10451
13861 "<quote>Next year,</quote> the adviser announces, <quote>our copyrights in "
13862 "works A, B, and C will expire. That means that after next year, we will no "
13863 "longer be receiving the annual royalty check of $100,000 from the publishers "
13864 "of those works.</quote>"
13867 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13868 #: freeculture.xml:10459
13870 "<quote>There's a proposal in Congress, however,</quote> she continues, "
13871 "<quote>that could change this. A few congressmen are floating a bill to "
13872 "extend the terms of copyright by twenty years. That bill would be "
13873 "extraordinarily valuable to us. So we should hope this bill passes.</quote>"
13876 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13877 #: freeculture.xml:10465
13879 "<quote>Hope?</quote> a fellow board member says. <quote>Can't we be doing "
13880 "something about it?</quote>"
13883 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13884 #: freeculture.xml:10469
13886 "<quote>Well, obviously, yes,</quote> the adviser responds. <quote>We could "
13887 "contribute to the campaigns of a number of representatives to try to assure "
13888 "that they support the bill.</quote>"
13891 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13892 #: freeculture.xml:10474
13894 "You hate politics. You hate contributing to campaigns. So you want to know "
13895 "whether this disgusting practice is worth it. <quote>How much would we get "
13896 "if this extension were passed?</quote> you ask the adviser. <quote>How much "
13897 "is it worth?</quote>"
13900 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13901 #: freeculture.xml:10480
13903 "<quote>Well,</quote> the adviser says, <quote>if you're confident that you "
13904 "will continue to get at least $100,000 a year from these copyrights, and you "
13905 "use the `discount rate' that we use to evaluate estate investments (6 "
13906 "percent), then this law would be worth $1,146,000 to the estate.</quote>"
13909 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13910 #: freeculture.xml:10486
13912 "You're a bit shocked by the number, but you quickly come to the correct "
13916 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13917 #: freeculture.xml:10490
13919 "<quote>So you're saying it would be worth it for us to pay more than "
13920 "$1,000,000 in campaign contributions if we were confident those "
13921 "contributions would assure that the bill was passed?</quote>"
13924 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13925 #: freeculture.xml:10496
13927 "<quote>Absolutely,</quote> the adviser responds. <quote>It is worth it to "
13928 "you to contribute up to the `present value' of the income you expect from "
13929 "these copyrights. Which for us means over $1,000,000.</quote>"
13933 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13934 #: freeculture.xml:10502
13936 "You quickly get the point—you as the member of the board and, I trust, "
13937 "you the reader. Each time copyrights are about to expire, every beneficiary "
13938 "in the position of the Robert Frost estate faces the same choice: If they "
13939 "can contribute to get a law passed to extend copyrights, they will benefit "
13940 "greatly from that extension. And so each time copyrights are about to "
13941 "expire, there is a massive amount of lobbying to get the copyright term "
13945 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13946 #: freeculture.xml:10513
13948 "Thus a congressional perpetual motion machine: So long as legislation can be "
13949 "bought (albeit indirectly), there will be all the incentive in the world to "
13950 "buy further extensions of copyright."
13954 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
13955 #: freeculture.xml:10525
13957 "Associated Press, <quote>Disney Lobbying for Copyright Extension No Mickey "
13958 "Mouse Effort; Congress OKs Bill Granting Creators 20 More Years,</quote> "
13959 "<citetitle>Chicago Tribune</citetitle>, 17 October 1998, 22."
13963 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
13964 #: freeculture.xml:10532
13966 "See Nick Brown, <quote>Fair Use No More?: Copyright in the Information "
13967 "Age,</quote> available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link "
13972 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
13973 #: freeculture.xml:10540
13975 "Alan K. Ota, <quote>Disney in Washington: The Mouse That Roars,</quote> "
13976 "<citetitle>Congressional Quarterly This Week</citetitle>, 8 August 1990, "
13977 "available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #50</ulink>."
13980 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13981 #: freeculture.xml:10518
13983 "In the lobbying that led to the passage of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term "
13984 "Extension Act, this <quote>theory</quote> about incentives was proved "
13985 "real. Ten of the thirteen original sponsors of the act in the House received "
13986 "the maximum contribution from Disney's political action committee; in the "
13987 "Senate, eight of the twelve sponsors received contributions.<placeholder "
13988 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> The RIAA and the MPAA are estimated to have "
13989 "spent over $1.5 million lobbying in the 1998 election cycle. They paid out "
13990 "more than $200,000 in campaign contributions.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
13991 "id=\"1\"/> Disney is estimated to have contributed more than $800,000 to "
13992 "reelection campaigns in the cycle.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"2\"/>"
13995 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
13996 #: freeculture.xml:10547
13998 "Constitutional law is not oblivious to the obvious. Or at least, it need not "
13999 "be. So when I was considering Eldred's complaint, this reality about the "
14000 "never-ending incentives to increase the copyright term was central to my "
14001 "thinking. In my view, a pragmatic court committed to interpreting and "
14002 "applying the Constitution of our framers would see that if Congress has the "
14003 "power to extend existing terms, then there would be no effective "
14004 "constitutional requirement that terms be <quote>limited.</quote> If they "
14005 "could extend it once, they would extend it again and again and again."
14009 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14010 #: freeculture.xml:10560
14012 "It was also my judgment that <emphasis>this</emphasis> Supreme Court would "
14013 "not allow Congress to extend existing terms. As anyone close to the Supreme "
14014 "Court's work knows, this Court has increasingly restricted the power of "
14015 "Congress when it has viewed Congress's actions as exceeding the power "
14016 "granted to it by the Constitution. Among constitutional scholars, the most "
14017 "famous example of this trend was the Supreme Court's decision in 1995 to "
14018 "strike down a law that banned the possession of guns near schools."
14021 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14022 #: freeculture.xml:10573
14024 "Since 1937, the Supreme Court had interpreted Congress's granted powers very "
14025 "broadly; so, while the Constitution grants Congress the power to regulate "
14026 "only <quote>commerce among the several states</quote> (aka <quote>interstate "
14027 "commerce</quote>), the Supreme Court had interpreted that power to include "
14028 "the power to regulate any activity that merely affected interstate commerce."
14031 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14032 #: freeculture.xml:10583
14034 "As the economy grew, this standard increasingly meant that there was no "
14035 "limit to Congress's power to regulate, since just about every activity, when "
14036 "considered on a national scale, affects interstate commerce. A Constitution "
14037 "designed to limit Congress's power was instead interpreted to impose no "
14041 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
14042 #: freeculture.xml:10589 freeculture.xml:11365
14043 msgid "Rehnquist, William H."
14046 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14047 #: freeculture.xml:10591
14049 "The Supreme Court, under Chief Justice Rehnquist's command, changed that in "
14050 "<citetitle>United States</citetitle> v. <citetitle>Lopez</citetitle>. The "
14051 "government had argued that possessing guns near schools affected interstate "
14052 "commerce. Guns near schools increase crime, crime lowers property values, "
14053 "and so on. In the oral argument, the Chief Justice asked the government "
14054 "whether there was any activity that would not affect interstate commerce "
14055 "under the reasoning the government advanced. The government said there was "
14056 "not; if Congress says an activity affects interstate commerce, then that "
14057 "activity affects interstate commerce. The Supreme Court, the government "
14058 "said, was not in the position to second-guess Congress."
14062 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
14063 #: freeculture.xml:10606
14065 "<citetitle>United States</citetitle> v. <citetitle>Lopez</citetitle>, 514 "
14066 "U.S. 549, 564 (1995)."
14070 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
14071 #: freeculture.xml:10613
14073 "<citetitle>United States</citetitle> v. <citetitle>Morrison</citetitle>, 529 "
14077 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14078 #: freeculture.xml:10604
14080 "<quote>We pause to consider the implications of the government's "
14081 "arguments,</quote> the Chief Justice wrote.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
14082 "id=\"0\"/> If anything Congress says is interstate commerce must therefore "
14083 "be considered interstate commerce, then there would be no limit to "
14084 "Congress's power. The decision in <citetitle>Lopez</citetitle> was "
14085 "reaffirmed five years later in <citetitle>United States</citetitle> "
14086 "v. <citetitle>Morrison</citetitle>.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/>"
14090 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
14091 #: freeculture.xml:10620
14093 "If it is a principle about enumerated powers, then the principle carries "
14094 "from one enumerated power to another. The animating point in the context of "
14095 "the Commerce Clause was that the interpretation offered by the government "
14096 "would allow the government unending power to regulate commerce—the "
14097 "limitation to interstate commerce notwithstanding. The same point is true in "
14098 "the context of the Copyright Clause. Here, too, the government's "
14099 "interpretation would allow the government unending power to regulate "
14100 "copyrights—the limitation to <quote>limited times</quote> "
14105 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14106 #: freeculture.xml:10617
14108 "If a principle were at work here, then it should apply to the Progress "
14109 "Clause as much as the Commerce Clause.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
14110 "id=\"0\"/> And if it is applied to the Progress Clause, the principle should "
14111 "yield the conclusion that Congress can't extend an existing term. If "
14112 "Congress could extend an existing term, then there would be no "
14113 "<quote>stopping point</quote> to Congress's power over terms, though the "
14114 "Constitution expressly states that there is such a limit. Thus, the same "
14115 "principle applied to the power to grant copyrights should entail that "
14116 "Congress is not allowed to extend the term of existing copyrights."
14119 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14120 #: freeculture.xml:10641
14122 "<emphasis>If</emphasis>, that is, the principle announced in "
14123 "<citetitle>Lopez</citetitle> stood for a principle. Many believed the "
14124 "decision in <citetitle>Lopez</citetitle> stood for politics—a "
14125 "conservative Supreme Court, which believed in states' rights, using its "
14126 "power over Congress to advance its own personal political preferences. But I "
14127 "rejected that view of the Supreme Court's decision. Indeed, shortly after "
14128 "the decision, I wrote an article demonstrating the <quote>fidelity</quote> "
14129 "in such an interpretation of the Constitution. The idea that the Supreme "
14130 "Court decides cases based upon its politics struck me as extraordinarily "
14131 "boring. I was not going to devote my life to teaching constitutional law if "
14132 "these nine Justices were going to be petty politicians."
14135 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14136 #: freeculture.xml:10654
14138 "Now let's pause for a moment to make sure we understand what the argument in "
14139 "<citetitle>Eldred</citetitle> was not about. By insisting on the "
14140 "Constitution's limits to copyright, obviously Eldred was not endorsing "
14141 "piracy. Indeed, in an obvious sense, he was fighting a kind of "
14142 "piracy—piracy of the public domain. When Robert Frost wrote his work "
14143 "and when Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse, the maximum copyright term was "
14144 "just fifty-six years. Because of interim changes, Frost and Disney had "
14145 "already enjoyed a seventy-five-year monopoly for their work. They had gotten "
14146 "the benefit of the bargain that the Constitution envisions: In exchange for "
14147 "a monopoly protected for fifty-six years, they created new work. But now "
14148 "these entities were using their power—expressed through the power of "
14149 "lobbyists' money—to get another twenty-year dollop of monopoly. That "
14150 "twenty-year dollop would be taken from the public domain. Eric Eldred was "
14151 "fighting a piracy that affects us all."
14155 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
14156 #: freeculture.xml:10677
14158 "Brief of the Nashville Songwriters Association, "
14159 "<citetitle>Eldred</citetitle> v. <citetitle>Ashcroft</citetitle>, 537 U.S. "
14160 "186 (2003) (No. 01-618), n.10, available at <ulink "
14161 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #51</ulink>."
14164 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
14165 #: freeculture.xml:10685
14166 msgid "Nashville Songwriters Association"
14169 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14170 #: freeculture.xml:10671
14172 "Some people view the public domain with contempt. In their brief before the "
14173 "Supreme Court, the Nashville Songwriters Association wrote that the public "
14174 "domain is nothing more than <quote>legal piracy.</quote><placeholder "
14175 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> But it is not piracy when the law allows it; "
14176 "and in our constitutional system, our law requires it. Some may not like the "
14177 "Constitution's requirements, but that doesn't make the Constitution a "
14178 "pirate's charter. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
14181 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14182 #: freeculture.xml:10688
14184 "As we've seen, our constitutional system requires limits on copyright as a "
14185 "way to assure that copyright holders do not too heavily influence the "
14186 "development and distribution of our culture. Yet, as Eric Eldred discovered, "
14187 "we have set up a system that assures that copyright terms will be repeatedly "
14188 "extended, and extended, and extended. We have created the perfect storm for "
14189 "the public domain. Copyrights have not expired, and will not expire, so long "
14190 "as Congress is free to be bought to extend them again."
14193 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14194 #: freeculture.xml:10700
14196 "It is valuable copyrights that are responsible for terms being extended. "
14197 "Mickey Mouse and <quote>Rhapsody in Blue.</quote> These works are too "
14198 "valuable for copyright owners to ignore. But the real harm to our society "
14199 "from copyright extensions is not that Mickey Mouse remains Disney's. Forget "
14200 "Mickey Mouse. Forget Robert Frost. Forget all the works from the 1920s and "
14201 "1930s that have continuing commercial value. The real harm of term extension "
14202 "comes not from these famous works. The real harm is to the works that are "
14203 "not famous, not commercially exploited, and no longer available as a result."
14207 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
14208 #: freeculture.xml:10721
14210 "The figure of 2 percent is an extrapolation from the study by the "
14211 "Congressional Research Service, in light of the estimated renewal "
14212 "ranges. See Brief of Petitioners, <citetitle>Eldred</citetitle> "
14213 "v. <citetitle>Ashcroft</citetitle>, 7, available at <ulink "
14214 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #52</ulink>."
14217 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14218 #: freeculture.xml:10715
14220 "If you look at the work created in the first twenty years (1923 to 1942) "
14221 "affected by the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, 2 percent of that "
14222 "work has any continuing commercial value. It was the copyright holders for "
14223 "that 2 percent who pushed the CTEA through. But the law and its effect were "
14224 "not limited to that 2 percent. The law extended the terms of copyright "
14225 "generally.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
14229 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14230 #: freeculture.xml:10730
14232 "Think practically about the consequence of this extension—practically, "
14233 "as a businessperson, and not as a lawyer eager for more legal work. In 1930, "
14234 "10,047 books were published. In 2000, 174 of those books were still in "
14235 "print. Let's say you were Brewster Kahle, and you wanted to make available "
14236 "to the world in your iArchive project the remaining 9,873. What would you "
14240 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14241 #: freeculture.xml:10742
14243 "Well, first, you'd have to determine which of the 9,873 books were still "
14244 "under copyright. That requires going to a library (these data are not "
14245 "on-line) and paging through tomes of books, cross-checking the titles and "
14246 "authors of the 9,873 books with the copyright registration and renewal "
14247 "records for works published in 1930. That will produce a list of books still "
14251 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14252 #: freeculture.xml:10750
14254 "Then for the books still under copyright, you would need to locate the "
14255 "current copyright owners. How would you do that?"
14258 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14259 #: freeculture.xml:10754
14261 "Most people think that there must be a list of these copyright owners "
14262 "somewhere. Practical people think this way. How could there be thousands and "
14263 "thousands of government monopolies without there being at least a list?"
14266 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14267 #: freeculture.xml:10761
14269 "But there is no list. There may be a name from 1930, and then in 1959, of "
14270 "the person who registered the copyright. But just think practically about "
14271 "how impossibly difficult it would be to track down thousands of such "
14272 "records—especially since the person who registered is not necessarily "
14273 "the current owner. And we're just talking about 1930!"
14276 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14277 #: freeculture.xml:10770
14279 "<quote>But there isn't a list of who owns property generally,</quote> the "
14280 "apologists for the system respond. <quote>Why should there be a list of "
14281 "copyright owners?</quote>"
14284 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14285 #: freeculture.xml:10775
14287 "Well, actually, if you think about it, there <emphasis>are</emphasis> plenty "
14288 "of lists of who owns what property. Think about deeds on houses, or titles "
14289 "to cars. And where there isn't a list, the code of real space is pretty "
14290 "good at suggesting who the owner of a bit of property is. (A swing set in "
14291 "your backyard is probably yours.) So formally or informally, we have a "
14292 "pretty good way to know who owns what tangible property."
14296 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14297 #: freeculture.xml:10784
14299 "So: You walk down a street and see a house. You can know who owns the house "
14300 "by looking it up in the courthouse registry. If you see a car, there is "
14301 "ordinarily a license plate that will link the owner to the car. If you see a "
14302 "bunch of children's toys sitting on the front lawn of a house, it's fairly "
14303 "easy to determine who owns the toys. And if you happen to see a baseball "
14304 "lying in a gutter on the side of the road, look around for a second for some "
14305 "kids playing ball. If you don't see any kids, then okay: Here's a bit of "
14306 "property whose owner we can't easily determine. It is the exception that "
14307 "proves the rule: that we ordinarily know quite well who owns what property."
14310 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14311 #: freeculture.xml:10799
14313 "Compare this story to intangible property. You go into a library. The "
14314 "library owns the books. But who owns the copyrights? As I've already "
14315 "described, there's no list of copyright owners. There are authors' names, of "
14316 "course, but their copyrights could have been assigned, or passed down in an "
14317 "estate like Grandma's old jewelry. To know who owns what, you would have to "
14318 "hire a private detective. The bottom line: The owner cannot easily be "
14319 "located. And in a regime like ours, in which it is a felony to use such "
14320 "property without the property owner's permission, the property isn't going "
14324 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14325 #: freeculture.xml:10811
14327 "The consequence with respect to old books is that they won't be digitized, "
14328 "and hence will simply rot away on shelves. But the consequence for other "
14329 "creative works is much more dire."
14332 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
14333 #: freeculture.xml:10816
14334 msgid "Agee, Michael"
14337 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
14338 #: freeculture.xml:10817 freeculture.xml:11248
14339 msgid "Hal Roach Studios"
14342 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
14343 #: freeculture.xml:10818
14344 msgid "Laurel and Hardy Films"
14348 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
14349 #: freeculture.xml:10831
14351 "See David G. Savage, <quote>High Court Scene of Showdown on Copyright "
14352 "Law,</quote> <citetitle>Los Angeles Times</citetitle>, 6 October 2002; David "
14353 "Streitfeld, <quote>Classic Movies, Songs, Books at Stake; Supreme Court "
14354 "Hears Arguments Today on Striking Down Copyright Extension,</quote> "
14355 "<citetitle>Orlando Sentinel Tribune</citetitle>, 9 October 2002."
14358 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
14359 #: freeculture.xml:10837
14360 msgid "Lucky Dog, The"
14363 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14364 #: freeculture.xml:10820
14366 "Consider the story of Michael Agee, chairman of Hal Roach Studios, which "
14367 "owns the copyrights for the Laurel and Hardy films. Agee is a direct "
14368 "beneficiary of the Bono Act. The Laurel and Hardy films were made between "
14369 "1921 and 1951. Only one of these films, <citetitle>The Lucky "
14370 "Dog</citetitle>, is currently out of copyright. But for the CTEA, films made "
14371 "after 1923 would have begun entering the public domain. Because Agee "
14372 "controls the exclusive rights for these popular films, he makes a great deal "
14373 "of money. According to one estimate, <quote>Roach has sold about 60,000 "
14374 "videocassettes and 50,000 DVDs of the duo's silent "
14375 "films.</quote><placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder "
14376 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
14379 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14380 #: freeculture.xml:10840
14382 "Yet Agee opposed the CTEA. His reasons demonstrate a rare virtue in this "
14383 "culture: selflessness. He argued in a brief before the Supreme Court that "
14384 "the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act will, if left standing, destroy "
14385 "a whole generation of American film."
14389 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14390 #: freeculture.xml:10846
14392 "His argument is straightforward. A tiny fraction of this work has any "
14393 "continuing commercial value. The rest—to the extent it survives at "
14394 "all—sits in vaults gathering dust. It may be that some of this work "
14395 "not now commercially valuable will be deemed to be valuable by the owners of "
14396 "the vaults. For this to occur, however, the commercial benefit from the work "
14397 "must exceed the costs of making the work available for distribution."
14401 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
14402 #: freeculture.xml:10864
14404 "Brief of Hal Roach Studios and Michael Agee as Amicus Curiae Supporting the "
14405 "Petitoners, <citetitle>Eldred</citetitle> "
14406 "v. <citetitle>Ashcroft</citetitle>, 537 U.S. 186 (2003) (No. 01- 618), "
14407 "12. See also Brief of Amicus Curiae filed on behalf of Petitioners by the "
14408 "Internet Archive, <citetitle>Eldred</citetitle> "
14409 "v. <citetitle>Ashcroft</citetitle>, available at <ulink "
14410 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #53</ulink>."
14413 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14414 #: freeculture.xml:10857
14416 "We can't know the benefits, but we do know a lot about the costs. For most "
14417 "of the history of film, the costs of restoring film were very high; digital "
14418 "technology has lowered these costs substantially. While it cost more than "
14419 "$10,000 to restore a ninety-minute black-and-white film in 1993, it can now "
14420 "cost as little as $100 to digitize one hour of mm film.<placeholder "
14421 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
14424 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14425 #: freeculture.xml:10874
14427 "Restoration technology is not the only cost, nor the most important. "
14428 "Lawyers, too, are a cost, and increasingly, a very important one. In "
14429 "addition to preserving the film, a distributor needs to secure the rights. "
14430 "And to secure the rights for a film that is under copyright, you need to "
14431 "locate the copyright owner."
14434 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14435 #: freeculture.xml:10882
14437 "Or more accurately, <emphasis>owners</emphasis>. As we've seen, there isn't "
14438 "only a single copyright associated with a film; there are many. There isn't "
14439 "a single person whom you can contact about those copyrights; there are as "
14440 "many as can hold the rights, which turns out to be an extremely large "
14441 "number. Thus the costs of clearing the rights to these films is "
14442 "exceptionally high."
14445 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14446 #: freeculture.xml:10890
14448 "<quote>But can't you just restore the film, distribute it, and then pay the "
14449 "copyright owner when she shows up?</quote> Sure, if you want to commit a "
14450 "felony. And even if you're not worried about committing a felony, when she "
14451 "does show up, she'll have the right to sue you for all the profits you have "
14452 "made. So, if you're successful, you can be fairly confident you'll be "
14453 "getting a call from someone's lawyer. And if you're not successful, you "
14454 "won't make enough to cover the costs of your own lawyer. Either way, you "
14455 "have to talk to a lawyer. And as is too often the case, saying you have to "
14456 "talk to a lawyer is the same as saying you won't make any money."
14460 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14461 #: freeculture.xml:10901
14463 "For some films, the benefit of releasing the film may well exceed these "
14464 "costs. But for the vast majority of them, there is no way the benefit would "
14465 "outweigh the legal costs. Thus, for the vast majority of old films, Agee "
14466 "argued, the film will not be restored and distributed until the copyright "
14470 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14471 #: freeculture.xml:10911
14473 "But by the time the copyright for these films expires, the film will have "
14474 "expired. These films were produced on nitrate-based stock, and nitrate stock "
14475 "dissolves over time. They will be gone, and the metal canisters in which "
14476 "they are now stored will be filled with nothing more than dust."
14479 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14480 #: freeculture.xml:10919
14482 "Of all the creative work produced by humans anywhere, a tiny fraction has "
14483 "continuing commercial value. For that tiny fraction, the copyright is a "
14484 "crucially important legal device. For that tiny fraction, the copyright "
14485 "creates incentives to produce and distribute the creative work. For that "
14486 "tiny fraction, the copyright acts as an <quote>engine of free "
14487 "expression.</quote>"
14490 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14491 #: freeculture.xml:10928
14493 "But even for that tiny fraction, the actual time during which the creative "
14494 "work has a commercial life is extremely short. As I've indicated, most books "
14495 "go out of print within one year. The same is true of music and "
14496 "film. Commercial culture is sharklike. It must keep moving. And when a "
14497 "creative work falls out of favor with the commercial distributors, the "
14498 "commercial life ends."
14501 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14502 #: freeculture.xml:10938
14504 "Yet that doesn't mean the life of the creative work ends. We don't keep "
14505 "libraries of books in order to compete with Barnes & Noble, and we don't "
14506 "have archives of films because we expect people to choose between spending "
14507 "Friday night watching new movies and spending Friday night watching a 1930 "
14508 "news documentary. The noncommercial life of culture is important and "
14509 "valuable—for entertainment but also, and more importantly, for "
14510 "knowledge. To understand who we are, and where we came from, and how we have "
14511 "made the mistakes that we have, we need to have access to this history."
14515 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14516 #: freeculture.xml:10951
14518 "Copyrights in this context do not drive an engine of free expression. In "
14519 "this context, there is no need for an exclusive right. Copyrights in this "
14520 "context do no good."
14523 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14524 #: freeculture.xml:10958
14526 "Yet, for most of our history, they also did little harm. For most of our "
14527 "history, when a work ended its commercial life, there was no "
14528 "<emphasis>copyright-related use</emphasis> that would be inhibited by an "
14529 "exclusive right. When a book went out of print, you could not buy it from a "
14530 "publisher. But you could still buy it from a used book store, and when a "
14531 "used book store sells it, in America, at least, there is no need to pay the "
14532 "copyright owner anything. Thus, the ordinary use of a book after its "
14533 "commercial life ended was a use that was independent of copyright law."
14536 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14537 #: freeculture.xml:10969
14539 "The same was effectively true of film. Because the costs of restoring a "
14540 "film—the real economic costs, not the lawyer costs—were so high, "
14541 "it was never at all feasible to preserve or restore film. Like the remains "
14542 "of a great dinner, when it's over, it's over. Once a film passed out of its "
14543 "commercial life, it may have been archived for a bit, but that was the end "
14544 "of its life so long as the market didn't have more to offer."
14547 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14548 #: freeculture.xml:10978
14550 "In other words, though copyright has been relatively short for most of our "
14551 "history, long copyrights wouldn't have mattered for the works that lost "
14552 "their commercial value. Long copyrights for these works would not have "
14553 "interfered with anything."
14556 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14557 #: freeculture.xml:10984
14558 msgid "But this situation has now changed."
14561 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14562 #: freeculture.xml:10987
14564 "One crucially important consequence of the emergence of digital technologies "
14565 "is to enable the archive that Brewster Kahle dreams of. Digital "
14566 "technologies now make it possible to preserve and give access to all sorts "
14567 "of knowledge. Once a book goes out of print, we can now imagine digitizing "
14568 "it and making it available to everyone, forever. Once a film goes out of "
14569 "distribution, we could digitize it and make it available to everyone, "
14570 "forever. Digital technologies give new life to copyrighted material after it "
14571 "passes out of its commercial life. It is now possible to preserve and assure "
14572 "universal access to this knowledge and culture, whereas before it was not."
14576 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14577 #: freeculture.xml:11000
14579 "And now copyright law does get in the way. Every step of producing this "
14580 "digital archive of our culture infringes on the exclusive right of "
14581 "copyright. To digitize a book is to copy it. To do that requires permission "
14582 "of the copyright owner. The same with music, film, or any other aspect of "
14583 "our culture protected by copyright. The effort to make these things "
14584 "available to history, or to researchers, or to those who just want to "
14585 "explore, is now inhibited by a set of rules that were written for a "
14586 "radically different context."
14589 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14590 #: freeculture.xml:11010
14592 "Here is the core of the harm that comes from extending terms: Now that "
14593 "technology enables us to rebuild the library of Alexandria, the law gets in "
14594 "the way. And it doesn't get in the way for any useful "
14595 "<emphasis>copyright</emphasis> purpose, for the purpose of copyright is to "
14596 "enable the commercial market that spreads culture. No, we are talking about "
14597 "culture after it has lived its commercial life. In this context, copyright "
14598 "is serving no purpose <emphasis>at all</emphasis> related to the spread of "
14599 "knowledge. In this context, copyright is not an engine of free "
14600 "expression. Copyright is a brake."
14603 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14604 #: freeculture.xml:11021
14606 "You may well ask, <quote>But if digital technologies lower the costs for "
14607 "Brewster Kahle, then they will lower the costs for Random House, too. So "
14608 "won't Random House do as well as Brewster Kahle in spreading culture "
14612 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14613 #: freeculture.xml:11027
14615 "Maybe. Someday. But there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that "
14616 "publishers would be as complete as libraries. If Barnes & Noble offered "
14617 "to lend books from its stores for a low price, would that eliminate the need "
14618 "for libraries? Only if you think that the only role of a library is to serve "
14619 "what <quote>the market</quote> would demand. But if you think the role of a "
14620 "library is bigger than this—if you think its role is to archive "
14621 "culture, whether there's a demand for any particular bit of that culture or "
14622 "not—then we can't count on the commercial market to do our library "
14627 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
14628 #: freeculture.xml:11050
14630 "Jason Schultz, <quote>The Myth of the 1976 Copyright `Chaos' Theory,</quote> "
14631 "20 December 2002, available at <ulink "
14632 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #54</ulink>."
14635 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14636 #: freeculture.xml:11038
14638 "I would be the first to agree that it should do as much as it can: We should "
14639 "rely upon the market as much as possible to spread and enable culture. My "
14640 "message is absolutely not antimarket. But where we see the market is not "
14641 "doing the job, then we should allow nonmarket forces the freedom to fill the "
14642 "gaps. As one researcher calculated for American culture, 94 percent of the "
14643 "films, books, and music produced between and 1946 is not commercially "
14644 "available. However much you love the commercial market, if access is a "
14645 "value, then 6 percent is a failure to provide that value.<placeholder "
14646 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
14649 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14650 #: freeculture.xml:11057
14652 "In January 1999, we filed a lawsuit on Eric Eldred's behalf in federal "
14653 "district court in Washington, D.C., asking the court to declare the Sonny "
14654 "Bono Copyright Term Extension Act unconstitutional. The two central claims "
14655 "that we made were (1) that extending existing terms violated the "
14656 "Constitution's <quote>limited Times</quote> requirement, and (2) that "
14657 "extending terms by another twenty years violated the First Amendment."
14660 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14661 #: freeculture.xml:11065
14663 "The district court dismissed our claims without even hearing an argument. A "
14664 "panel of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit also dismissed our "
14665 "claims, though after hearing an extensive argument. But that decision at "
14666 "least had a dissent, by one of the most conservative judges on that "
14667 "court. That dissent gave our claims life."
14670 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14671 #: freeculture.xml:11072
14673 "Judge David Sentelle said the CTEA violated the requirement that copyrights "
14674 "be for <quote>limited Times</quote> only. His argument was as elegant as it "
14675 "was simple: If Congress can extend existing terms, then there is no "
14676 "<quote>stopping point</quote> to Congress's power under the Copyright "
14677 "Clause. The power to extend existing terms means Congress is not required to "
14678 "grant terms that are <quote>limited.</quote> Thus, Judge Sentelle argued, "
14679 "the court had to interpret the term <quote>limited Times</quote> to give it "
14680 "meaning. And the best interpretation, Judge Sentelle argued, would be to "
14681 "deny Congress the power to extend existing terms."
14684 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14685 #: freeculture.xml:11083
14687 "We asked the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit as a whole to hear the "
14688 "case. Cases are ordinarily heard in panels of three, except for important "
14689 "cases or cases that raise issues specific to the circuit as a whole, where "
14690 "the court will sit <quote>en banc</quote> to hear the case."
14694 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14695 #: freeculture.xml:11089
14697 "The Court of Appeals rejected our request to hear the case en banc. This "
14698 "time, Judge Sentelle was joined by the most liberal member of the "
14699 "D.C. Circuit, Judge David Tatel. Both the most conservative and the most "
14700 "liberal judges in the D.C. Circuit believed Congress had overstepped its "
14704 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14705 #: freeculture.xml:11098
14707 "It was here that most expected Eldred v. Ashcroft would die, for the Supreme "
14708 "Court rarely reviews any decision by a court of appeals. (It hears about one "
14709 "hundred cases a year, out of more than five thousand appeals.) And it "
14710 "practically never reviews a decision that upholds a statute when no other "
14711 "court has yet reviewed the statute."
14714 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14715 #: freeculture.xml:11105
14717 "But in February 2002, the Supreme Court surprised the world by granting our "
14718 "petition to review the D.C. Circuit opinion. Argument was set for October of "
14719 "2002. The summer would be spent writing briefs and preparing for argument."
14722 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14723 #: freeculture.xml:11111
14725 "It is over a year later as I write these words. It is still astonishingly "
14726 "hard. If you know anything at all about this story, you know that we lost "
14727 "the appeal. And if you know something more than just the minimum, you "
14728 "probably think there was no way this case could have been won. After our "
14729 "defeat, I received literally thousands of missives by well-wishers and "
14730 "supporters, thanking me for my work on behalf of this noble but doomed "
14731 "cause. And none from this pile was more significant to me than the e-mail "
14732 "from my client, Eric Eldred."
14735 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14736 #: freeculture.xml:11121
14738 "But my client and these friends were wrong. This case could have been "
14739 "won. It should have been won. And no matter how hard I try to retell this "
14740 "story to myself, I can never escape believing that my own mistake lost it."
14743 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
14744 #: freeculture.xml:11126 freeculture.xml:11140
14745 msgid "Steward, Geoffrey"
14749 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14750 #: freeculture.xml:11128
14752 "The mistake was made early, though it became obvious only at the very "
14753 "end. Our case had been supported from the very beginning by an extraordinary "
14754 "lawyer, Geoffrey Stewart, and by the law firm he had moved to, Jones, Day, "
14755 "Reavis and Pogue. Jones Day took a great deal of heat from its "
14756 "copyright-protectionist clients for supporting us. They ignored this "
14757 "pressure (something that few law firms today would ever do), and throughout "
14758 "the case, they gave it everything they could."
14761 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
14762 #: freeculture.xml:11138 freeculture.xml:11488 freeculture.xml:11504 freeculture.xml:11597 freeculture.xml:11811 freeculture.xml:11842 freeculture.xml:11935
14766 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
14767 #: freeculture.xml:11139
14768 msgid "Bromberg, Dan"
14771 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14772 #: freeculture.xml:11142
14774 "There were three key lawyers on the case from Jones Day. Geoff Stewart was "
14775 "the first, but then Dan Bromberg and Don Ayer became quite "
14776 "involved. Bromberg and Ayer in particular had a common view about how this "
14777 "case would be won: We would only win, they repeatedly told me, if we could "
14778 "make the issue seem <quote>important</quote> to the Supreme Court. It had to "
14779 "seem as if dramatic harm were being done to free speech and free culture; "
14780 "otherwise, they would never vote against <quote>the most powerful media "
14781 "companies in the world.</quote>"
14784 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14785 #: freeculture.xml:11152
14787 "I hate this view of the law. Of course I thought the Sonny Bono Act was a "
14788 "dramatic harm to free speech and free culture. Of course I still think it "
14789 "is. But the idea that the Supreme Court decides the law based on how "
14790 "important they believe the issues are is just wrong. It might be "
14791 "<quote>right</quote> as in <quote>true,</quote> I thought, but it is "
14792 "<quote>wrong</quote> as in <quote>it just shouldn't be that way.</quote> As "
14793 "I believed that any faithful interpretation of what the framers of our "
14794 "Constitution did would yield the conclusion that the CTEA was "
14795 "unconstitutional, and as I believed that any faithful interpretation of what "
14796 "the First Amendment means would yield the conclusion that the power to "
14797 "extend existing copyright terms is unconstitutional, I was not persuaded "
14798 "that we had to sell our case like soap. Just as a law that bans the "
14799 "swastika is unconstitutional not because the Court likes Nazis but because "
14800 "such a law would violate the Constitution, so too, in my view, would the "
14801 "Court decide whether Congress's law was constitutional based on the "
14802 "Constitution, not based on whether they liked the values that the framers "
14803 "put in the Constitution."
14806 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14807 #: freeculture.xml:11173
14809 "In any case, I thought, the Court must already see the danger and the harm "
14810 "caused by this sort of law. Why else would they grant review? There was no "
14811 "reason to hear the case in the Supreme Court if they weren't convinced that "
14812 "this regulation was harmful. So in my view, we didn't need to persuade them "
14813 "that this law was bad, we needed to show why it was unconstitutional."
14817 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14818 #: freeculture.xml:11181
14820 "There was one way, however, in which I felt politics would matter and in "
14821 "which I thought a response was appropriate. I was convinced that the Court "
14822 "would not hear our arguments if it thought these were just the arguments of "
14823 "a group of lefty loons. This Supreme Court was not about to launch into a "
14824 "new field of judicial review if it seemed that this field of review was "
14825 "simply the preference of a small political minority. Although my focus in "
14826 "the case was not to demonstrate how bad the Sonny Bono Act was but to "
14827 "demonstrate that it was unconstitutional, my hope was to make this argument "
14828 "against a background of briefs that covered the full range of political "
14829 "views. To show that this claim against the CTEA was grounded in "
14830 "<emphasis>law</emphasis> and not politics, then, we tried to gather the "
14831 "widest range of credible critics—credible not because they were rich "
14832 "and famous, but because they, in the aggregate, demonstrated that this law "
14833 "was unconstitutional regardless of one's politics."
14836 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
14837 #: freeculture.xml:11212 freeculture.xml:11238
14838 msgid "Eagle Forum"
14841 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
14842 #: freeculture.xml:11213
14843 msgid "Schlafly, Phyllis"
14846 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14847 #: freeculture.xml:11200
14849 "The first step happened all by itself. Phyllis Schlafly's organization, "
14850 "Eagle Forum, had been an opponent of the CTEA from the very beginning. "
14851 "Mrs. Schlafly viewed the CTEA as a sellout by Congress. In November 1998, "
14852 "she wrote a stinging editorial attacking the Republican Congress for "
14853 "allowing the law to pass. As she wrote, <quote>Do you sometimes wonder why "
14854 "bills that create a financial windfall to narrow special interests slide "
14855 "easily through the intricate legislative process, while bills that benefit "
14856 "the general public seem to get bogged down?</quote> The answer, as the "
14857 "editorial documented, was the power of money. Schlafly enumerated Disney's "
14858 "contributions to the key players on the committees. It was money, not "
14859 "justice, that gave Mickey Mouse twenty more years in Disney's control, "
14860 "Schlafly argued. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder "
14861 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
14864 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14865 #: freeculture.xml:11216
14867 "In the Court of Appeals, Eagle Forum was eager to file a brief supporting "
14868 "our position. Their brief made the argument that became the core claim in "
14869 "the Supreme Court: If Congress can extend the term of existing copyrights, "
14870 "there is no limit to Congress's power to set terms. That strong "
14871 "conservative argument persuaded a strong conservative judge, Judge Sentelle."
14874 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14875 #: freeculture.xml:11224
14877 "In the Supreme Court, the briefs on our side were about as diverse as it "
14878 "gets. They included an extraordinary historical brief by the Free Software "
14879 "Foundation (home of the GNU project that made GNU/ Linux possible). They "
14880 "included a powerful brief about the costs of uncertainty by Intel. There "
14881 "were two law professors' briefs, one by copyright scholars and one by First "
14882 "Amendment scholars. There was an exhaustive and uncontroverted brief by the "
14883 "world's experts in the history of the Progress Clause. And of course, there "
14884 "was a new brief by Eagle Forum, repeating and strengthening its arguments. "
14885 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
14886 "id=\"1\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"2\"/> <placeholder "
14887 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"3\"/>"
14890 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
14891 #: freeculture.xml:11245
14892 msgid "American Association of Law Libraries"
14895 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
14896 #: freeculture.xml:11246
14897 msgid "National Writers Union"
14900 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14901 #: freeculture.xml:11241
14903 "Those briefs framed a legal argument. Then to support the legal argument, "
14904 "there were a number of powerful briefs by libraries and archives, including "
14905 "the Internet Archive, the American Association of Law Libraries, and the "
14906 "National Writers Union. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> "
14907 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
14910 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14911 #: freeculture.xml:11250
14913 "But two briefs captured the policy argument best. One made the argument I've "
14914 "already described: A brief by Hal Roach Studios argued that unless the law "
14915 "was struck, a whole generation of American film would disappear. The other "
14916 "made the economic argument absolutely clear."
14919 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
14920 #: freeculture.xml:11256
14921 msgid "Akerlof, George"
14924 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
14925 #: freeculture.xml:11257
14926 msgid "Arrow, Kenneth"
14929 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
14930 #: freeculture.xml:11258
14931 msgid "Buchanan, James"
14934 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
14935 #: freeculture.xml:11259
14936 msgid "Coase, Ronald"
14939 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
14940 #: freeculture.xml:11260
14941 msgid "Friedman, Milton"
14944 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14945 #: freeculture.xml:11262
14947 "This economists' brief was signed by seventeen economists, including five "
14948 "Nobel Prize winners, including Ronald Coase, James Buchanan, Milton "
14949 "Friedman, Kenneth Arrow, and George Akerlof. The economists, as the list of "
14950 "Nobel winners demonstrates, spanned the political spectrum. Their "
14951 "conclusions were powerful: There was no plausible claim that extending the "
14952 "terms of existing copyrights would do anything to increase incentives to "
14953 "create. Such extensions were nothing more than "
14954 "<quote>rent-seeking</quote>—the fancy term economists use to describe "
14955 "special-interest legislation gone wild."
14958 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
14959 #: freeculture.xml:11285 freeculture.xml:11301 freeculture.xml:11495 freeculture.xml:11847
14960 msgid "Fried, Charles"
14963 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
14964 #: freeculture.xml:11286
14965 msgid "Morrison, Alan"
14968 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
14969 #: freeculture.xml:11287
14970 msgid "Public Citizen"
14973 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><indexterm><primary>
14974 #: freeculture.xml:11288 freeculture.xml:11489 freeculture.xml:12593
14975 msgid "Reagan, Ronald"
14978 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14979 #: freeculture.xml:11273
14981 "The same effort at balance was reflected in the legal team we gathered to "
14982 "write our briefs in the case. The Jones Day lawyers had been with us from "
14983 "the start. But when the case got to the Supreme Court, we added three "
14984 "lawyers to help us frame this argument to this Court: Alan Morrison, a "
14985 "lawyer from Public Citizen, a Washington group that had made constitutional "
14986 "history with a series of seminal victories in the Supreme Court defending "
14987 "individual rights; my colleague and dean, Kathleen Sullivan, who had argued "
14988 "many cases in the Court, and who had advised us early on about a First "
14989 "Amendment strategy; and finally, former solicitor general Charles Fried. "
14990 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
14991 "id=\"1\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"2\"/> <placeholder "
14992 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"3\"/>"
14995 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
14996 #: freeculture.xml:11291
14998 "Fried was a special victory for our side. Every other former solicitor "
14999 "general was hired by the other side to defend Congress's power to give media "
15000 "companies the special favor of extended copyright terms. Fried was the only "
15001 "one who turned down that lucrative assignment to stand up for something he "
15002 "believed in. He had been Ronald Reagan's chief lawyer in the Supreme "
15003 "Court. He had helped craft the line of cases that limited Congress's power "
15004 "in the context of the Commerce Clause. And while he had argued many "
15005 "positions in the Supreme Court that I personally disagreed with, his joining "
15006 "the cause was a vote of confidence in our argument. <placeholder "
15007 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
15010 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15011 #: freeculture.xml:11304
15013 "The government, in defending the statute, had its collection of friends, as "
15014 "well. Significantly, however, none of these <quote>friends</quote> included "
15015 "historians or economists. The briefs on the other side of the case were "
15016 "written exclusively by major media companies, congressmen, and copyright "
15020 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15021 #: freeculture.xml:11311
15023 "The media companies were not surprising. They had the most to gain from the "
15024 "law. The congressmen were not surprising either—they were defending "
15025 "their power and, indirectly, the gravy train of contributions such power "
15026 "induced. And of course it was not surprising that the copyright holders "
15027 "would defend the idea that they should continue to have the right to control "
15028 "who did what with content they wanted to control."
15032 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
15033 #: freeculture.xml:11327
15035 "Brief of Amici Dr. Seuss Enterprise et al., <citetitle>Eldred</citetitle> "
15036 "v. <citetitle>Ashcroft</citetitle>, 537 U.S. (2003) (No. 01-618), 19."
15040 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
15041 #: freeculture.xml:11335
15043 "Dinitia Smith, <quote>Immortal Words, Immortal Royalties? Even Mickey Mouse "
15044 "Joins the Fray,</quote> <citetitle>New York Times</citetitle>, 28 March "
15048 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
15049 #: freeculture.xml:11342
15050 msgid "Gershwin, George"
15053 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15054 #: freeculture.xml:11320
15056 "Dr. Seuss's representatives, for example, argued that it was better for the "
15057 "Dr. Seuss estate to control what happened to Dr. Seuss's work— better "
15058 "than allowing it to fall into the public domain—because if this "
15059 "creativity were in the public domain, then people could use it to "
15060 "<quote>glorify drugs or to create pornography.</quote><placeholder "
15061 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> That was also the motive of the Gershwin "
15062 "estate, which defended its <quote>protection</quote> of the work of George "
15063 "Gershwin. They refuse, for example, to license <citetitle>Porgy and "
15064 "Bess</citetitle> to anyone who refuses to use African Americans in the "
15065 "cast.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/> That's their view of how this "
15066 "part of American culture should be controlled, and they wanted this law to "
15067 "help them effect that control. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"2\"/>"
15070 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15071 #: freeculture.xml:11345
15073 "This argument made clear a theme that is rarely noticed in this debate. "
15074 "When Congress decides to extend the term of existing copyrights, Congress is "
15075 "making a choice about which speakers it will favor. Famous and beloved "
15076 "copyright owners, such as the Gershwin estate and Dr. Seuss, come to "
15077 "Congress and say, <quote>Give us twenty years to control the speech about "
15078 "these icons of American culture. We'll do better with them than anyone "
15079 "else.</quote> Congress of course likes to reward the popular and famous by "
15080 "giving them what they want. But when Congress gives people an exclusive "
15081 "right to speak in a certain way, that's just what the First Amendment is "
15082 "traditionally meant to block."
15085 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15086 #: freeculture.xml:11357
15088 "We argued as much in a final brief. Not only would upholding the CTEA mean "
15089 "that there was no limit to the power of Congress to extend "
15090 "copyrights—extensions that would further concentrate the market; it "
15091 "would also mean that there was no limit to Congress's power to play "
15092 "favorites, through copyright, with who has the right to speak. Between "
15093 "February and October, there was little I did beyond preparing for this "
15094 "case. Early on, as I said, I set the strategy."
15097 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15098 #: freeculture.xml:11367
15100 "The Supreme Court was divided into two important camps. One camp we called "
15101 "<quote>the Conservatives.</quote> The other we called <quote>the "
15102 "Rest.</quote> The Conservatives included Chief Justice Rehnquist, Justice "
15103 "O'Connor, Justice Scalia, Justice Kennedy, and Justice Thomas. These five "
15104 "had been the most consistent in limiting Congress's power. They were the "
15105 "five who had supported the <citetitle>Lopez/Morrison</citetitle> line of "
15106 "cases that said that an enumerated power had to be interpreted to assure "
15107 "that Congress's powers had limits."
15110 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
15111 #: freeculture.xml:11376 freeculture.xml:11400 freeculture.xml:11740 freeculture.xml:11752
15112 msgid "Breyer, Stephen"
15116 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15117 #: freeculture.xml:11378
15119 "The Rest were the four Justices who had strongly opposed limits on "
15120 "Congress's power. These four—Justice Stevens, Justice Souter, Justice "
15121 "Ginsburg, and Justice Breyer—had repeatedly argued that the "
15122 "Constitution gives Congress broad discretion to decide how best to implement "
15123 "its powers. In case after case, these justices had argued that the Court's "
15124 "role should be one of deference. Though the votes of these four justices "
15125 "were the votes that I personally had most consistently agreed with, they "
15126 "were also the votes that we were least likely to get."
15129 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15130 #: freeculture.xml:11390
15132 "In particular, the least likely was Justice Ginsburg's. In addition to her "
15133 "general view about deference to Congress (except where issues of gender are "
15134 "involved), she had been particularly deferential in the context of "
15135 "intellectual property protections. She and her daughter (an excellent and "
15136 "well-known intellectual property scholar) were cut from the same "
15137 "intellectual property cloth. We expected she would agree with the writings "
15138 "of her daughter: that Congress had the power in this context to do as it "
15139 "wished, even if what Congress wished made little sense."
15142 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15143 #: freeculture.xml:11402
15145 "Close behind Justice Ginsburg were two justices whom we also viewed as "
15146 "unlikely allies, though possible surprises. Justice Souter strongly favored "
15147 "deference to Congress, as did Justice Breyer. But both were also very "
15148 "sensitive to free speech concerns. And as we strongly believed, there was a "
15149 "very important free speech argument against these retrospective extensions."
15152 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15153 #: freeculture.xml:11410
15155 "The only vote we could be confident about was that of Justice "
15156 "Stevens. History will record Justice Stevens as one of the greatest judges "
15157 "on this Court. His votes are consistently eclectic, which just means that no "
15158 "simple ideology explains where he will stand. But he had consistently argued "
15159 "for limits in the context of intellectual property generally. We were fairly "
15160 "confident he would recognize limits here."
15163 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15164 #: freeculture.xml:11418
15166 "This analysis of <quote>the Rest</quote> showed most clearly where our focus "
15167 "had to be: on the Conservatives. To win this case, we had to crack open "
15168 "these five and get at least a majority to go our way. Thus, the single "
15169 "overriding argument that animated our claim rested on the Conservatives' "
15170 "most important jurisprudential innovation—the argument that Judge "
15171 "Sentelle had relied upon in the Court of Appeals, that Congress's power must "
15172 "be interpreted so that its enumerated powers have limits."
15176 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15177 #: freeculture.xml:11428
15179 "This then was the core of our strategy—a strategy for which I am "
15180 "responsible. We would get the Court to see that just as with the "
15181 "<citetitle>Lopez</citetitle> case, under the government's argument here, "
15182 "Congress would always have unlimited power to extend existing terms. If "
15183 "anything was plain about Congress's power under the Progress Clause, it was "
15184 "that this power was supposed to be <quote>limited.</quote> Our aim would be "
15185 "to get the Court to reconcile <citetitle>Eldred</citetitle> with "
15186 "<citetitle>Lopez</citetitle>: If Congress's power to regulate commerce was "
15187 "limited, then so, too, must Congress's power to regulate copyright be "
15191 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15192 #: freeculture.xml:11442
15194 "The argument on the government's side came down to this: Congress has done "
15195 "it before. It should be allowed to do it again. The government claimed that "
15196 "from the very beginning, Congress has been extending the term of existing "
15197 "copyrights. So, the government argued, the Court should not now say that "
15198 "practice is unconstitutional."
15201 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15202 #: freeculture.xml:11449
15204 "There was some truth to the government's claim, but not much. We certainly "
15205 "agreed that Congress had extended existing terms in 1831 and in 1909. And of "
15206 "course, in 1962, Congress began extending existing terms "
15207 "regularly—eleven times in forty years."
15211 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15212 #: freeculture.xml:11456
15214 "But this <quote>consistency</quote> should be kept in perspective. Congress "
15215 "extended existing terms once in the first hundred years of the Republic. It "
15216 "then extended existing terms once again in the next fifty. Those rare "
15217 "extensions are in contrast to the now regular practice of extending existing "
15218 "terms. Whatever restraint Congress had had in the past, that restraint was "
15219 "now gone. Congress was now in a cycle of extensions; there was no reason to "
15220 "expect that cycle would end. This Court had not hesitated to intervene where "
15221 "Congress was in a similar cycle of extension. There was no reason it "
15222 "couldn't intervene here. Oral argument was scheduled for the first week in "
15223 "October. I arrived in D.C. two weeks before the argument. During those two "
15224 "weeks, I was repeatedly <quote>mooted</quote> by lawyers who had volunteered "
15225 "to help in the case. Such <quote>moots</quote> are basically practice "
15226 "rounds, where wannabe justices fire questions at wannabe winners."
15229 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15230 #: freeculture.xml:11479
15232 "I was convinced that to win, I had to keep the Court focused on a single "
15233 "point: that if this extension is permitted, then there is no limit to the "
15234 "power to set terms. Going with the government would mean that terms would be "
15235 "effectively unlimited; going with us would give Congress a clear line to "
15236 "follow: Don't extend existing terms. The moots were an effective practice; I "
15237 "found ways to take every question back to this central idea."
15240 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15241 #: freeculture.xml:11491
15243 "One moot was before the lawyers at Jones Day. Don Ayer was the skeptic. He "
15244 "had served in the Reagan Justice Department with Solicitor General Charles "
15245 "Fried. He had argued many cases before the Supreme Court. And in his review "
15246 "of the moot, he let his concern speak: <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
15250 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15251 #: freeculture.xml:11498
15253 "<quote>I'm just afraid that unless they really see the harm, they won't be "
15254 "willing to upset this practice that the government says has been a "
15255 "consistent practice for two hundred years. You have to make them see the "
15256 "harm—passionately get them to see the harm. For if they don't see "
15257 "that, then we haven't any chance of winning.</quote>"
15261 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15262 #: freeculture.xml:11506
15264 "He may have argued many cases before this Court, I thought, but he didn't "
15265 "understand its soul. As a clerk, I had seen the Justices do the right "
15266 "thing—not because of politics but because it was right. As a law "
15267 "professor, I had spent my life teaching my students that this Court does the "
15268 "right thing—not because of politics but because it is right. As I "
15269 "listened to Ayer's plea for passion in pressing politics, I understood his "
15270 "point, and I rejected it. Our argument was right. That was enough. Let the "
15271 "politicians learn to see that it was also good. The night before the "
15272 "argument, a line of people began to form in front of the Supreme Court. The "
15273 "case had become a focus of the press and of the movement to free "
15274 "culture. Hundreds stood in line for the chance to see the "
15275 "proceedings. Scores spent the night on the Supreme Court steps so that they "
15276 "would be assured a seat."
15279 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15280 #: freeculture.xml:11523
15282 "Not everyone has to wait in line. People who know the Justices can ask for "
15283 "seats they control. (I asked Justice Scalia's chambers for seats for my "
15284 "parents, for example.) Members of the Supreme Court bar can get a seat in a "
15285 "special section reserved for them. And senators and congressmen have a "
15286 "special place where they get to sit, too. And finally, of course, the press "
15287 "has a gallery, as do clerks working for the Justices on the Court. As we "
15288 "entered that morning, there was no place that was not taken. This was an "
15289 "argument about intellectual property law, yet the halls were filled. As I "
15290 "walked in to take my seat at the front of the Court, I saw my parents "
15291 "sitting on the left. As I sat down at the table, I saw Jack Valenti sitting "
15292 "in the special section ordinarily reserved for family of the Justices."
15295 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15296 #: freeculture.xml:11538
15298 "When the Chief Justice called me to begin my argument, I began where I "
15299 "intended to stay: on the question of the limits on Congress's power. This "
15300 "was a case about enumerated powers, I said, and whether those enumerated "
15301 "powers had any limit."
15304 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15305 #: freeculture.xml:11544
15307 "Justice O'Connor stopped me within one minute of my opening. The history "
15308 "was bothering her."
15311 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
15312 #: freeculture.xml:11549
15314 "justice o'connor: Congress has extended the term so often through the years, "
15315 "and if you are right, don't we run the risk of upsetting previous extensions "
15316 "of time? I mean, this seems to be a practice that began with the very first "
15320 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15321 #: freeculture.xml:11556
15323 "She was quite willing to concede <quote>that this flies directly in the face "
15324 "of what the framers had in mind.</quote> But my response again and again was "
15325 "to emphasize limits on Congress's power."
15329 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
15330 #: freeculture.xml:11562
15332 "mr. lessig: Well, if it flies in the face of what the framers had in mind, "
15333 "then the question is, is there a way of interpreting their words that gives "
15334 "effect to what they had in mind, and the answer is yes."
15337 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15338 #: freeculture.xml:11570
15340 "There were two points in this argument when I should have seen where the "
15341 "Court was going. The first was a question by Justice Kennedy, who observed,"
15344 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
15345 #: freeculture.xml:11576
15347 "justice kennedy: Well, I suppose implicit in the argument that the '76 act, "
15348 "too, should have been declared void, and that we might leave it alone "
15349 "because of the disruption, is that for all these years the act has impeded "
15350 "progress in science and the useful arts. I just don't see any empirical "
15351 "evidence for that."
15354 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15355 #: freeculture.xml:11584
15357 "Here follows my clear mistake. Like a professor correcting a student, I "
15361 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
15362 #: freeculture.xml:11590
15364 "mr. lessig: Justice, we are not making an empirical claim at all. Nothing "
15365 "in our Copyright Clause claim hangs upon the empirical assertion about "
15366 "impeding progress. Our only argument is this is a structural limit necessary "
15367 "to assure that what would be an effectively perpetual term not be permitted "
15368 "under the copyright laws."
15371 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15372 #: freeculture.xml:11599
15374 "That was a correct answer, but it wasn't the right answer. The right answer "
15375 "was instead that there was an obvious and profound harm. Any number of "
15376 "briefs had been written about it. He wanted to hear it. And here was the "
15377 "place Don Ayer's advice should have mattered. This was a softball; my answer "
15378 "was a swing and a miss."
15381 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15382 #: freeculture.xml:11606
15384 "The second came from the Chief, for whom the whole case had been "
15385 "crafted. For the Chief Justice had crafted the <citetitle>Lopez</citetitle> "
15386 "ruling, and we hoped that he would see this case as its second cousin."
15390 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15391 #: freeculture.xml:11611
15393 "It was clear a second into his question that he wasn't at all sympathetic. "
15394 "To him, we were a bunch of anarchists. As he asked:"
15397 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
15398 #: freeculture.xml:11618
15400 "chief justice: Well, but you want more than that. You want the right to copy "
15401 "verbatim other people's books, don't you?"
15404 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
15405 #: freeculture.xml:11622
15407 "mr. lessig: We want the right to copy verbatim works that should be in the "
15408 "public domain and would be in the public domain but for a statute that "
15409 "cannot be justified under ordinary First Amendment analysis or under a "
15410 "proper reading of the limits built into the Copyright Clause."
15413 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15414 #: freeculture.xml:11631
15416 "Things went better for us when the government gave its argument; for now the "
15417 "Court picked up on the core of our claim. As Justice Scalia asked Solicitor "
15421 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
15422 #: freeculture.xml:11637
15424 "justice scalia: You say that the functional equivalent of an unlimited time "
15425 "would be a violation [of the Constitution], but that's precisely the "
15426 "argument that's being made by petitioners here, that a limited time which is "
15427 "extendable is the functional equivalent of an unlimited time."
15430 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15431 #: freeculture.xml:11645
15433 "When Olson was finished, it was my turn to give a closing rebuttal. Olson's "
15434 "flailing had revived my anger. But my anger still was directed to the "
15435 "academic, not the practical. The government was arguing as if this were the "
15436 "first case ever to consider limits on Congress's Copyright and Patent Clause "
15437 "power. Ever the professor and not the advocate, I closed by pointing out the "
15438 "long history of the Court imposing limits on Congress's power in the name of "
15439 "the Copyright and Patent Clause— indeed, the very first case striking "
15440 "a law of Congress as exceeding a specific enumerated power was based upon "
15441 "the Copyright and Patent Clause. All true. But it wasn't going to move the "
15442 "Court to my side."
15446 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15447 #: freeculture.xml:11658
15449 "As I left the court that day, I knew there were a hundred points I wished I "
15450 "could remake. There were a hundred questions I wished I had answered "
15451 "differently. But one way of thinking about this case left me optimistic."
15454 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15455 #: freeculture.xml:11666
15457 "The government had been asked over and over again, what is the limit? Over "
15458 "and over again, it had answered there is no limit. This was precisely the "
15459 "answer I wanted the Court to hear. For I could not imagine how the Court "
15460 "could understand that the government believed Congress's power was unlimited "
15461 "under the terms of the Copyright Clause, and sustain the government's "
15462 "argument. The solicitor general had made my argument for me. No matter how "
15463 "often I tried, I could not understand how the Court could find that "
15464 "Congress's power under the Commerce Clause was limited, but under the "
15465 "Copyright Clause, unlimited. In those rare moments when I let myself believe "
15466 "that we may have prevailed, it was because I felt this Court—in "
15467 "particular, the Conservatives—would feel itself constrained by the "
15468 "rule of law that it had established elsewhere."
15471 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15472 #: freeculture.xml:11681
15474 "The morning of January 15, 2003, I was five minutes late to the office and "
15475 "missed the 7:00 A.M. call from the Supreme Court clerk. Listening to the "
15476 "message, I could tell in an instant that she had bad news to report.The "
15477 "Supreme Court had affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals. Seven "
15478 "justices had voted in the majority. There were two dissents."
15481 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15482 #: freeculture.xml:11688
15484 "A few seconds later, the opinions arrived by e-mail. I took the phone off "
15485 "the hook, posted an announcement to our blog, and sat down to see where I "
15486 "had been wrong in my reasoning."
15489 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15490 #: freeculture.xml:11693
15492 "My <emphasis>reasoning</emphasis>. Here was a case that pitted all the money "
15493 "in the world against <emphasis>reasoning</emphasis>. And here was the last "
15494 "naïve law professor, scouring the pages, looking for reasoning."
15497 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15498 #: freeculture.xml:11699
15500 "I first scoured the opinion, looking for how the Court would distinguish the "
15501 "principle in this case from the principle in "
15502 "<citetitle>Lopez</citetitle>. The argument was nowhere to be found. The case "
15503 "was not even cited. The argument that was the core argument of our case did "
15504 "not even appear in the Court's opinion."
15508 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15509 #: freeculture.xml:11708
15511 "Justice Ginsburg simply ignored the enumerated powers argument. Consistent "
15512 "with her view that Congress's power was not limited generally, she had found "
15513 "Congress's power not limited here."
15516 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15517 #: freeculture.xml:11713
15519 "Her opinion was perfectly reasonable—for her, and for Justice "
15520 "Souter. Neither believes in <citetitle>Lopez</citetitle>. It would be too "
15521 "much to expect them to write an opinion that recognized, much less "
15522 "explained, the doctrine they had worked so hard to defeat."
15525 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15526 #: freeculture.xml:11719
15528 "But as I realized what had happened, I couldn't quite believe what I was "
15529 "reading. I had said there was no way this Court could reconcile limited "
15530 "powers with the Commerce Clause and unlimited powers with the Progress "
15531 "Clause. It had never even occurred to me that they could reconcile the two "
15532 "simply <emphasis>by not addressing the argument</emphasis>. There was no "
15533 "inconsistency because they would not talk about the two together. There was "
15534 "therefore no principle that followed from the <citetitle>Lopez</citetitle> "
15535 "case: In that context, Congress's power would be limited, but in this "
15536 "context it would not."
15539 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15540 #: freeculture.xml:11730
15542 "Yet by what right did they get to choose which of the framers' values they "
15543 "would respect? By what right did they—the silent five—get to "
15544 "select the part of the Constitution they would enforce based on the values "
15545 "they thought important? We were right back to the argument that I said I "
15546 "hated at the start: I had failed to convince them that the issue here was "
15547 "important, and I had failed to recognize that however much I might hate a "
15548 "system in which the Court gets to pick the constitutional values that it "
15549 "will respect, that is the system we have."
15552 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15553 #: freeculture.xml:11742
15555 "Justices Breyer and Stevens wrote very strong dissents. Stevens's opinion "
15556 "was crafted internal to the law: He argued that the tradition of "
15557 "intellectual property law should not support this unjustified extension of "
15558 "terms. He based his argument on a parallel analysis that had governed in the "
15559 "context of patents (so had we). But the rest of the Court discounted the "
15560 "parallel—without explaining how the very same words in the Progress "
15561 "Clause could come to mean totally different things depending upon whether "
15562 "the words were about patents or copyrights. The Court let Justice Stevens's "
15563 "charge go unanswered."
15567 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15568 #: freeculture.xml:11755
15570 "Justice Breyer's opinion, perhaps the best opinion he has ever written, was "
15571 "external to the Constitution. He argued that the term of copyrights has "
15572 "become so long as to be effectively unlimited. We had said that under the "
15573 "current term, a copyright gave an author 99.8 percent of the value of a "
15574 "perpetual term. Breyer said we were wrong, that the actual number was "
15575 "99.9997 percent of a perpetual term. Either way, the point was clear: If the "
15576 "Constitution said a term had to be <quote>limited,</quote> and the existing "
15577 "term was so long as to be effectively unlimited, then it was "
15578 "unconstitutional."
15581 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15582 #: freeculture.xml:11766
15584 "These two justices understood all the arguments we had made. But because "
15585 "neither believed in the <citetitle>Lopez</citetitle> case, neither was "
15586 "willing to push it as a reason to reject this extension. The case was "
15587 "decided without anyone having addressed the argument that we had carried "
15588 "from Judge Sentelle. It was <citetitle>Hamlet</citetitle> without the "
15592 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15593 #: freeculture.xml:11773
15595 "Defeat brings depression. They say it is a sign of health when depression "
15596 "gives way to anger. My anger came quickly, but it didn't cure the "
15597 "depression. This anger was of two sorts."
15600 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15601 #: freeculture.xml:11778
15603 "It was first anger with the five <quote>Conservatives.</quote> It would have "
15604 "been one thing for them to have explained why the principle of "
15605 "<citetitle>Lopez</citetitle> didn't apply in this case. That wouldn't have "
15606 "been a very convincing argument, I don't believe, having read it made by "
15607 "others, and having tried to make it myself. But it at least would have been "
15608 "an act of integrity. These justices in particular have repeatedly said that "
15609 "the proper mode of interpreting the Constitution is "
15610 "<quote>originalism</quote>—to first understand the framers' text, "
15611 "interpreted in their context, in light of the structure of the "
15612 "Constitution. That method had produced <citetitle>Lopez</citetitle> and many "
15613 "other <quote>originalist</quote> rulings. Where was their "
15614 "<quote>originalism</quote> now?"
15618 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15619 #: freeculture.xml:11791
15621 "Here, they had joined an opinion that never once tried to explain what the "
15622 "framers had meant by crafting the Progress Clause as they did; they joined "
15623 "an opinion that never once tried to explain how the structure of that clause "
15624 "would affect the interpretation of Congress's power. And they joined an "
15625 "opinion that didn't even try to explain why this grant of power could be "
15626 "unlimited, whereas the Commerce Clause would be limited. In short, they had "
15627 "joined an opinion that did not apply to, and was inconsistent with, their "
15628 "own method for interpreting the Constitution. This opinion may well have "
15629 "yielded a result that they liked. It did not produce a reason that was "
15630 "consistent with their own principles."
15633 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15634 #: freeculture.xml:11806
15636 "My anger with the Conservatives quickly yielded to anger with myself. For I "
15637 "had let a view of the law that I liked interfere with a view of the law as "
15641 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15642 #: freeculture.xml:11813
15644 "Most lawyers, and most law professors, have little patience for idealism "
15645 "about courts in general and this Supreme Court in particular. Most have a "
15646 "much more pragmatic view. When Don Ayer said that this case would be won "
15647 "based on whether I could convince the Justices that the framers' values were "
15648 "important, I fought the idea, because I didn't want to believe that that is "
15649 "how this Court decides. I insisted on arguing this case as if it were a "
15650 "simple application of a set of principles. I had an argument that followed "
15651 "in logic. I didn't need to waste my time showing it should also follow in "
15656 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15657 #: freeculture.xml:11824
15659 "As I read back over the transcript from that argument in October, I can see "
15660 "a hundred places where the answers could have taken the conversation in "
15661 "different directions, where the truth about the harm that this unchecked "
15662 "power will cause could have been made clear to this Court. Justice Kennedy "
15663 "in good faith wanted to be shown. I, idiotically, corrected his "
15664 "question. Justice Souter in good faith wanted to be shown the First "
15665 "Amendment harms. I, like a math teacher, reframed the question to make the "
15666 "logical point. I had shown them how they could strike this law of Congress "
15667 "if they wanted to. There were a hundred places where I could have helped "
15668 "them want to, yet my stubbornness, my refusal to give in, stopped me. I have "
15669 "stood before hundreds of audiences trying to persuade; I have used passion "
15670 "in that effort to persuade; but I refused to stand before this audience and "
15671 "try to persuade with the passion I had used elsewhere. It was not the basis "
15672 "on which a court should decide the issue."
15675 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15676 #: freeculture.xml:11844
15678 "Would it have been different if I had argued it differently? Would it have "
15679 "been different if Don Ayer had argued it? Or Charles Fried? Or Kathleen "
15680 "Sullivan? <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
15683 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15684 #: freeculture.xml:11850
15686 "My friends huddled around me to insist it would not. The Court was not "
15687 "ready, my friends insisted. This was a loss that was destined. It would take "
15688 "a great deal more to show our society why our framers were right. And when "
15689 "we do that, we will be able to show that Court."
15692 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15693 #: freeculture.xml:11856
15695 "Maybe, but I doubt it. These Justices have no financial interest in doing "
15696 "anything except the right thing. They are not lobbied. They have little "
15697 "reason to resist doing right. I can't help but think that if I had stepped "
15698 "down from this pretty picture of dispassionate justice, I could have "
15702 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15703 #: freeculture.xml:11863
15705 "And even if I couldn't, then that doesn't excuse what happened in "
15706 "January. For at the start of this case, one of America's leading "
15707 "intellectual property professors stated publicly that my bringing this case "
15708 "was a mistake. <quote>The Court is not ready,</quote> Peter Jaszi said; this "
15709 "issue should not be raised until it is. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
15714 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15715 #: freeculture.xml:11871
15717 "After the argument and after the decision, Peter said to me, and publicly, "
15718 "that he was wrong. But if indeed that Court could not have been persuaded, "
15719 "then that is all the evidence that's needed to know that here again Peter "
15720 "was right. Either I was not ready to argue this case in a way that would do "
15721 "some good or they were not ready to hear this case in a way that would do "
15722 "some good. Either way, the decision to bring this case—a decision I "
15723 "had made four years before—was wrong. While the reaction to the Sonny "
15724 "Bono Act itself was almost unanimously negative, the reaction to the Court's "
15725 "decision was mixed. No one, at least in the press, tried to say that "
15726 "extending the term of copyright was a good idea. We had won that battle over "
15727 "ideas. Where the decision was praised, it was praised by papers that had "
15728 "been skeptical of the Court's activism in other cases. Deference was a good "
15729 "thing, even if it left standing a silly law. But where the decision was "
15730 "attacked, it was attacked because it left standing a silly and harmful "
15731 "law. <citetitle>The New York Times</citetitle> wrote in its editorial,"
15734 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><blockquote><para>
15735 #: freeculture.xml:11892
15737 "In effect, the Supreme Court's decision makes it likely that we are seeing "
15738 "the beginning of the end of public domain and the birth of copyright "
15739 "perpetuity. The public domain has been a grand experiment, one that should "
15740 "not be allowed to die. The ability to draw freely on the entire creative "
15741 "output of humanity is one of the reasons we live in a time of such fruitful "
15742 "creative ferment."
15745 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><figure><indexterm><primary>
15746 #: freeculture.xml:11906 freeculture.xml:11911
15747 msgid "Bolling, Ruben"
15750 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15751 #: freeculture.xml:11901
15753 "The best responses were in the cartoons. There was a gaggle of hilarious "
15754 "images—of Mickey in jail and the like. The best, from my view of the "
15755 "case, was Ruben Bolling's, reproduced on the next page (<xref "
15756 "linkend=\"fig-18\"/>). The <quote>powerful and wealthy</quote> line is a bit "
15757 "unfair. But the punch in the face felt exactly like that. <placeholder "
15758 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
15761 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><figure><title>
15762 #: freeculture.xml:11909
15763 msgid "Tom the Dancing Bug cartoon"
15766 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><figure>
15767 #: freeculture.xml:11910
15769 "<graphic fileref=\"images/18.png\"></graphic> <placeholder "
15770 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
15773 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15774 #: freeculture.xml:11914
15776 "The image that will always stick in my head is that evoked by the quote from "
15777 "<citetitle>The New York Times</citetitle>. That <quote>grand "
15778 "experiment</quote> we call the <quote>public domain</quote> is over? When I "
15779 "can make light of it, I think, <quote>Honey, I shrunk the "
15780 "Constitution.</quote> But I can rarely make light of it. We had in our "
15781 "Constitution a commitment to free culture. In the case that I fathered, the "
15782 "Supreme Court effectively renounced that commitment. A better lawyer would "
15783 "have made them see differently."
15786 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><title>
15787 #: freeculture.xml:11925
15788 msgid "CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Eldred II"
15791 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15792 #: freeculture.xml:11927
15794 "The day <citetitle>Eldred</citetitle> was decided, fate would have it that I "
15795 "was to travel to Washington, D.C. (The day the rehearing petition in "
15796 "<citetitle>Eldred</citetitle> was denied—meaning the case was really "
15797 "finally over—fate would have it that I was giving a speech to "
15798 "technologists at Disney World.) This was a particularly long flight to my "
15799 "least favorite city. The drive into the city from Dulles was delayed because "
15800 "of traffic, so I opened up my computer and wrote an op-ed piece."
15803 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15804 #: freeculture.xml:11937
15806 "It was an act of contrition. During the whole of the flight from San "
15807 "Francisco to Washington, I had heard over and over again in my head the same "
15808 "advice from Don Ayer: You need to make them see why it is important. And "
15809 "alternating with that command was the question of Justice Kennedy: "
15810 "<quote>For all these years the act has impeded progress in science and the "
15811 "useful arts. I just don't see any empirical evidence for that.</quote> And "
15812 "so, having failed in the argument of constitutional principle, finally, I "
15813 "turned to an argument of politics."
15817 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15818 #: freeculture.xml:11947
15820 "<citetitle>The New York Times</citetitle> published the piece. In it, I "
15821 "proposed a simple fix: Fifty years after a work has been published, the "
15822 "copyright owner would be required to register the work and pay a small "
15823 "fee. If he paid the fee, he got the benefit of the full term of "
15824 "copyright. If he did not, the work passed into the public domain."
15827 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15828 #: freeculture.xml:11955
15830 "We called this the Eldred Act, but that was just to give it a name. Eric "
15831 "Eldred was kind enough to let his name be used once again, but as he said "
15832 "early on, it won't get passed unless it has another name."
15835 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15836 #: freeculture.xml:11960
15838 "Or another two names. For depending upon your perspective, this is either "
15839 "the <quote>Public Domain Enhancement Act</quote> or the <quote>Copyright "
15840 "Term Deregulation Act.</quote> Either way, the essence of the idea is clear "
15841 "and obvious: Remove copyright where it is doing nothing except blocking "
15842 "access and the spread of knowledge. Leave it for as long as Congress allows "
15843 "for those works where its worth is at least $1. But for everything else, let "
15847 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
15848 #: freeculture.xml:11968 freeculture.xml:12168
15849 msgid "Forbes, Steve"
15852 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15853 #: freeculture.xml:11970
15855 "The reaction to this idea was amazingly strong. Steve Forbes endorsed it in "
15856 "an editorial. I received an avalanche of e-mail and letters expressing "
15857 "support. When you focus the issue on lost creativity, people can see the "
15858 "copyright system makes no sense. As a good Republican might say, here "
15859 "government regulation is simply getting in the way of innovation and "
15860 "creativity. And as a good Democrat might say, here the government is "
15861 "blocking access and the spread of knowledge for no good reason. Indeed, "
15862 "there is no real difference between Democrats and Republicans on this "
15863 "issue. Anyone can recognize the stupid harm of the present system."
15866 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15867 #: freeculture.xml:11982
15869 "Indeed, many recognized the obvious benefit of the registration "
15870 "requirement. For one of the hardest things about the current system for "
15871 "people who want to license content is that there is no obvious place to look "
15872 "for the current copyright owners. Since registration is not required, since "
15873 "marking content is not required, since no formality at all is required, it "
15874 "is often impossibly hard to locate copyright owners to ask permission to use "
15875 "or license their work. This system would lower these costs, by establishing "
15876 "at least one registry where copyright owners could be identified."
15879 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
15880 #: freeculture.xml:11992
15881 msgid "Berlin Act (1908)"
15884 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><indexterm><primary>
15885 #: freeculture.xml:11993 freeculture.xml:12033
15886 msgid "Berne Convention (1908)"
15890 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><footnote><para>
15891 #: freeculture.xml:12001
15893 "Until the 1908 Berlin Act of the Berne Convention, national copyright "
15894 "legislation sometimes made protection depend upon compliance with "
15895 "formalities such as registration, deposit, and affixation of notice of the "
15896 "author's claim of copyright. However, starting with the 1908 act, every text "
15897 "of the Convention has provided that <quote>the enjoyment and the "
15898 "exercise</quote> of rights guaranteed by the Convention <quote>shall not be "
15899 "subject to any formality.</quote> The prohibition against formalities is "
15900 "presently embodied in Article 5(2) of the Paris Text of the Berne "
15901 "Convention. Many countries continue to impose some form of deposit or "
15902 "registration requirement, albeit not as a condition of copyright. French "
15903 "law, for example, requires the deposit of copies of works in national "
15904 "repositories, principally the National Museum. Copies of books published in "
15905 "the United Kingdom must be deposited in the British Library. The German "
15906 "Copyright Act provides for a Registrar of Authors where the author's true "
15907 "name can be filed in the case of anonymous or pseudonymous works. Paul "
15908 "Goldstein, <citetitle>International Intellectual Property Law, Cases and "
15909 "Materials</citetitle> (New York: Foundation Press, 2001), 153–54."
15912 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15913 #: freeculture.xml:11996
15915 "As I described in chapter <xref xrefstyle=\"select: labelnumber\" "
15916 "linkend=\"property-i\"/>, formalities in copyright law were removed in 1976, "
15917 "when Congress followed the Europeans by abandoning any formal requirement "
15918 "before a copyright is granted.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> The "
15919 "Europeans are said to view copyright as a <quote>natural right.</quote> "
15920 "Natural rights don't need forms to exist. Traditions, like the "
15921 "Anglo-American tradition that required copyright owners to follow form if "
15922 "their rights were to be protected, did not, the Europeans thought, properly "
15923 "respect the dignity of the author. My right as a creator turns on my "
15924 "creativity, not upon the special favor of the government."
15927 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15928 #: freeculture.xml:12027
15930 "That's great rhetoric. It sounds wonderfully romantic. But it is absurd "
15931 "copyright policy. It is absurd especially for authors, because a world "
15932 "without formalities harms the creator. The ability to spread <quote>Walt "
15933 "Disney creativity</quote> is destroyed when there is no simple way to know "
15934 "what's protected and what's not."
15937 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15938 #: freeculture.xml:12035
15940 "The fight against formalities achieved its first real victory in Berlin in "
15941 "1908. International copyright lawyers amended the Berne Convention in 1908, "
15942 "to require copyright terms of life plus fifty years, as well as the "
15943 "abolition of copyright formalities. The formalities were hated because the "
15944 "stories of inadvertent loss were increasingly common. It was as if a Charles "
15945 "Dickens character ran all copyright offices, and the failure to dot an "
15946 "<citetitle>i</citetitle> or cross a <citetitle>t</citetitle> resulted in the "
15947 "loss of widows' only income."
15950 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15951 #: freeculture.xml:12045
15953 "These complaints were real and sensible. And the strictness of the "
15954 "formalities, especially in the United States, was absurd. The law should "
15955 "always have ways of forgiving innocent mistakes. There is no reason "
15956 "copyright law couldn't, as well. Rather than abandoning formalities totally, "
15957 "the response in Berlin should have been to embrace a more equitable system "
15961 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15962 #: freeculture.xml:12053
15964 "Even that would have been resisted, however, because registration in the "
15965 "nineteenth and twentieth centuries was still expensive. It was also a "
15966 "hassle. The abolishment of formalities promised not only to save the "
15967 "starving widows, but also to lighten an unnecessary regulatory burden "
15968 "imposed upon creators."
15972 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15973 #: freeculture.xml:12061
15975 "In addition to the practical complaint of authors in 1908, there was a moral "
15976 "claim as well. There was no reason that creative property should be a "
15977 "second-class form of property. If a carpenter builds a table, his rights "
15978 "over the table don't depend upon filing a form with the government. He has "
15979 "a property right over the table <quote>naturally,</quote> and he can assert "
15980 "that right against anyone who would steal the table, whether or not he has "
15981 "informed the government of his ownership of the table."
15984 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15985 #: freeculture.xml:12073
15987 "This argument is correct, but its implications are misleading. For the "
15988 "argument in favor of formalities does not depend upon creative property "
15989 "being second-class property. The argument in favor of formalities turns upon "
15990 "the special problems that creative property presents. The law of "
15991 "formalities responds to the special physics of creative property, to assure "
15992 "that it can be efficiently and fairly spread."
15995 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
15996 #: freeculture.xml:12082
15998 "No one thinks, for example, that land is second-class property just because "
15999 "you have to register a deed with a court if your sale of land is to be "
16000 "effective. And few would think a car is second-class property just because "
16001 "you must register the car with the state and tag it with a license. In both "
16002 "of those cases, everyone sees that there is an important reason to secure "
16003 "registration—both because it makes the markets more efficient and "
16004 "because it better secures the rights of the owner. Without a registration "
16005 "system for land, landowners would perpetually have to guard their "
16006 "property. With registration, they can simply point the police to a "
16007 "deed. Without a registration system for cars, auto theft would be much "
16008 "easier. With a registration system, the thief has a high burden to sell a "
16009 "stolen car. A slight burden is placed on the property owner, but those "
16010 "burdens produce a much better system of protection for property generally."
16013 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16014 #: freeculture.xml:12098
16016 "It is similarly special physics that makes formalities important in "
16017 "copyright law. Unlike a carpenter's table, there's nothing in nature that "
16018 "makes it relatively obvious who might own a particular bit of creative "
16019 "property. A recording of Lyle Lovett's latest album can exist in a billion "
16020 "places without anything necessarily linking it back to a particular "
16021 "owner. And like a car, there's no way to buy and sell creative property with "
16022 "confidence unless there is some simple way to authenticate who is the author "
16023 "and what rights he has. Simple transactions are destroyed in a world without "
16024 "formalities. Complex, expensive, <emphasis>lawyer</emphasis> transactions "
16025 "take their place. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
16028 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16029 #: freeculture.xml:12113
16031 "This was the understanding of the problem with the Sonny Bono Act that we "
16032 "tried to demonstrate to the Court. This was the part it didn't "
16033 "<quote>get.</quote> Because we live in a system without formalities, there "
16034 "is no way easily to build upon or use culture from our past. If copyright "
16035 "terms were, as Justice Story said they would be, <quote>short,</quote> then "
16036 "this wouldn't matter much. For fourteen years, under the framers' system, a "
16037 "work would be presumptively controlled. After fourteen years, it would be "
16038 "presumptively uncontrolled."
16041 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16042 #: freeculture.xml:12123
16044 "But now that copyrights can be just about a century long, the inability to "
16045 "know what is protected and what is not protected becomes a huge and obvious "
16046 "burden on the creative process. If the only way a library can offer an "
16047 "Internet exhibit about the New Deal is to hire a lawyer to clear the rights "
16048 "to every image and sound, then the copyright system is burdening creativity "
16049 "in a way that has never been seen before <emphasis>because there are no "
16050 "formalities</emphasis>."
16053 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16054 #: freeculture.xml:12132
16056 "The Eldred Act was designed to respond to exactly this problem. If it is "
16057 "worth $1 to you, then register your work and you can get the longer "
16058 "term. Others will know how to contact you and, therefore, how to get your "
16059 "permission if they want to use your work. And you will get the benefit of an "
16060 "extended copyright term."
16063 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16064 #: freeculture.xml:12139
16066 "If it isn't worth it to you to register to get the benefit of an extended "
16067 "term, then it shouldn't be worth it for the government to defend your "
16068 "monopoly over that work either. The work should pass into the public domain "
16069 "where anyone can copy it, or build archives with it, or create a movie based "
16070 "on it. It should become free if it is not worth $1 to you."
16073 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16074 #: freeculture.xml:12146
16076 "Some worry about the burden on authors. Won't the burden of registering the "
16077 "work mean that the $1 is really misleading? Isn't the hassle worth more than "
16078 "$1? Isn't that the real problem with registration?"
16082 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16083 #: freeculture.xml:12152
16085 "It is. The hassle is terrible. The system that exists now is awful. I "
16086 "completely agree that the Copyright Office has done a terrible job (no doubt "
16087 "because they are terribly funded) in enabling simple and cheap "
16088 "registrations. Any real solution to the problem of formalities must address "
16089 "the real problem of <emphasis>governments</emphasis> standing at the core of "
16090 "any system of formalities. In this book, I offer such a solution. That "
16091 "solution essentially remakes the Copyright Office. For now, assume it was "
16092 "Amazon that ran the registration system. Assume it was one-click "
16093 "registration. The Eldred Act would propose a simple, one-click registration "
16094 "fifty years after a work was published. Based upon historical data, that "
16095 "system would move up to 98 percent of commercial work, commercial work that "
16096 "no longer had a commercial life, into the public domain within fifty "
16097 "years. What do you think?"
16100 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16101 #: freeculture.xml:12170
16103 "When Steve Forbes endorsed the idea, some in Washington began to pay "
16104 "attention. Many people contacted me pointing to representatives who might be "
16105 "willing to introduce the Eldred Act. And I had a few who directly suggested "
16106 "that they might be willing to take the first step."
16109 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
16110 #: freeculture.xml:12183
16111 msgid "Lofgren, Zoe"
16114 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16115 #: freeculture.xml:12176
16117 "One representative, Zoe Lofgren of California, went so far as to get the "
16118 "bill drafted. The draft solved any problem with international law. It "
16119 "imposed the simplest requirement upon copyright owners possible. In May "
16120 "2003, it looked as if the bill would be introduced. On May 16, I posted on "
16121 "the Eldred Act blog, <quote>we are close.</quote> There was a general "
16122 "reaction in the blog community that something good might happen here. "
16123 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
16126 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16127 #: freeculture.xml:12186
16129 "But at this stage, the lobbyists began to intervene. Jack Valenti and the "
16130 "MPAA general counsel came to the congresswoman's office to give the view of "
16131 "the MPAA. Aided by his lawyer, as Valenti told me, Valenti informed the "
16132 "congresswoman that the MPAA would oppose the Eldred Act. The reasons are "
16133 "embarrassingly thin. More importantly, their thinness shows something clear "
16134 "about what this debate is really about."
16138 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16139 #: freeculture.xml:12194
16141 "The MPAA argued first that Congress had <quote>firmly rejected the central "
16142 "concept in the proposed bill</quote>—that copyrights be renewed. That "
16143 "was true, but irrelevant, as Congress's <quote>firm rejection</quote> had "
16144 "occurred long before the Internet made subsequent uses much more likely. "
16145 "Second, they argued that the proposal would harm poor copyright "
16146 "owners—apparently those who could not afford the $1 fee. Third, they "
16147 "argued that Congress had determined that extending a copyright term would "
16148 "encourage restoration work. Maybe in the case of the small percentage of "
16149 "work covered by copyright law that is still commercially valuable, but again "
16150 "this was irrelevant, as the proposal would not cut off the extended term "
16151 "unless the $1 fee was not paid. Fourth, the MPAA argued that the bill would "
16152 "impose <quote>enormous</quote> costs, since a registration system is not "
16153 "free. True enough, but those costs are certainly less than the costs of "
16154 "clearing the rights for a copyright whose owner is not known. Fifth, they "
16155 "worried about the risks if the copyright to a story underlying a film were "
16156 "to pass into the public domain. But what risk is that? If it is in the "
16157 "public domain, then the film is a valid derivative use."
16160 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16161 #: freeculture.xml:12215
16163 "Finally, the MPAA argued that existing law enabled copyright owners to do "
16164 "this if they wanted. But the whole point is that there are thousands of "
16165 "copyright owners who don't even know they have a copyright to give. Whether "
16166 "they are free to give away their copyright or not—a controversial "
16167 "claim in any case—unless they know about a copyright, they're not "
16171 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16172 #: freeculture.xml:12223
16174 "At the beginning of this book, I told two stories about the law reacting to "
16175 "changes in technology. In the one, common sense prevailed. In the other, "
16176 "common sense was delayed. The difference between the two stories was the "
16177 "power of the opposition—the power of the side that fought to defend "
16178 "the status quo. In both cases, a new technology threatened old "
16179 "interests. But in only one case did those interest's have the power to "
16180 "protect themselves against this new competitive threat."
16183 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16184 #: freeculture.xml:12233
16186 "I used these two cases as a way to frame the war that this book has been "
16187 "about. For here, too, a new technology is forcing the law to react. And "
16188 "here, too, we should ask, is the law following or resisting common sense? If "
16189 "common sense supports the law, what explains this common sense?"
16193 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16194 #: freeculture.xml:12242
16196 "When the issue is piracy, it is right for the law to back the copyright "
16197 "owners. The commercial piracy that I described is wrong and harmful, and the "
16198 "law should work to eliminate it. When the issue is p2p sharing, it is easy "
16199 "to understand why the law backs the owners still: Much of this sharing is "
16200 "wrong, even if much is harmless. When the issue is copyright terms for the "
16201 "Mickey Mouses of the world, it is possible still to understand why the law "
16202 "favors Hollywood: Most people don't recognize the reasons for limiting "
16203 "copyright terms; it is thus still possible to see good faith within the "
16207 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
16208 #: freeculture.xml:12261
16209 msgid "Kelly, Kevin"
16212 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16213 #: freeculture.xml:12253
16215 "But when the copyright owners oppose a proposal such as the Eldred Act, "
16216 "then, finally, there is an example that lays bare the naked selfinterest "
16217 "driving this war. This act would free an extraordinary range of content that "
16218 "is otherwise unused. It wouldn't interfere with any copyright owner's desire "
16219 "to exercise continued control over his content. It would simply liberate "
16220 "what Kevin Kelly calls the <quote>Dark Content</quote> that fills archives "
16221 "around the world. So when the warriors oppose a change like this, we should "
16222 "ask one simple question: <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
16225 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16226 #: freeculture.xml:12264
16227 msgid "What does this industry really want?"
16230 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16231 #: freeculture.xml:12267
16233 "With very little effort, the warriors could protect their content. So the "
16234 "effort to block something like the Eldred Act is not really about protecting "
16235 "<emphasis>their</emphasis> content. The effort to block the Eldred Act is an "
16236 "effort to assure that nothing more passes into the public domain. It is "
16237 "another step to assure that the public domain will never compete, that there "
16238 "will be no use of content that is not commercially controlled, and that "
16239 "there will be no commercial use of content that doesn't require "
16240 "<emphasis>their</emphasis> permission first."
16243 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16244 #: freeculture.xml:12278
16246 "The opposition to the Eldred Act reveals how extreme the other side is. The "
16247 "most powerful and sexy and well loved of lobbies really has as its aim not "
16248 "the protection of <quote>property</quote> but the rejection of a tradition. "
16249 "Their aim is not simply to protect what is theirs. <emphasis>Their aim is to "
16250 "assure that all there is is what is theirs</emphasis>."
16254 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16255 #: freeculture.xml:12286
16257 "It is not hard to understand why the warriors take this view. It is not hard "
16258 "to see why it would benefit them if the competition of the public domain "
16259 "tied to the Internet could somehow be quashed. Just as RCA feared the "
16260 "competition of FM, they fear the competition of a public domain connected to "
16261 "a public that now has the means to create with it and to share its own "
16265 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16266 #: freeculture.xml:12298
16268 "What is hard to understand is why the public takes this view. It is as if "
16269 "the law made airplanes trespassers. The MPAA stands with the Causbys and "
16270 "demands that their remote and useless property rights be respected, so that "
16271 "these remote and forgotten copyright holders might block the progress of "
16275 #. type: Content of: <book><part><chapter><para>
16276 #: freeculture.xml:12305
16278 "All this seems to follow easily from this untroubled acceptance of the "
16279 "<quote>property</quote> in intellectual property. Common sense supports it, "
16280 "and so long as it does, the assaults will rain down upon the technologies of "
16281 "the Internet. The consequence will be an increasing <quote>permission "
16282 "society.</quote> The past can be cultivated only if you can identify the "
16283 "owner and gain permission to build upon his work. The future will be "
16284 "controlled by this dead (and often unfindable) hand of the past."
16287 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><title>
16288 #: freeculture.xml:12317
16292 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><indexterm><primary>
16293 #: freeculture.xml:12319
16294 msgid "antiretroviral drugs"
16297 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><indexterm><primary>
16298 #: freeculture.xml:12322
16299 msgid "HIV/AIDS therapies"
16302 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><indexterm><primary>
16303 #: freeculture.xml:12325
16304 msgid "Africa, medications for HIV patients in"
16307 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16308 #: freeculture.xml:12328
16310 "There are more than 35 million people with the AIDS virus "
16311 "worldwide. Twenty-five million of them live in sub-Saharan Africa. "
16312 "Seventeen million have already died. Seventeen million Africans is "
16313 "proportional percentage-wise to seven million Americans. More importantly, "
16314 "it is seventeen million Africans."
16317 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16318 #: freeculture.xml:12335
16320 "There is no cure for AIDS, but there are drugs to slow its progression. "
16321 "These antiretroviral therapies are still experimental, but they have already "
16322 "had a dramatic effect. In the United States, AIDS patients who regularly "
16323 "take a cocktail of these drugs increase their life expectancy by ten to "
16324 "twenty years. For some, the drugs make the disease almost invisible."
16328 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
16329 #: freeculture.xml:12350
16331 "Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, <quote>Final Report: Integrating "
16332 "Intellectual Property Rights and Development Policy</quote> (London, 2002), "
16333 "available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link "
16334 "#55</ulink>. According to a World Health Organization press release issued 9 "
16335 "July 2002, only 230,000 of the 6 million who need drugs in the developing "
16336 "world receive them—and half of them are in Brazil."
16339 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16340 #: freeculture.xml:12343
16342 "These drugs are expensive. When they were first introduced in the United "
16343 "States, they cost between $10,000 and $15,000 per person per year. Today, "
16344 "some cost $25,000 per year. At these prices, of course, no African nation "
16345 "can afford the drugs for the vast majority of its population: $15,000 is "
16346 "thirty times the per capita gross national product of Zimbabwe. At these "
16347 "prices, the drugs are totally unavailable.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
16352 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16353 #: freeculture.xml:12361
16355 "These prices are not high because the ingredients of the drugs are "
16356 "expensive. These prices are high because the drugs are protected by "
16357 "patents. The drug companies that produced these life-saving mixes enjoy at "
16358 "least a twenty-year monopoly for their inventions. They use that monopoly "
16359 "power to extract the most they can from the market. That power is in turn "
16360 "used to keep the prices high."
16363 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16364 #: freeculture.xml:12369
16366 "There are many who are skeptical of patents, especially drug patents. I am "
16367 "not. Indeed, of all the areas of research that might be supported by "
16368 "patents, drug research is, in my view, the clearest case where patents are "
16369 "needed. The patent gives the drug company some assurance that if it is "
16370 "successful in inventing a new drug to treat a disease, it will be able to "
16371 "earn back its investment and more. This is socially an extremely valuable "
16372 "incentive. I am the last person who would argue that the law should abolish "
16373 "it, at least without other changes."
16376 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16377 #: freeculture.xml:12380
16379 "But it is one thing to support patents, even drug patents. It is another "
16380 "thing to determine how best to deal with a crisis. And as African leaders "
16381 "began to recognize the devastation that AIDS was bringing, they started "
16382 "looking for ways to import HIV treatments at costs significantly below the "
16386 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><indexterm><primary>
16387 #: freeculture.xml:12398 freeculture.xml:12839
16388 msgid "Braithwaite, John"
16391 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
16392 #: freeculture.xml:12396
16394 "See Peter Drahos with John Braithwaite, <citetitle>Information Feudalism: "
16395 "Who Owns the Knowledge Economy?</citetitle> (New York: The New Press, 2003), "
16396 "37. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder "
16397 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
16400 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16401 #: freeculture.xml:12387
16403 "In 1997, South Africa tried one tack. It passed a law to allow the "
16404 "importation of patented medicines that had been produced or sold in another "
16405 "nation's market with the consent of the patent owner. For example, if the "
16406 "drug was sold in India, it could be imported into Africa from India. This is "
16407 "called <quote>parallel importation,</quote> and it is generally permitted "
16408 "under international trade law and is specifically permitted within the "
16409 "European Union.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
16413 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
16414 #: freeculture.xml:12409
16416 "International Intellectual Property Institute (IIPI), <citetitle>Patent "
16417 "Protection and Access to HIV/AIDS Pharmaceuticals in Sub-Saharan Africa, a "
16418 "Report Prepared for the World Intellectual Property Organization</citetitle> "
16419 "(Washington, D.C., 2000), 14, available at <ulink "
16420 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #56</ulink>. For a firsthand "
16421 "account of the struggle over South Africa, see Hearing Before the "
16422 "Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources, House "
16423 "Committee on Government Reform, H. Rep., 1st sess., Ser. No. 106-126 (22 "
16424 "July 1999), 150–57 (statement of James Love)."
16428 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
16429 #: freeculture.xml:12436
16431 "International Intellectual Property Institute (IIPI), <citetitle>Patent "
16432 "Protection and Access to HIV/AIDS Pharmaceuticals in Sub-Saharan Africa, a "
16433 "Report Prepared for the World Intellectual Property Organization</citetitle> "
16434 "(Washington, D.C., 2000), 15."
16437 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16438 #: freeculture.xml:12403
16440 "However, the United States government opposed the bill. Indeed, more than "
16441 "opposed. As the International Intellectual Property Association "
16442 "characterized it, <quote>The U.S. government pressured South Africa … "
16443 "not to permit compulsory licensing or parallel imports.</quote><placeholder "
16444 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Through the Office of the United States Trade "
16445 "Representative, the government asked South Africa to change the "
16446 "law—and to add pressure to that request, in 1998, the USTR listed "
16447 "South Africa for possible trade sanctions. That same year, more than forty "
16448 "pharmaceutical companies began proceedings in the South African courts to "
16449 "challenge the government's actions. The United States was then joined by "
16450 "other governments from the EU. Their claim, and the claim of the "
16451 "pharmaceutical companies, was that South Africa was violating its "
16452 "obligations under international law by discriminating against a particular "
16453 "kind of patent— pharmaceutical patents. The demand of these "
16454 "governments, with the United States in the lead, was that South Africa "
16455 "respect these patents as it respects any other patent, regardless of any "
16456 "effect on the treatment of AIDS within South Africa.<placeholder "
16457 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/>"
16460 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16461 #: freeculture.xml:12442
16463 "We should place the intervention by the United States in context. No doubt "
16464 "patents are not the most important reason that Africans don't have access to "
16465 "drugs. Poverty and the total absence of an effective health care "
16466 "infrastructure matter more. But whether patents are the most important "
16467 "reason or not, the price of drugs has an effect on their demand, and patents "
16468 "affect price. And so, whether massive or marginal, there was an effect from "
16469 "our government's intervention to stop the flow of medications into Africa."
16472 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16473 #: freeculture.xml:12452
16475 "By stopping the flow of HIV treatment into Africa, the United States "
16476 "government was not saving drugs for United States citizens. This is not "
16477 "like wheat (if they eat it, we can't); instead, the flow that the United "
16478 "States intervened to stop was, in effect, a flow of knowledge: information "
16479 "about how to take chemicals that exist within Africa, and turn those "
16480 "chemicals into drugs that would save 15 to 30 million lives."
16483 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16484 #: freeculture.xml:12460
16486 "Nor was the intervention by the United States going to protect the profits "
16487 "of United States drug companies—at least, not substantially. It was "
16488 "not as if these countries were in the position to buy the drugs for the "
16489 "prices the drug companies were charging. Again, the Africans are wildly too "
16490 "poor to afford these drugs at the offered prices. Stopping the parallel "
16491 "import of these drugs would not substantially increase the sales by "
16497 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
16498 #: freeculture.xml:12475
16500 "See Sabin Russell, <quote>New Crusade to Lower AIDS Drug Costs: Africa's "
16501 "Needs at Odds with Firms' Profit Motive,</quote> <citetitle>San Francisco "
16502 "Chronicle</citetitle>, 24 May 1999, A1, available at <ulink "
16503 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #57</ulink> (<quote>compulsory "
16504 "licenses and gray markets pose a threat to the entire system of intellectual "
16505 "property protection</quote>); Robert Weissman, <quote>AIDS and Developing "
16506 "Countries: Democratizing Access to Essential Medicines,</quote> "
16507 "<citetitle>Foreign Policy in Focus</citetitle> 4:23 (August 1999), available "
16508 "at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #58</ulink> (describing "
16509 "U.S. policy); John A. Harrelson, <quote>TRIPS, Pharmaceutical Patents, and "
16510 "the HIV/AIDS Crisis: Finding the Proper Balance Between Intellectual "
16511 "Property Rights and Compassion, a Synopsis,</quote> <citetitle>Widener Law "
16512 "Symposium Journal</citetitle> (Spring 2001): 175."
16515 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16516 #: freeculture.xml:12469
16518 "Instead, the argument in favor of restricting this flow of information, "
16519 "which was needed to save the lives of millions, was an argument about the "
16520 "sanctity of property.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> It was "
16521 "because <quote>intellectual property</quote> would be violated that these "
16522 "drugs should not flow into Africa. It was a principle about the importance "
16523 "of <quote>intellectual property</quote> that led these government actors to "
16524 "intervene against the South African response to AIDS."
16527 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16528 #: freeculture.xml:12496
16530 "Now just step back for a moment. There will be a time thirty years from now "
16531 "when our children look back at us and ask, how could we have let this "
16532 "happen? How could we allow a policy to be pursued whose direct cost would be "
16533 "to speed the death of 15 to 30 million Africans, and whose only real benefit "
16534 "would be to uphold the <quote>sanctity</quote> of an idea? What possible "
16535 "justification could there ever be for a policy that results in so many "
16536 "deaths? What exactly is the insanity that would allow so many to die for "
16537 "such an abstraction?"
16540 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16541 #: freeculture.xml:12506
16543 "Some blame the drug companies. I don't. They are corporations. Their "
16544 "managers are ordered by law to make money for the corporation. They push a "
16545 "certain patent policy not because of ideals, but because it is the policy "
16546 "that makes them the most money. And it only makes them the most money "
16547 "because of a certain corruption within our political system— a "
16548 "corruption the drug companies are certainly not responsible for."
16551 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16552 #: freeculture.xml:12514
16554 "The corruption is our own politicians' failure of integrity. For the drug "
16555 "companies would love—they say, and I believe them—to sell their "
16556 "drugs as cheaply as they can to countries in Africa and elsewhere. There "
16557 "are issues they'd have to resolve to make sure the drugs didn't get back "
16558 "into the United States, but those are mere problems of technology. They "
16559 "could be overcome."
16563 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16564 #: freeculture.xml:12522
16566 "A different problem, however, could not be overcome. This is the fear of the "
16567 "grandstanding politician who would call the presidents of the drug companies "
16568 "before a Senate or House hearing, and ask, <quote>How is it you can sell "
16569 "this HIV drug in Africa for only $1 a pill, but the same drug would cost an "
16570 "American $1,500?</quote> Because there is no <quote>sound bite</quote> "
16571 "answer to that question, its effect would be to induce regulation of prices "
16572 "in America. The drug companies thus avoid this spiral by avoiding the first "
16573 "step. They reinforce the idea that property should be sacred. They adopt a "
16574 "rational strategy in an irrational context, with the unintended consequence "
16575 "that perhaps millions die. And that rational strategy thus becomes framed in "
16576 "terms of this ideal—the sanctity of an idea called <quote>intellectual "
16577 "property.</quote>"
16580 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16581 #: freeculture.xml:12537
16583 "So when the common sense of your child confronts you, what will you say? "
16584 "When the common sense of a generation finally revolts against what we have "
16585 "done, how will we justify what we have done? What is the argument?"
16588 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16589 #: freeculture.xml:12543
16591 "A sensible patent policy could endorse and strongly support the patent "
16592 "system without having to reach everyone everywhere in exactly the same "
16593 "way. Just as a sensible copyright policy could endorse and strongly support "
16594 "a copyright system without having to regulate the spread of culture "
16595 "perfectly and forever, a sensible patent policy could endorse and strongly "
16596 "support a patent system without having to block the spread of drugs to a "
16597 "country not rich enough to afford market prices in any case. A sensible "
16598 "policy, in other words, could be a balanced policy. For most of our history, "
16599 "both copyright and patent policies were balanced in just this sense."
16602 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16603 #: freeculture.xml:12555
16605 "But we as a culture have lost this sense of balance. We have lost the "
16606 "critical eye that helps us see the difference between truth and extremism. "
16607 "A certain property fundamentalism, having no connection to our tradition, "
16608 "now reigns in this culture—bizarrely, and with consequences more grave "
16609 "to the spread of ideas and culture than almost any other single policy "
16610 "decision that we as a democracy will make."
16614 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16615 #: freeculture.xml:12566
16617 "A simple idea blinds us, and under the cover of darkness, much happens that "
16618 "most of us would reject if any of us looked. So uncritically do we accept "
16619 "the idea of property in ideas that we don't even notice how monstrous it is "
16620 "to deny ideas to a people who are dying without them. So uncritically do we "
16621 "accept the idea of property in culture that we don't even question when the "
16622 "control of that property removes our ability, as a people, to develop our "
16623 "culture democratically. Blindness becomes our common sense. And the "
16624 "challenge for anyone who would reclaim the right to cultivate our culture is "
16625 "to find a way to make this common sense open its eyes."
16628 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16629 #: freeculture.xml:12580
16631 "So far, common sense sleeps. There is no revolt. Common sense does not yet "
16632 "see what there could be to revolt about. The extremism that now dominates "
16633 "this debate fits with ideas that seem natural, and that fit is reinforced by "
16634 "the RCAs of our day. They wage a frantic war to fight <quote>piracy,</quote> "
16635 "and devastate a culture for creativity. They defend the idea of "
16636 "<quote>creative property,</quote> while transforming real creators into "
16637 "modern-day sharecroppers. They are insulted by the idea that rights should "
16638 "be balanced, even though each of the major players in this content war was "
16639 "itself a beneficiary of a more balanced ideal. The hypocrisy reeks. Yet in a "
16640 "city like Washington, hypocrisy is not even noticed. Powerful lobbies, "
16641 "complex issues, and MTV attention spans produce the <quote>perfect "
16642 "storm</quote> for free culture."
16646 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
16647 #: freeculture.xml:12598
16649 "Jonathan Krim, <quote>The Quiet War over Open-Source,</quote> "
16650 "<citetitle>Washington Post</citetitle>, August 2003, E1, available at <ulink "
16651 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #59</ulink>; William New, "
16652 "<quote>Global Group's Shift on `Open Source' Meeting Spurs Stir,</quote> "
16653 "<citetitle>National Journal's Technology Daily</citetitle>, 19 August 2003, "
16654 "available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #60</ulink>; "
16655 "William New, <quote>U.S. Official Opposes `Open Source' Talks at "
16656 "WIPO,</quote> <citetitle>National Journal's Technology Daily</citetitle>, 19 "
16657 "August 2003, available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link "
16661 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><indexterm><primary>
16662 #: freeculture.xml:12626 freeculture.xml:13299
16663 msgid "academic journals"
16666 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><indexterm><primary>
16667 #: freeculture.xml:12627 freeculture.xml:12717 freeculture.xml:13225
16671 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><indexterm><primary>
16672 #: freeculture.xml:12628 freeculture.xml:13363
16673 msgid "PLoS (Public Library of Science)"
16676 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16677 #: freeculture.xml:12595
16679 "In August 2003, a fight broke out in the United States about a decision by "
16680 "the World Intellectual Property Organization to cancel a "
16681 "meeting.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> At the request of a wide "
16682 "range of interests, WIPO had decided to hold a meeting to discuss "
16683 "<quote>open and collaborative projects to create public goods.</quote> These "
16684 "are projects that have been successful in producing public goods without "
16685 "relying exclusively upon a proprietary use of intellectual "
16686 "property. Examples include the Internet and the World Wide Web, both of "
16687 "which were developed on the basis of protocols in the public domain. It "
16688 "included an emerging trend to support open academic journals, including the "
16689 "Public Library of Science project that I describe in the Afterword. It "
16690 "included a project to develop single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which "
16691 "are thought to have great significance in biomedical research. (That "
16692 "nonprofit project comprised a consortium of the Wellcome Trust and "
16693 "pharmaceutical and technological companies, including Amersham Biosciences, "
16694 "AstraZeneca, Aventis, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Hoffmann-La Roche, "
16695 "Glaxo-SmithKline, IBM, Motorola, Novartis, Pfizer, and Searle.) It included "
16696 "the Global Positioning System, which Ronald Reagan set free in the early "
16697 "1980s. And it included <quote>open source and free software.</quote> "
16698 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
16699 "id=\"2\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"3\"/>"
16702 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16703 #: freeculture.xml:12631
16705 "The aim of the meeting was to consider this wide range of projects from one "
16706 "common perspective: that none of these projects relied upon intellectual "
16707 "property extremism. Instead, in all of them, intellectual property was "
16708 "balanced by agreements to keep access open or to impose limitations on the "
16709 "way in which proprietary claims might be used."
16713 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
16714 #: freeculture.xml:12639
16716 "I should disclose that I was one of the people who asked WIPO for the "
16720 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16721 #: freeculture.xml:12638
16723 "From the perspective of this book, then, the conference was "
16724 "ideal.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> The projects within its "
16725 "scope included both commercial and noncommercial work. They primarily "
16726 "involved science, but from many perspectives. And WIPO was an ideal venue "
16727 "for this discussion, since WIPO is the preeminent international body dealing "
16728 "with intellectual property issues."
16732 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16733 #: freeculture.xml:12649
16735 "Indeed, I was once publicly scolded for not recognizing this fact about "
16736 "WIPO. In February 2003, I delivered a keynote address to a preparatory "
16737 "conference for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). At a "
16738 "press conference before the address, I was asked what I would say. I "
16739 "responded that I would be talking a little about the importance of balance "
16740 "in intellectual property for the development of an information society. The "
16741 "moderator for the event then promptly interrupted to inform me and the "
16742 "assembled reporters that no question about intellectual property would be "
16743 "discussed by WSIS, since those questions were the exclusive domain of "
16744 "WIPO. In the talk that I had prepared, I had actually made the issue of "
16745 "intellectual property relatively minor. But after this astonishing "
16746 "statement, I made intellectual property the sole focus of my talk. There was "
16747 "no way to talk about an <quote>Information Society</quote> unless one also "
16748 "talked about the range of information and culture that would be free. My "
16749 "talk did not make my immoderate moderator very happy. And she was no doubt "
16750 "correct that the scope of intellectual property protections was ordinarily "
16751 "the stuff of WIPO. But in my view, there couldn't be too much of a "
16752 "conversation about how much intellectual property is needed, since in my "
16753 "view, the very idea of balance in intellectual property had been lost."
16756 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16757 #: freeculture.xml:12673
16759 "So whether or not WSIS can discuss balance in intellectual property, I had "
16760 "thought it was taken for granted that WIPO could and should. And thus the "
16761 "meeting about <quote>open and collaborative projects to create public "
16762 "goods</quote> seemed perfectly appropriate within the WIPO agenda."
16765 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16766 #: freeculture.xml:12679
16768 "But there is one project within that list that is highly controversial, at "
16769 "least among lobbyists. That project is <quote>open source and free "
16770 "software.</quote> Microsoft in particular is wary of discussion of the "
16771 "subject. From its perspective, a conference to discuss open source and free "
16772 "software would be like a conference to discuss Apple's operating "
16773 "system. Both open source and free software compete with Microsoft's "
16774 "software. And internationally, many governments have begun to explore "
16775 "requirements that they use open source or free software, rather than "
16776 "<quote>proprietary software,</quote> for their own internal uses."
16780 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
16781 #: freeculture.xml:12701
16783 "Microsoft's position about free and open source software is more "
16784 "sophisticated. As it has repeatedly asserted, it has no problem with "
16785 "<quote>open source</quote> software or software in the public "
16786 "domain. Microsoft's principal opposition is to <quote>free software</quote> "
16787 "licensed under a <quote>copyleft</quote> license, meaning a license that "
16788 "requires the licensee to adopt the same terms on any derivative work. See "
16789 "Bradford L. Smith, <quote>The Future of Software: Enabling the Marketplace "
16790 "to Decide,</quote> <citetitle>Government Policy Toward Open Source "
16791 "Software</citetitle> (Washington, D.C.: AEI-Brookings Joint Center for "
16792 "Regulatory Studies, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy "
16793 "Research, 2002), 69, available at <ulink "
16794 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #62</ulink>. See also Craig "
16795 "Mundie, Microsoft senior vice president, <citetitle>The Commercial Software "
16796 "Model</citetitle>, discussion at New York University Stern School of "
16797 "Business (3 May 2001), available at <ulink "
16798 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #63</ulink>."
16801 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
16802 #: freeculture.xml:12718
16803 msgid "<quote>copyleft</quote> licenses"
16806 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16807 #: freeculture.xml:12690
16809 "I don't mean to enter that debate here. It is important only to make clear "
16810 "that the distinction is not between commercial and noncommercial "
16811 "software. There are many important companies that depend fundamentally upon "
16812 "open source and free software, IBM being the most prominent. IBM is "
16813 "increasingly shifting its focus to the GNU/Linux operating system, the most "
16814 "famous bit of <quote>free software</quote>—and IBM is emphatically a "
16815 "commercial entity. Thus, to support <quote>open source and free "
16816 "software</quote> is not to oppose commercial entities. It is, instead, to "
16817 "support a mode of software development that is different from "
16818 "Microsoft's.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder "
16819 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"2\"/> "
16820 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"3\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
16825 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16826 #: freeculture.xml:12723
16828 "More important for our purposes, to support <quote>open source and free "
16829 "software</quote> is not to oppose copyright. <quote>Open source and free "
16830 "software</quote> is not software in the public domain. Instead, like "
16831 "Microsoft's software, the copyright owners of free and open source software "
16832 "insist quite strongly that the terms of their software license be respected "
16833 "by adopters of free and open source software. The terms of that license are "
16834 "no doubt different from the terms of a proprietary software license. Free "
16835 "software licensed under the General Public License (GPL), for example, "
16836 "requires that the source code for the software be made available by anyone "
16837 "who modifies and redistributes the software. But that requirement is "
16838 "effective only if copyright governs software. If copyright did not govern "
16839 "software, then free software could not impose the same kind of requirements "
16840 "on its adopters. It thus depends upon copyright law just as Microsoft does."
16844 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
16845 #: freeculture.xml:12749
16847 "Krim, <quote>The Quiet War over Open-Source,</quote> available at <ulink "
16848 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #64</ulink>."
16851 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
16852 #: freeculture.xml:12753
16853 msgid "Krim, Jonathan"
16856 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16857 #: freeculture.xml:12741
16859 "It is therefore understandable that as a proprietary software developer, "
16860 "Microsoft would oppose this WIPO meeting, and understandable that it would "
16861 "use its lobbyists to get the United States government to oppose it, as "
16862 "well. And indeed, that is just what was reported to have happened. According "
16863 "to Jonathan Krim of the <citetitle>Washington Post</citetitle>, Microsoft's "
16864 "lobbyists succeeded in getting the United States government to veto the "
16865 "meeting.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> And without U.S. backing, "
16866 "the meeting was canceled. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
16869 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16870 #: freeculture.xml:12756
16872 "I don't blame Microsoft for doing what it can to advance its own interests, "
16873 "consistent with the law. And lobbying governments is plainly consistent with "
16874 "the law. There was nothing surprising about its lobbying here, and nothing "
16875 "terribly surprising about the most powerful software producer in the United "
16876 "States having succeeded in its lobbying efforts."
16879 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16880 #: freeculture.xml:12764
16882 "What was surprising was the United States government's reason for opposing "
16883 "the meeting. Again, as reported by Krim, Lois Boland, acting director of "
16884 "international relations for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, explained "
16885 "that <quote>open-source software runs counter to the mission of WIPO, which "
16886 "is to promote intellectual-property rights.</quote> She is quoted as saying, "
16887 "<quote>To hold a meeting which has as its purpose to disclaim or waive such "
16888 "rights seems to us to be contrary to the goals of WIPO.</quote>"
16891 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16892 #: freeculture.xml:12774
16893 msgid "These statements are astonishing on a number of levels."
16896 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16897 #: freeculture.xml:12778
16899 "First, they are just flat wrong. As I described, most open source and free "
16900 "software relies fundamentally upon the intellectual property right called "
16901 "<quote>copyright</quote>. Without it, restrictions imposed by those "
16902 "licenses wouldn't work. Thus, to say it <quote>runs counter</quote> to the "
16903 "mission of promoting intellectual property rights reveals an extraordinary "
16904 "gap in understanding—the sort of mistake that is excusable in a "
16905 "first-year law student, but an embarrassment from a high government official "
16906 "dealing with intellectual property issues."
16909 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16910 #: freeculture.xml:12788
16912 "Second, who ever said that WIPO's exclusive aim was to "
16913 "<quote>promote</quote> intellectual property maximally? As I had been "
16914 "scolded at the preparatory conference of WSIS, WIPO is to consider not only "
16915 "how best to protect intellectual property, but also what the best balance of "
16916 "intellectual property is. As every economist and lawyer knows, the hard "
16917 "question in intellectual property law is to find that balance. But that "
16918 "there should be limits is, I had thought, uncontested. One wants to ask "
16919 "Ms. Boland, are generic drugs (drugs based on drugs whose patent has "
16920 "expired) contrary to the WIPO mission? Does the public domain weaken "
16921 "intellectual property? Would it have been better if the protocols of the "
16922 "Internet had been patented?"
16925 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16926 #: freeculture.xml:12801
16928 "Third, even if one believed that the purpose of WIPO was to maximize "
16929 "intellectual property rights, in our tradition, intellectual property rights "
16930 "are held by individuals and corporations. They get to decide what to do with "
16931 "those rights because, again, they are <emphasis>their</emphasis> rights. If "
16932 "they want to <quote>waive</quote> or <quote>disclaim</quote> their rights, "
16933 "that is, within our tradition, totally appropriate. When Bill Gates gives "
16934 "away more than $20 billion to do good in the world, that is not inconsistent "
16935 "with the objectives of the property system. That is, on the contrary, just "
16936 "what a property system is supposed to be about: giving individuals the right "
16937 "to decide what to do with <emphasis>their</emphasis> property. <placeholder "
16938 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
16942 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16943 #: freeculture.xml:12815
16945 "When Ms. Boland says that there is something wrong with a meeting "
16946 "<quote>which has as its purpose to disclaim or waive such rights,</quote> "
16947 "she's saying that WIPO has an interest in interfering with the choices of "
16948 "the individuals who own intellectual property rights. That somehow, WIPO's "
16949 "objective should be to stop an individual from <quote>waiving</quote> or "
16950 "<quote>disclaiming</quote> an intellectual property right. That the interest "
16951 "of WIPO is not just that intellectual property rights be maximized, but that "
16952 "they also should be exercised in the most extreme and restrictive way "
16956 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16957 #: freeculture.xml:12827
16959 "There is a history of just such a property system that is well known in the "
16960 "Anglo-American tradition. It is called <quote>feudalism.</quote> Under "
16961 "feudalism, not only was property held by a relatively small number of "
16962 "individuals and entities. And not only were the rights that ran with that "
16963 "property powerful and extensive. But the feudal system had a strong interest "
16964 "in assuring that property holders within that system not weaken feudalism by "
16965 "liberating people or property within their control to the free "
16966 "market. Feudalism depended upon maximum control and concentration. It fought "
16967 "any freedom that might interfere with that control."
16970 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
16971 #: freeculture.xml:12844
16973 "See Drahos with Braithwaite, <citetitle>Information Feudalism</citetitle>, "
16974 "210–20. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
16977 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16978 #: freeculture.xml:12841
16980 "As Peter Drahos and John Braithwaite relate, this is precisely the choice we "
16981 "are now making about intellectual property.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
16982 "id=\"0\"/> We will have an information society. That much is certain. Our "
16983 "only choice now is whether that information society will be "
16984 "<emphasis>free</emphasis> or <emphasis>feudal</emphasis>. The trend is "
16985 "toward the feudal."
16988 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
16989 #: freeculture.xml:12853
16991 "When this battle broke, I blogged it. A spirited debate within the comment "
16992 "section ensued. Ms. Boland had a number of supporters who tried to show why "
16993 "her comments made sense. But there was one comment that was particularly "
16994 "depressing for me. An anonymous poster wrote,"
16998 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><blockquote><para>
16999 #: freeculture.xml:12860
17001 "George, you misunderstand Lessig: He's only talking about the world as it "
17002 "should be (<quote>the goal of WIPO, and the goal of any government, should "
17003 "be to promote the right balance of intellectual property rights, not simply "
17004 "to promote intellectual property rights</quote>), not as it is. If we were "
17005 "talking about the world as it is, then of course Boland didn't say anything "
17006 "wrong. But in the world as Lessig would have it, then of course she "
17007 "did. Always pay attention to the distinction between Lessig's world and "
17011 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17012 #: freeculture.xml:12872
17014 "I missed the irony the first time I read it. I read it quickly and thought "
17015 "the poster was supporting the idea that seeking balance was what our "
17016 "government should be doing. (Of course, my criticism of Ms. Boland was not "
17017 "about whether she was seeking balance or not; my criticism was that her "
17018 "comments betrayed a first-year law student's mistake. I have no illusion "
17019 "about the extremism of our government, whether Republican or Democrat. My "
17020 "only illusion apparently is about whether our government should speak the "
17024 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17025 #: freeculture.xml:12882
17027 "Obviously, however, the poster was not supporting that idea. Instead, the "
17028 "poster was ridiculing the very idea that in the real world, the "
17029 "<quote>goal</quote> of a government should be <quote>to promote the right "
17030 "balance</quote> of intellectual property. That was obviously silly to "
17031 "him. And it obviously betrayed, he believed, my own silly "
17032 "utopianism. <quote>Typical for an academic,</quote> the poster might well "
17036 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17037 #: freeculture.xml:12890
17039 "I understand criticism of academic utopianism. I think utopianism is silly, "
17040 "too, and I'd be the first to poke fun at the absurdly unrealistic ideals of "
17041 "academics throughout history (and not just in our own country's history)."
17044 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17045 #: freeculture.xml:12896
17047 "But when it has become silly to suppose that the role of our government "
17048 "should be to <quote>seek balance,</quote> then count me with the silly, for "
17049 "that means that this has become quite serious indeed. If it should be "
17050 "obvious to everyone that the government does not seek balance, that the "
17051 "government is simply the tool of the most powerful lobbyists, that the idea "
17052 "of holding the government to a different standard is absurd, that the idea "
17053 "of demanding of the government that it speak truth and not lies is just "
17054 "naïve, then who have we, the most powerful democracy in the world, "
17059 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17060 #: freeculture.xml:12907
17062 "It might be crazy to expect a high government official to speak the "
17063 "truth. It might be crazy to believe that government policy will be something "
17064 "more than the handmaiden of the most powerful interests. It might be crazy "
17065 "to argue that we should preserve a tradition that has been part of our "
17066 "tradition for most of our history—free culture."
17069 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><indexterm><primary>
17070 #: freeculture.xml:12926
17071 msgid "Turner, Ted"
17074 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17075 #: freeculture.xml:12916
17077 "If this is crazy, then let there be more crazies. Soon. There are moments "
17078 "of hope in this struggle. And moments that surprise. When the FCC was "
17079 "considering relaxing ownership rules, which would thereby further increase "
17080 "the concentration in media ownership, an extraordinary bipartisan coalition "
17081 "formed to fight this change. For perhaps the first time in history, "
17082 "interests as diverse as the NRA, the ACLU, Moveon.org, William Safire, Ted "
17083 "Turner, and CodePink Women for Peace organized to oppose this change in FCC "
17084 "policy. An astonishing 700,000 letters were sent to the FCC, demanding more "
17085 "hearings and a different result. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> "
17086 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
17089 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17090 #: freeculture.xml:12930
17092 "This activism did not stop the FCC, but soon after, a broad coalition in the "
17093 "Senate voted to reverse the FCC decision. The hostile hearings leading up to "
17094 "that vote revealed just how powerful this movement had become. There was no "
17095 "substantial support for the FCC's decision, and there was broad and "
17096 "sustained support for fighting further concentration in the media."
17099 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17100 #: freeculture.xml:12938
17102 "But even this movement misses an important piece of the puzzle. Largeness "
17103 "as such is not bad. Freedom is not threatened just because some become very "
17104 "rich, or because there are only a handful of big players. The poor quality "
17105 "of Big Macs or Quarter Pounders does not mean that you can't get a good "
17106 "hamburger from somewhere else."
17109 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17110 #: freeculture.xml:12945
17112 "The danger in media concentration comes not from the concentration, but "
17113 "instead from the feudalism that this concentration, tied to the change in "
17114 "copyright, produces. It is not just that there are a few powerful companies "
17115 "that control an ever expanding slice of the media. It is that this "
17116 "concentration can call upon an equally bloated range of "
17117 "rights—property rights of a historically extreme form—that makes "
17118 "their bigness bad."
17121 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17122 #: freeculture.xml:12955
17124 "It is therefore significant that so many would rally to demand competition "
17125 "and increased diversity. Still, if the rally is understood as being about "
17126 "bigness alone, it is not terribly surprising. We Americans have a long "
17127 "history of fighting <quote>big,</quote> wisely or not. That we could be "
17128 "motivated to fight <quote>big</quote> again is not something new."
17131 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17132 #: freeculture.xml:12962
17134 "It would be something new, and something very important, if an equal number "
17135 "could be rallied to fight the increasing extremism built within the idea of "
17136 "<quote>intellectual property.</quote> Not because balance is alien to our "
17137 "tradition; indeed, as I've argued, balance is our tradition. But because the "
17138 "muscle to think critically about the scope of anything called "
17139 "<quote>property</quote> is not well exercised within this tradition anymore."
17142 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17143 #: freeculture.xml:12970
17145 "If we were Achilles, this would be our heel. This would be the place of our "
17149 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><indexterm><primary>
17150 #: freeculture.xml:12973
17155 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
17156 #: freeculture.xml:12978
17158 "John Borland, <quote>RIAA Sues 261 File Swappers,</quote> CNET News.com, "
17159 "September 2003, available at <ulink "
17160 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #65</ulink>; Paul R. La Monica, "
17161 "<quote>Music Industry Sues Swappers,</quote> CNN/Money, 8 September 2003, "
17162 "available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #66</ulink>; "
17163 "Soni Sangha and Phyllis Furman with Robert Gearty, <quote>Sued for a Song, "
17164 "N.Y.C. 12-Yr-Old Among 261 Cited as Sharers,</quote> <citetitle>New York "
17165 "Daily News</citetitle>, 9 September 2003, 3; Frank Ahrens, <quote>RIAA's "
17166 "Lawsuits Meet Surprised Targets; Single Mother in Calif., 12-Year-Old Girl "
17167 "in N.Y. Among Defendants,</quote> <citetitle>Washington Post</citetitle>, 10 "
17168 "September 2003, E1; Katie Dean, <quote>Schoolgirl Settles with RIAA,</quote> "
17169 "<citetitle>Wired News</citetitle>, 10 September 2003, available at <ulink "
17170 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #67</ulink>."
17174 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
17175 #: freeculture.xml:12996
17177 "Jon Wiederhorn, <quote>Eminem Gets Sued … by a Little Old "
17178 "Lady,</quote> mtv.com, 17 September 2003, available at <ulink "
17179 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #68</ulink>."
17184 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
17185 #: freeculture.xml:13003
17187 "Kenji Hall, Associated Press, <quote>Japanese Book May Be Inspiration for "
17188 "Dylan Songs,</quote> Kansascity.com, 9 July 2003, available at <ulink "
17189 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #69</ulink>."
17192 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17193 #: freeculture.xml:12975
17195 "As I write these final words, the news is filled with stories about the RIAA "
17196 "lawsuits against almost three hundred individuals.<placeholder "
17197 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> Eminem has just been sued for "
17198 "<quote>sampling</quote> someone else's music.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
17199 "id=\"1\"/> The story about Bob Dylan <quote>stealing</quote> from a Japanese "
17200 "author has just finished making the rounds.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
17201 "id=\"2\"/> An insider from Hollywood—who insists he must remain "
17202 "anonymous—reports <quote>an amazing conversation with these studio "
17203 "guys. They've got extraordinary [old] content that they'd love to use but "
17204 "can't because they can't begin to clear the rights. They've got scores of "
17205 "kids who could do amazing things with the content, but it would take scores "
17206 "of lawyers to clean it first.</quote> Congressmen are talking about "
17207 "deputizing computer viruses to bring down computers thought to violate the "
17208 "law. Universities are threatening expulsion for kids who use a computer to "
17212 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><indexterm><primary>
17213 #: freeculture.xml:13020 freeculture.xml:13380
17214 msgid "Creative Commons"
17217 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><indexterm><primary>
17218 #: freeculture.xml:13021
17219 msgid "Gil, Gilberto"
17223 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
17224 #: freeculture.xml:13026
17226 "<quote>BBC Plans to Open Up Its Archive to the Public,</quote> BBC press "
17227 "release, 24 August 2003, available at <ulink "
17228 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #70</ulink>."
17232 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para><footnote><para>
17233 #: freeculture.xml:13035
17235 "<quote>Creative Commons and Brazil,</quote> Creative Commons Weblog, 6 "
17236 "August 2003, available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link "
17241 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17242 #: freeculture.xml:13023
17244 "Yet on the other side of the Atlantic, the BBC has just announced that it "
17245 "will build a <quote>Creative Archive,</quote> from which British citizens "
17246 "can download BBC content, and rip, mix, and burn it.<placeholder "
17247 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> And in Brazil, the culture minister, Gilberto "
17248 "Gil, himself a folk hero of Brazilian music, has joined with Creative "
17249 "Commons to release content and free licenses in that Latin American "
17250 "country.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"1\"/> I've told a dark "
17251 "story. The truth is more mixed. A technology has given us a new "
17252 "freedom. Slowly, some begin to understand that this freedom need not mean "
17253 "anarchy. We can carry a free culture into the twenty-first century, without "
17254 "artists losing and without the potential of digital technology being "
17255 "destroyed. It will take some thought, and more importantly, it will take "
17256 "some will to transform the RCAs of our day into the Causbys."
17260 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17261 #: freeculture.xml:13049
17263 "Common sense must revolt. It must act to free culture. Soon, if this "
17264 "potential is ever to be realized."
17267 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><title>
17268 #: freeculture.xml:13057
17273 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17274 #: freeculture.xml:13061
17276 "At least some who have read this far will agree with me that something must "
17277 "be done to change where we are heading. The balance of this book maps what "
17281 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17282 #: freeculture.xml:13066
17284 "I divide this map into two parts: that which anyone can do now, and that "
17285 "which requires the help of lawmakers. If there is one lesson that we can "
17286 "draw from the history of remaking common sense, it is that it requires "
17287 "remaking how many people think about the very same issue."
17290 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17291 #: freeculture.xml:13072
17293 "That means this movement must begin in the streets. It must recruit a "
17294 "significant number of parents, teachers, librarians, creators, authors, "
17295 "musicians, filmmakers, scientists—all to tell this story in their own "
17296 "words, and to tell their neighbors why this battle is so important."
17299 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
17300 #: freeculture.xml:13079
17302 "Once this movement has its effect in the streets, it has some hope of having "
17303 "an effect in Washington. We are still a democracy. What people think "
17304 "matters. Not as much as it should, at least when an RCA stands opposed, but "
17305 "still, it matters. And thus, in the second part below, I sketch changes that "
17306 "Congress could make to better secure a free culture."
17309 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><title>
17310 #: freeculture.xml:13088
17314 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><para>
17315 #: freeculture.xml:13090
17317 "Common sense is with the copyright warriors because the debate so far has "
17318 "been framed at the extremes—as a grand either/or: either property or "
17319 "anarchy, either total control or artists won't be paid. If that really is "
17320 "the choice, then the warriors should win."
17323 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><para>
17324 #: freeculture.xml:13096
17326 "The mistake here is the error of the excluded middle. There are extremes in "
17327 "this debate, but the extremes are not all that there is. There are those who "
17328 "believe in maximal copyright—<quote>All Rights Reserved</quote>— "
17329 "and those who reject copyright—<quote>No Rights Reserved.</quote> The "
17330 "<quote>All Rights Reserved</quote> sorts believe that you should ask "
17331 "permission before you <quote>use</quote> a copyrighted work in any way. The "
17332 "<quote>No Rights Reserved</quote> sorts believe you should be able to do "
17333 "with content as you wish, regardless of whether you have permission or not."
17337 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><para>
17338 #: freeculture.xml:13106
17340 "When the Internet was first born, its initial architecture effectively "
17341 "tilted in the <quote>no rights reserved</quote> direction. Content could be "
17342 "copied perfectly and cheaply; rights could not easily be controlled. Thus, "
17343 "regardless of anyone's desire, the effective regime of copyright under the "
17344 "original design of the Internet was <quote>no rights reserved.</quote> "
17345 "Content was <quote>taken</quote> regardless of the rights. Any rights were "
17346 "effectively unprotected."
17349 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><para>
17350 #: freeculture.xml:13118
17352 "This initial character produced a reaction (opposite, but not quite equal) "
17353 "by copyright owners. That reaction has been the topic of this book. Through "
17354 "legislation, litigation, and changes to the network's design, copyright "
17355 "holders have been able to change the essential character of the environment "
17356 "of the original Internet. If the original architecture made the effective "
17357 "default <quote>no rights reserved,</quote> the future architecture will make "
17358 "the effective default <quote>all rights reserved.</quote> The architecture "
17359 "and law that surround the Internet's design will increasingly produce an "
17360 "environment where all use of content requires permission. The <quote>cut "
17361 "and paste</quote> world that defines the Internet today will become a "
17362 "<quote>get permission to cut and paste</quote> world that is a creator's "
17366 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><para>
17367 #: freeculture.xml:13132
17369 "What's needed is a way to say something in the middle—neither "
17370 "<quote>all rights reserved</quote> nor <quote>no rights reserved</quote> but "
17371 "<quote>some rights reserved</quote>— and thus a way to respect "
17372 "copyrights but enable creators to free content as they see fit. In other "
17373 "words, we need a way to restore a set of freedoms that we could just take "
17374 "for granted before."
17377 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><title>
17378 #: freeculture.xml:13141
17379 msgid "Rebuilding Freedoms Previously Presumed: Examples"
17382 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17383 #: freeculture.xml:13143
17385 "If you step back from the battle I've been describing here, you will "
17386 "recognize this problem from other contexts. Think about privacy. Before the "
17387 "Internet, most of us didn't have to worry much about data about our lives "
17388 "that we broadcast to the world. If you walked into a bookstore and browsed "
17389 "through some of the works of Karl Marx, you didn't need to worry about "
17390 "explaining your browsing habits to your neighbors or boss. The "
17391 "<quote>privacy</quote> of your browsing habits was assured."
17394 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17395 #: freeculture.xml:13153
17396 msgid "What made it assured?"
17399 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17400 #: freeculture.xml:13157
17402 "Well, if we think in terms of the modalities I described in chapter <xref "
17403 "xrefstyle=\"select: labelnumber\" linkend=\"property-i\"/>, your privacy was "
17404 "assured because of an inefficient architecture for gathering data and hence "
17405 "a market constraint (cost) on anyone who wanted to gather that data. If you "
17406 "were a suspected spy for North Korea, working for the CIA, no doubt your "
17407 "privacy would not be assured. But that's because the CIA would (we hope) "
17408 "find it valuable enough to spend the thousands required to track you. But "
17409 "for most of us (again, we can hope), spying doesn't pay. The highly "
17410 "inefficient architecture of real space means we all enjoy a fairly robust "
17411 "amount of privacy. That privacy is guaranteed to us by friction. Not by law "
17412 "(there is no law protecting <quote>privacy</quote> in public places), and in "
17413 "many places, not by norms (snooping and gossip are just fun), but instead, "
17414 "by the costs that friction imposes on anyone who would want to spy."
17417 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><indexterm><primary>
17418 #: freeculture.xml:13172
17422 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><indexterm><primary>
17423 #: freeculture.xml:13182
17424 msgid "cookies, Internet"
17427 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17428 #: freeculture.xml:13174
17430 "Enter the Internet, where the cost of tracking browsing in particular has "
17431 "become quite tiny. If you're a customer at Amazon, then as you browse the "
17432 "pages, Amazon collects the data about what you've looked at. You know this "
17433 "because at the side of the page, there's a list of <quote>recently "
17434 "viewed</quote> pages. Now, because of the architecture of the Net and the "
17435 "function of cookies on the Net, it is easier to collect the data than "
17436 "not. The friction has disappeared, and hence any <quote>privacy</quote> "
17437 "protected by the friction disappears, too. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
17441 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17442 #: freeculture.xml:13185
17444 "Amazon, of course, is not the problem. But we might begin to worry about "
17445 "libraries. If you're one of those crazy lefties who thinks that people "
17446 "should have the <quote>right</quote> to browse in a library without the "
17447 "government knowing which books you look at (I'm one of those lefties, too), "
17448 "then this change in the technology of monitoring might concern you. If it "
17449 "becomes simple to gather and sort who does what in electronic spaces, then "
17450 "the friction-induced privacy of yesterday disappears."
17454 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para>
17455 #: freeculture.xml:13201
17457 "See, for example, Marc Rotenberg, <quote>Fair Information Practices and the "
17458 "Architecture of Privacy (What Larry Doesn't Get),</quote> "
17459 "<citetitle>Stanford Technology Law Review</citetitle> 1 (2001): "
17460 "par. 6–18, available at <ulink "
17461 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #72</ulink> (describing examples "
17462 "in which technology defines privacy policy). See also Jeffrey Rosen, "
17463 "<citetitle>The Naked Crowd: Reclaiming Security and Freedom in an Anxious "
17464 "Age</citetitle> (New York: Random House, 2004) (mapping tradeoffs between "
17465 "technology and privacy)."
17469 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17470 #: freeculture.xml:13195
17472 "It is this reality that explains the push of many to define "
17473 "<quote>privacy</quote> on the Internet. It is the recognition that "
17474 "technology can remove what friction before gave us that leads many to push "
17475 "for laws to do what friction did.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> "
17476 "And whether you're in favor of those laws or not, it is the pattern that is "
17477 "important here. We must take affirmative steps to secure a kind of freedom "
17478 "that was passively provided before. A change in technology now forces those "
17479 "who believe in privacy to affirmatively act where, before, privacy was given "
17483 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17484 #: freeculture.xml:13219
17486 "A similar story could be told about the birth of the free software "
17487 "movement. When computers with software were first made available "
17488 "commercially, the software—both the source code and the "
17489 "binaries— was free. You couldn't run a program written for a Data "
17490 "General machine on an IBM machine, so Data General and IBM didn't care much "
17491 "about controlling their software. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
17495 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><indexterm><primary>
17496 #: freeculture.xml:13227
17497 msgid "Stallman, Richard"
17500 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17501 #: freeculture.xml:13229
17503 "That was the world Richard Stallman was born into, and while he was a "
17504 "researcher at MIT, he grew to love the community that developed when one was "
17505 "free to explore and tinker with the software that ran on machines. Being a "
17506 "smart sort himself, and a talented programmer, Stallman grew to depend upon "
17507 "the freedom to add to or modify other people's work."
17510 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17511 #: freeculture.xml:13237
17513 "In an academic setting, at least, that's not a terribly radical idea. In a "
17514 "math department, anyone would be free to tinker with a proof that someone "
17515 "offered. If you thought you had a better way to prove a theorem, you could "
17516 "take what someone else did and change it. In a classics department, if you "
17517 "believed a colleague's translation of a recently discovered text was flawed, "
17518 "you were free to improve it. Thus, to Stallman, it seemed obvious that you "
17519 "should be free to tinker with and improve the code that ran a machine. This, "
17520 "too, was knowledge. Why shouldn't it be open for criticism like anything "
17524 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17525 #: freeculture.xml:13249
17527 "No one answered that question. Instead, the architecture of revenue for "
17528 "computing changed. As it became possible to import programs from one system "
17529 "to another, it became economically attractive (at least in the view of some) "
17530 "to hide the code of your program. So, too, as companies started selling "
17531 "peripherals for mainframe systems. If I could just take your printer driver "
17532 "and copy it, then that would make it easier for me to sell a printer to the "
17533 "market than it was for you."
17537 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17538 #: freeculture.xml:13258
17540 "Thus, the practice of proprietary code began to spread, and by the early "
17541 "1980s, Stallman found himself surrounded by proprietary code. The world of "
17542 "free software had been erased by a change in the economics of computing. And "
17543 "as he believed, if he did nothing about it, then the freedom to change and "
17544 "share software would be fundamentally weakened."
17547 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17548 #: freeculture.xml:13267
17550 "Therefore, in 1984, Stallman began a project to build a free operating "
17551 "system, so that at least a strain of free software would survive. That was "
17552 "the birth of the GNU project, into which Linus Torvalds's "
17553 "<quote>Linux</quote> kernel was added to produce the GNU/Linux operating "
17554 "system. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder "
17555 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
17558 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17559 #: freeculture.xml:13275
17561 "Stallman's technique was to use copyright law to build a world of software "
17562 "that must be kept free. Software licensed under the Free Software "
17563 "Foundation's GPL cannot be modified and distributed unless the source code "
17564 "for that software is made available as well. Thus, anyone building upon "
17565 "GPL'd software would have to make their buildings free as well. This would "
17566 "assure, Stallman believed, that an ecology of code would develop that "
17567 "remained free for others to build upon. His fundamental goal was freedom; "
17568 "innovative creative code was a byproduct."
17571 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17572 #: freeculture.xml:13286
17574 "Stallman was thus doing for software what privacy advocates now do for "
17575 "privacy. He was seeking a way to rebuild a kind of freedom that was taken "
17576 "for granted before. Through the affirmative use of licenses that bind "
17577 "copyrighted code, Stallman was affirmatively reclaiming a space where free "
17578 "software would survive. He was actively protecting what before had been "
17579 "passively guaranteed."
17582 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17583 #: freeculture.xml:13294
17585 "Finally, consider a very recent example that more directly resonates with "
17586 "the story of this book. This is the shift in the way academic and scientific "
17587 "journals are produced."
17591 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17592 #: freeculture.xml:13302
17594 "As digital technologies develop, it is becoming obvious to many that "
17595 "printing thousands of copies of journals every month and sending them to "
17596 "libraries is perhaps not the most efficient way to distribute "
17597 "knowledge. Instead, journals are increasingly becoming electronic, and "
17598 "libraries and their users are given access to these electronic journals "
17599 "through password-protected sites. Something similar to this has been "
17600 "happening in law for almost thirty years: Lexis and Westlaw have had "
17601 "electronic versions of case reports available to subscribers to their "
17602 "service. Although a Supreme Court opinion is not copyrighted, and anyone is "
17603 "free to go to a library and read it, Lexis and Westlaw are also free to "
17604 "charge users for the privilege of gaining access to that Supreme Court "
17605 "opinion through their respective services."
17608 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17609 #: freeculture.xml:13318
17611 "There's nothing wrong in general with this, and indeed, the ability to "
17612 "charge for access to even public domain materials is a good incentive for "
17613 "people to develop new and innovative ways to spread knowledge. The law has "
17614 "agreed, which is why Lexis and Westlaw have been allowed to flourish. And if "
17615 "there's nothing wrong with selling the public domain, then there could be "
17616 "nothing wrong, in principle, with selling access to material that is not in "
17617 "the public domain."
17620 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17621 #: freeculture.xml:13327
17623 "But what if the only way to get access to social and scientific data was "
17624 "through proprietary services? What if no one had the ability to browse this "
17625 "data except by paying for a subscription?"
17628 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17629 #: freeculture.xml:13332
17631 "As many are beginning to notice, this is increasingly the reality with "
17632 "scientific journals. When these journals were distributed in paper form, "
17633 "libraries could make the journals available to anyone who had access to the "
17634 "library. Thus, patients with cancer could become cancer experts because the "
17635 "library gave them access. Or patients trying to understand the risks of a "
17636 "certain treatment could research those risks by reading all available "
17637 "articles about that treatment. This freedom was therefore a function of the "
17638 "institution of libraries (norms) and the technology of paper journals "
17639 "(architecture)—namely, that it was very hard to control access to a "
17643 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17644 #: freeculture.xml:13344
17646 "As journals become electronic, however, the publishers are demanding that "
17647 "libraries not give the general public access to the journals. This means "
17648 "that the freedoms provided by print journals in public libraries begin to "
17649 "disappear. Thus, as with privacy and with software, a changing technology "
17650 "and market shrink a freedom taken for granted before."
17653 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17654 #: freeculture.xml:13352
17656 "This shrinking freedom has led many to take affirmative steps to restore the "
17657 "freedom that has been lost. The Public Library of Science (PLoS), for "
17658 "example, is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to making scientific research "
17659 "available to anyone with a Web connection. Authors of scientific work submit "
17660 "that work to the Public Library of Science. That work is then subject to "
17661 "peer review. If accepted, the work is then deposited in a public, electronic "
17662 "archive and made permanently available for free. PLoS also sells a print "
17663 "version of its work, but the copyright for the print journal does not "
17664 "inhibit the right of anyone to redistribute the work for free. <placeholder "
17665 "type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
17668 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17669 #: freeculture.xml:13366
17671 "This is one of many such efforts to restore a freedom taken for granted "
17672 "before, but now threatened by changing technology and markets. There's no "
17673 "doubt that this alternative competes with the traditional publishers and "
17674 "their efforts to make money from the exclusive distribution of content. But "
17675 "competition in our tradition is presumptively a good—especially when "
17676 "it helps spread knowledge and science."
17679 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><title>
17680 #: freeculture.xml:13378
17681 msgid "Rebuilding Free Culture: One Idea"
17684 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17685 #: freeculture.xml:13383
17687 "The same strategy could be applied to culture, as a response to the "
17688 "increasing control effected through law and technology."
17691 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17692 #: freeculture.xml:13387
17694 "Enter the Creative Commons. The Creative Commons is a nonprofit corporation "
17695 "established in Massachusetts, but with its home at Stanford University. Its "
17696 "aim is to build a layer of <emphasis>reasonable</emphasis> copyright on top "
17697 "of the extremes that now reign. It does this by making it easy for people to "
17698 "build upon other people's work, by making it simple for creators to express "
17699 "the freedom for others to take and build upon their work. Simple tags, tied "
17700 "to human-readable descriptions, tied to bulletproof licenses, make this "
17705 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17706 #: freeculture.xml:13398
17708 "<emphasis>Simple</emphasis>—which means without a middleman, or "
17709 "without a lawyer. By developing a free set of licenses that people can "
17710 "attach to their content, Creative Commons aims to mark a range of content "
17711 "that can easily, and reliably, be built upon. These tags are then linked to "
17712 "machine-readable versions of the license that enable computers automatically "
17713 "to identify content that can easily be shared. These three expressions "
17714 "together—a legal license, a human-readable description, and "
17715 "machine-readable tags—constitute a Creative Commons license. A "
17716 "Creative Commons license constitutes a grant of freedom to anyone who "
17717 "accesses the license, and more importantly, an expression of the ideal that "
17718 "the person associated with the license believes in something different than "
17719 "the <quote>All</quote> or <quote>No</quote> extremes. Content is marked with "
17720 "the CC mark, which does not mean that copyright is waived, but that certain "
17721 "freedoms are given."
17724 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17725 #: freeculture.xml:13416
17727 "These freedoms are beyond the freedoms promised by fair use. Their precise "
17728 "contours depend upon the choices the creator makes. The creator can choose a "
17729 "license that permits any use, so long as attribution is given. She can "
17730 "choose a license that permits only noncommercial use. She can choose a "
17731 "license that permits any use so long as the same freedoms are given to other "
17732 "uses (<quote>share and share alike</quote>). Or any use so long as no "
17733 "derivative use is made. Or any use at all within developing nations. Or any "
17734 "sampling use, so long as full copies are not made. Or lastly, any "
17738 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17739 #: freeculture.xml:13427
17741 "These choices thus establish a range of freedoms beyond the default of "
17742 "copyright law. They also enable freedoms that go beyond traditional fair "
17743 "use. And most importantly, they express these freedoms in a way that "
17744 "subsequent users can use and rely upon without the need to hire a "
17745 "lawyer. Creative Commons thus aims to build a layer of content, governed by "
17746 "a layer of reasonable copyright law, that others can build upon. Voluntary "
17747 "choice of individuals and creators will make this content available. And "
17748 "that content will in turn enable us to rebuild a public domain."
17751 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><indexterm><primary>
17752 #: freeculture.xml:13448
17753 msgid "Garlick, Mia"
17756 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17757 #: freeculture.xml:13438
17759 "This is just one project among many within the Creative Commons. And of "
17760 "course, Creative Commons is not the only organization pursuing such "
17761 "freedoms. But the point that distinguishes the Creative Commons from many is "
17762 "that we are not interested only in talking about a public domain or in "
17763 "getting legislators to help build a public domain. Our aim is to build a "
17764 "movement of consumers and producers of content (<quote>content "
17765 "conducers,</quote> as attorney Mia Garlick calls them) who help build the "
17766 "public domain and, by their work, demonstrate the importance of the public "
17767 "domain to other creativity. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
17770 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17771 #: freeculture.xml:13451
17773 "The aim is not to fight the <quote>All Rights Reserved</quote> sorts. The "
17774 "aim is to complement them. The problems that the law creates for us as a "
17775 "culture are produced by insane and unintended consequences of laws written "
17776 "centuries ago, applied to a technology that only Jefferson could have "
17777 "imagined. The rules may well have made sense against a background of "
17778 "technologies from centuries ago, but they do not make sense against the "
17779 "background of digital technologies. New rules—with different freedoms, "
17780 "expressed in ways so that humans without lawyers can use them—are "
17781 "needed. Creative Commons gives people a way effectively to begin to build "
17785 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17786 #: freeculture.xml:13463
17788 "Why would creators participate in giving up total control? Some participate "
17789 "to better spread their content. Cory Doctorow, for example, is a science "
17790 "fiction author. His first novel, <citetitle>Down and Out in the Magic "
17791 "Kingdom</citetitle>, was released on-line and for free, under a Creative "
17792 "Commons license, on the same day that it went on sale in bookstores."
17795 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17796 #: freeculture.xml:13470
17798 "Why would a publisher ever agree to this? I suspect his publisher reasoned "
17799 "like this: There are two groups of people out there: (1) those who will buy "
17800 "Cory's book whether or not it's on the Internet, and (2) those who may never "
17801 "hear of Cory's book, if it isn't made available for free on the "
17802 "Internet. Some part of (1) will download Cory's book instead of buying "
17803 "it. Call them bad-(1)s. Some part of (2) will download Cory's book, like "
17804 "it, and then decide to buy it. Call them (2)-goods. If there are more "
17805 "(2)-goods than bad-(1)s, the strategy of releasing Cory's book free on-line "
17806 "will probably <emphasis>increase</emphasis> sales of Cory's book."
17809 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17810 #: freeculture.xml:13482
17812 "Indeed, the experience of his publisher clearly supports that conclusion. "
17813 "The book's first printing was exhausted months before the publisher had "
17814 "expected. This first novel of a science fiction author was a total success."
17817 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><indexterm><primary>
17818 #: freeculture.xml:13497
17819 msgid "Free for All (Wayner)"
17822 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><indexterm><primary>
17823 #: freeculture.xml:13498
17824 msgid "Wayner, Peter"
17827 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17828 #: freeculture.xml:13488
17830 "The idea that free content might increase the value of nonfree content was "
17831 "confirmed by the experience of another author. Peter Wayner, who wrote a "
17832 "book about the free software movement titled <citetitle>Free for "
17833 "All</citetitle>, made an electronic version of his book free on-line under a "
17834 "Creative Commons license after the book went out of print. He then monitored "
17835 "used book store prices for the book. As predicted, as the number of "
17836 "downloads increased, the used book price for his book increased, as well. "
17837 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
17841 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><indexterm><primary>
17842 #: freeculture.xml:13500
17843 msgid "Public Enemy"
17846 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><indexterm><primary>
17847 #: freeculture.xml:13501
17852 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para>
17853 #: freeculture.xml:13518
17855 "<citetitle>Willful Infringement: A Report from the Front Lines of the Real "
17856 "Culture Wars</citetitle> (2003), produced by Jed Horovitz, directed by Greg "
17857 "Hittelman, a Fiat Lucre production, available at <ulink "
17858 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #72</ulink>."
17861 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><indexterm><primary>
17862 #: freeculture.xml:13525
17863 msgid "Leaphart, Walter"
17866 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17867 #: freeculture.xml:13503
17869 "These are examples of using the Commons to better spread proprietary "
17870 "content. I believe that is a wonderful and common use of the Commons. There "
17871 "are others who use Creative Commons licenses for other reasons. Many who use "
17872 "the <quote>sampling license</quote> do so because anything else would be "
17873 "hypocritical. The sampling license says that others are free, for commercial "
17874 "or noncommercial purposes, to sample content from the licensed work; they "
17875 "are just not free to make full copies of the licensed work available to "
17876 "others. This is consistent with their own art—they, too, sample from "
17877 "others. Because the <emphasis>legal</emphasis> costs of sampling are so high "
17878 "(Walter Leaphart, manager of the rap group Public Enemy, which was born "
17879 "sampling the music of others, has stated that he does not "
17880 "<quote>allow</quote> Public Enemy to sample anymore, because the legal costs "
17881 "are so high<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>), these artists release "
17882 "into the creative environment content that others can build upon, so that "
17883 "their form of creativity might grow. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
17887 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17888 #: freeculture.xml:13528
17890 "Finally, there are many who mark their content with a Creative Commons "
17891 "license just because they want to express to others the importance of "
17892 "balance in this debate. If you just go along with the system as it is, you "
17893 "are effectively saying you believe in the <quote>All Rights Reserved</quote> "
17894 "model. Good for you, but many do not. Many believe that however appropriate "
17895 "that rule is for Hollywood and freaks, it is not an appropriate description "
17896 "of how most creators view the rights associated with their content. The "
17897 "Creative Commons license expresses this notion of <quote>Some Rights "
17898 "Reserved,</quote> and gives many the chance to say it to others."
17902 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17903 #: freeculture.xml:13540
17905 "In the first six months of the Creative Commons experiment, over 1 million "
17906 "objects were licensed with these free-culture licenses. The next step is "
17907 "partnerships with middleware content providers to help them build into their "
17908 "technologies simple ways for users to mark their content with Creative "
17909 "Commons freedoms. Then the next step is to watch and celebrate creators who "
17910 "build content based upon content set free."
17913 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17914 #: freeculture.xml:13550
17916 "These are first steps to rebuilding a public domain. They are not mere "
17917 "arguments; they are action. Building a public domain is the first step to "
17918 "showing people how important that domain is to creativity and "
17919 "innovation. Creative Commons relies upon voluntary steps to achieve this "
17920 "rebuilding. They will lead to a world in which more than voluntary steps are "
17924 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17925 #: freeculture.xml:13558
17927 "Creative Commons is just one example of voluntary efforts by individuals and "
17928 "creators to change the mix of rights that now govern the creative field. The "
17929 "project does not compete with copyright; it complements it. Its aim is not "
17930 "to defeat the rights of authors, but to make it easier for authors and "
17931 "creators to exercise their rights more flexibly and cheaply. That "
17932 "difference, we believe, will enable creativity to spread more easily."
17935 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><title>
17936 #: freeculture.xml:13572
17940 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><para>
17941 #: freeculture.xml:13574
17943 "We will not reclaim a free culture by individual action alone. It will also "
17944 "take important reforms of laws. We have a long way to go before the "
17945 "politicians will listen to these ideas and implement these reforms. But "
17946 "that also means that we have time to build awareness around the changes that "
17950 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><para>
17951 #: freeculture.xml:13581
17953 "In this chapter, I outline five kinds of changes: four that are general, and "
17954 "one that's specific to the most heated battle of the day, music. Each is a "
17955 "step, not an end. But any of these steps would carry us a long way to our "
17959 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><title>
17960 #: freeculture.xml:13588
17961 msgid "1. More Formalities"
17964 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17965 #: freeculture.xml:13590
17967 "If you buy a house, you have to record the sale in a deed. If you buy land "
17968 "upon which to build a house, you have to record the purchase in a deed. If "
17969 "you buy a car, you get a bill of sale and register the car. If you buy an "
17970 "airplane ticket, it has your name on it."
17974 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17975 #: freeculture.xml:13597
17977 "These are all formalities associated with property. They are requirements "
17978 "that we all must bear if we want our property to be protected."
17981 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17982 #: freeculture.xml:13602
17984 "In contrast, under current copyright law, you automatically get a copyright, "
17985 "regardless of whether you comply with any formality. You don't have to "
17986 "register. You don't even have to mark your content. The default is control, "
17987 "and <quote>formalities</quote> are banished."
17990 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17991 #: freeculture.xml:13608
17995 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
17996 #: freeculture.xml:13611
17998 "As I suggested in chapter <xref xrefstyle=\"select: labelnumber\" "
17999 "linkend=\"property-i\"/>, the motivation to abolish formalities was a good "
18000 "one. In the world before digital technologies, formalities imposed a burden "
18001 "on copyright holders without much benefit. Thus, it was progress when the "
18002 "law relaxed the formal requirements that a copyright owner must bear to "
18003 "protect and secure his work. Those formalities were getting in the way."
18006 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18007 #: freeculture.xml:13620
18009 "But the Internet changes all this. Formalities today need not be a "
18010 "burden. Rather, the world without formalities is the world that burdens "
18011 "creativity. Today, there is no simple way to know who owns what, or with "
18012 "whom one must deal in order to use or build upon the creative work of "
18013 "others. There are no records, there is no system to trace— there is no "
18014 "simple way to know how to get permission. Yet given the massive increase in "
18015 "the scope of copyright's rule, getting permission is a necessary step for "
18016 "any work that builds upon our past. And thus, the <emphasis>lack</emphasis> "
18017 "of formalities forces many into silence where they otherwise could speak."
18021 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para>
18022 #: freeculture.xml:13634
18024 "The proposal I am advancing here would apply to American works only. "
18025 "Obviously, I believe it would be beneficial for the same idea to be adopted "
18026 "by other countries as well."
18029 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18030 #: freeculture.xml:13632
18032 "The law should therefore change this requirement<placeholder "
18033 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>—but it should not change it by going back "
18034 "to the old, broken system. We should require formalities, but we should "
18035 "establish a system that will create the incentives to minimize the burden of "
18036 "these formalities."
18039 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18040 #: freeculture.xml:13642
18042 "The important formalities are three: marking copyrighted work, registering "
18043 "copyrights, and renewing the claim to copyright. Traditionally, the first of "
18044 "these three was something the copyright owner did; the second two were "
18045 "something the government did. But a revised system of formalities would "
18046 "banish the government from the process, except for the sole purpose of "
18047 "approving standards developed by others."
18050 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><section><title>
18051 #: freeculture.xml:13654
18052 msgid "REGISTRATION AND RENEWAL"
18055 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><section><para>
18056 #: freeculture.xml:13656
18058 "Under the old system, a copyright owner had to file a registration with the "
18059 "Copyright Office to register or renew a copyright. When filing that "
18060 "registration, the copyright owner paid a fee. As with most government "
18061 "agencies, the Copyright Office had little incentive to minimize the burden "
18062 "of registration; it also had little incentive to minimize the fee. And as "
18063 "the Copyright Office is not a main target of government policymaking, the "
18064 "office has historically been terribly underfunded. Thus, when people who "
18065 "know something about the process hear this idea about formalities, their "
18066 "first reaction is panic—nothing could be worse than forcing people to "
18067 "deal with the mess that is the Copyright Office."
18070 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><section><para>
18071 #: freeculture.xml:13669
18073 "Yet it is always astonishing to me that we, who come from a tradition of "
18074 "extraordinary innovation in governmental design, can no longer think "
18075 "innovatively about how governmental functions can be designed. Just because "
18076 "there is a public purpose to a government role, it doesn't follow that the "
18077 "government must actually administer the role. Instead, we should be creating "
18078 "incentives for private parties to serve the public, subject to standards "
18079 "that the government sets."
18082 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><section><para>
18083 #: freeculture.xml:13678
18085 "In the context of registration, one obvious model is the Internet. There "
18086 "are at least 32 million Web sites registered around the world. Domain name "
18087 "owners for these Web sites have to pay a fee to keep their registration "
18088 "alive. In the main top-level domains (.com, .org, .net), there is a central "
18089 "registry. The actual registrations are, however, performed by many competing "
18090 "registrars. That competition drives the cost of registering down, and more "
18091 "importantly, it drives the ease with which registration occurs up."
18095 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><section><para>
18096 #: freeculture.xml:13688
18098 "We should adopt a similar model for the registration and renewal of "
18099 "copyrights. The Copyright Office may well serve as the central registry, but "
18100 "it should not be in the registrar business. Instead, it should establish a "
18101 "database, and a set of standards for registrars. It should approve "
18102 "registrars that meet its standards. Those registrars would then compete with "
18103 "one another to deliver the cheapest and simplest systems for registering and "
18104 "renewing copyrights. That competition would substantially lower the burden "
18105 "of this formality—while producing a database of registrations that "
18106 "would facilitate the licensing of content."
18109 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><section><title>
18110 #: freeculture.xml:13703
18114 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><section><para>
18115 #: freeculture.xml:13705
18117 "It used to be that the failure to include a copyright notice on a creative "
18118 "work meant that the copyright was forfeited. That was a harsh punishment for "
18119 "failing to comply with a regulatory rule—akin to imposing the death "
18120 "penalty for a parking ticket in the world of creative rights. Here again, "
18121 "there is no reason that a marking requirement needs to be enforced in this "
18122 "way. And more importantly, there is no reason a marking requirement needs to "
18123 "be enforced uniformly across all media."
18126 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><section><para>
18127 #: freeculture.xml:13715
18129 "The aim of marking is to signal to the public that this work is copyrighted "
18130 "and that the author wants to enforce his rights. The mark also makes it easy "
18131 "to locate a copyright owner to secure permission to use the work."
18134 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><section><para>
18135 #: freeculture.xml:13721
18137 "One of the problems the copyright system confronted early on was that "
18138 "different copyrighted works had to be differently marked. It wasn't clear "
18139 "how or where a statue was to be marked, or a record, or a film. A new "
18140 "marking requirement could solve these problems by recognizing the "
18141 "differences in media, and by allowing the system of marking to evolve as "
18142 "technologies enable it to. The system could enable a special signal from the "
18143 "failure to mark—not the loss of the copyright, but the loss of the "
18144 "right to punish someone for failing to get permission first."
18148 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><section><para><footnote><para>
18149 #: freeculture.xml:13738
18151 "There would be a complication with derivative works that I have not solved "
18152 "here. In my view, the law of derivatives creates a more complicated system "
18153 "than is justified by the marginal incentive it creates."
18157 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><section><para>
18158 #: freeculture.xml:13731
18160 "Let's start with the last point. If a copyright owner allows his work to be "
18161 "published without a copyright notice, the consequence of that failure need "
18162 "not be that the copyright is lost. The consequence could instead be that "
18163 "anyone has the right to use this work, until the copyright owner complains "
18164 "and demonstrates that it is his work and he doesn't give "
18165 "permission.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> The meaning of an "
18166 "unmarked work would therefore be <quote>use unless someone "
18167 "complains.</quote> If someone does complain, then the obligation would be to "
18168 "stop using the work in any new work from then on though no penalty would "
18169 "attach for existing uses. This would create a strong incentive for "
18170 "copyright owners to mark their work."
18173 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><section><para>
18174 #: freeculture.xml:13751
18176 "That in turn raises the question about how work should best be marked. Here "
18177 "again, the system needs to adjust as the technologies evolve. The best way "
18178 "to ensure that the system evolves is to limit the Copyright Office's role to "
18179 "that of approving standards for marking content that have been crafted "
18183 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><section><para>
18184 #: freeculture.xml:13758
18186 "For example, if a recording industry association devises a method for "
18187 "marking CDs, it would propose that to the Copyright Office. The Copyright "
18188 "Office would hold a hearing, at which other proposals could be made. The "
18189 "Copyright Office would then select the proposal that it judged preferable, "
18190 "and it would base that choice <emphasis>solely</emphasis> upon the "
18191 "consideration of which method could best be integrated into the registration "
18192 "and renewal system. We would not count on the government to innovate; but we "
18193 "would count on the government to keep the product of innovation in line with "
18194 "its other important functions."
18197 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><section><para>
18198 #: freeculture.xml:13770
18200 "Finally, marking content clearly would simplify registration requirements. "
18201 "If photographs were marked by author and year, there would be little reason "
18202 "not to allow a photographer to reregister, for example, all photographs "
18203 "taken in a particular year in one quick step. The aim of the formality is "
18204 "not to burden the creator; the system itself should be kept as simple as "
18208 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><section><para>
18209 #: freeculture.xml:13778
18211 "The objective of formalities is to make things clear. The existing system "
18212 "does nothing to make things clear. Indeed, it seems designed to make things "
18216 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><section><para>
18217 #: freeculture.xml:13783
18219 "If formalities such as registration were reinstated, one of the most "
18220 "difficult aspects of relying upon the public domain would be removed. It "
18221 "would be simple to identify what content is presumptively free; it would be "
18222 "simple to identify who controls the rights for a particular kind of content; "
18223 "it would be simple to assert those rights, and to renew that assertion at "
18224 "the appropriate time."
18227 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><title>
18228 #: freeculture.xml:13795
18229 msgid "2. Shorter Terms"
18232 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18233 #: freeculture.xml:13797
18235 "The term of copyright has gone from fourteen years to ninety-five years for "
18236 "corporate authors, and life of the author plus seventy years for natural "
18241 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para>
18242 #: freeculture.xml:13810
18244 "<quote>A Radical Rethink,</quote> <citetitle>Economist</citetitle>, 366:8308 "
18245 "(25 January 2003): 15, available at <ulink "
18246 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #74</ulink>."
18249 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18250 #: freeculture.xml:13802
18252 "In <citetitle>The Future of Ideas</citetitle>, I proposed a "
18253 "seventy-five-year term, granted in five-year increments with a requirement "
18254 "of renewal every five years. That seemed radical enough at the time. But "
18255 "after we lost <citetitle>Eldred</citetitle> "
18256 "v. <citetitle>Ashcroft</citetitle>, the proposals became even more "
18257 "radical. <citetitle>The Economist</citetitle> endorsed a proposal for a "
18258 "fourteen-year copyright term.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> "
18259 "Others have proposed tying the term to the term for patents."
18262 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18263 #: freeculture.xml:13817
18265 "I agree with those who believe that we need a radical change in copyright's "
18266 "term. But whether fourteen years or seventy-five, there are four principles "
18267 "that are important to keep in mind about copyright terms."
18271 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
18272 #: freeculture.xml:13825
18274 "<emphasis>Keep it short:</emphasis> The term should be as long as necessary "
18275 "to give incentives to create, but no longer. If it were tied to very strong "
18276 "protections for authors (so authors were able to reclaim rights from "
18277 "publishers), rights to the same work (not derivative works) might be "
18278 "extended further. The key is not to tie the work up with legal regulations "
18279 "when it no longer benefits an author."
18284 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
18285 #: freeculture.xml:13834
18287 "<emphasis>Keep it simple:</emphasis> The line between the public domain and "
18288 "protected content must be kept clear. Lawyers like the fuzziness of "
18289 "<quote>fair use,</quote> and the distinction between <quote>ideas</quote> "
18290 "and <quote>expression.</quote> That kind of law gives them lots of work. But "
18291 "our framers had a simpler idea in mind: protected versus unprotected. The "
18292 "value of short terms is that there is little need to build exceptions into "
18293 "copyright when the term itself is kept short. A clear and active "
18294 "<quote>lawyer-free zone</quote> makes the complexities of <quote>fair "
18295 "use</quote> and <quote>idea/expression</quote> less necessary to navigate."
18299 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para><footnote><para>
18300 #: freeculture.xml:13855
18302 "Department of Veterans Affairs, Veteran's Application for Compensation "
18303 "and/or Pension, VA Form 21-526 (OMB Approved No. 2900-0001), available at "
18304 "<ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #75</ulink>."
18307 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para><indexterm><primary>
18308 #: freeculture.xml:13863
18309 msgid "veterans' pensions"
18312 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
18313 #: freeculture.xml:13847
18315 "<emphasis>Keep it alive:</emphasis> Copyright should have to be renewed. "
18316 "Especially if the maximum term is long, the copyright owner should be "
18317 "required to signal periodically that he wants the protection continued. This "
18318 "need not be an onerous burden, but there is no reason this monopoly "
18319 "protection has to be granted for free. On average, it takes ninety minutes "
18320 "for a veteran to apply for a pension.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
18321 "id=\"0\"/> If we make veterans suffer that burden, I don't see why we "
18322 "couldn't require authors to spend ten minutes every fifty years to file a "
18323 "single form. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
18327 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
18328 #: freeculture.xml:13867
18330 "<emphasis>Keep it prospective:</emphasis> Whatever the term of copyright "
18331 "should be, the clearest lesson that economists teach is that a term once "
18332 "given should not be extended. It might have been a mistake in 1923 for the "
18333 "law to offer authors only a fifty-six-year term. I don't think so, but it's "
18334 "possible. If it was a mistake, then the consequence was that we got fewer "
18335 "authors to create in 1923 than we otherwise would have. But we can't correct "
18336 "that mistake today by increasing the term. No matter what we do today, we "
18337 "will not increase the number of authors who wrote in 1923. Of course, we can "
18338 "increase the reward that those who write now get (or alternatively, increase "
18339 "the copyright burden that smothers many works that are today invisible). But "
18340 "increasing their reward will not increase their creativity in 1923. What's "
18341 "not done is not done, and there's nothing we can do about that now."
18344 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18345 #: freeculture.xml:13883
18347 "These changes together should produce an <emphasis>average</emphasis> "
18348 "copyright term that is much shorter than the current term. Until 1976, the "
18349 "average term was just 32.2 years. We should be aiming for the same."
18352 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18353 #: freeculture.xml:13889
18355 "No doubt the extremists will call these ideas <quote>radical.</quote> (After "
18356 "all, I call them <quote>extremists.</quote>) But again, the term I "
18357 "recommended was longer than the term under Richard Nixon. How "
18358 "<quote>radical</quote> can it be to ask for a more generous copyright law "
18359 "than Richard Nixon presided over?"
18362 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><title>
18363 #: freeculture.xml:13899
18364 msgid "3. Free Use Vs. Fair Use"
18367 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18368 #: freeculture.xml:13901
18370 "As I observed at the beginning of this book, property law originally granted "
18371 "property owners the right to control their property from the ground to the "
18372 "heavens. The airplane came along. The scope of property rights quickly "
18373 "changed. There was no fuss, no constitutional challenge. It made no sense "
18374 "anymore to grant that much control, given the emergence of that new "
18378 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18379 #: freeculture.xml:13909
18381 "Our Constitution gives Congress the power to give authors <quote>exclusive "
18382 "right</quote> to <quote>their writings.</quote> Congress has given authors "
18383 "an exclusive right to <quote>their writings</quote> plus any derivative "
18384 "writings (made by others) that are sufficiently close to the author's "
18385 "original work. Thus, if I write a book, and you base a movie on that book, I "
18386 "have the power to deny you the right to release that movie, even though that "
18387 "movie is not <quote>my writing.</quote>"
18391 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para>
18392 #: freeculture.xml:13922
18394 "Benjamin Kaplan, <citetitle>An Unhurried View of Copyright</citetitle> (New "
18395 "York: Columbia University Press, 1967), 32."
18398 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><indexterm><primary>
18399 #: freeculture.xml:13928
18400 msgid "Kaplan, Benjamin"
18403 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18404 #: freeculture.xml:13918
18406 "Congress granted the beginnings of this right in 1870, when it expanded the "
18407 "exclusive right of copyright to include a right to control translations and "
18408 "dramatizations of a work.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> The "
18409 "courts have expanded it slowly through judicial interpretation ever "
18410 "since. This expansion has been commented upon by one of the law's greatest "
18411 "judges, Judge Benjamin Kaplan. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"1\"/>"
18415 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><blockquote><para><footnote><para>
18416 #: freeculture.xml:13936
18420 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><blockquote><para>
18421 #: freeculture.xml:13932
18423 "So inured have we become to the extension of the monopoly to a large range "
18424 "of so-called derivative works, that we no longer sense the oddity of "
18425 "accepting such an enlargement of copyright while yet intoning the "
18426 "abracadabra of idea and expression.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
18429 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18430 #: freeculture.xml:13941
18432 "I think it's time to recognize that there are airplanes in this field and "
18433 "the expansiveness of these rights of derivative use no longer make "
18434 "sense. More precisely, they don't make sense for the period of time that a "
18435 "copyright runs. And they don't make sense as an amorphous grant. Consider "
18436 "each limitation in turn."
18439 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18440 #: freeculture.xml:13948
18442 "<emphasis>Term:</emphasis> If Congress wants to grant a derivative right, "
18443 "then that right should be for a much shorter term. It makes sense to protect "
18444 "John Grisham's right to sell the movie rights to his latest novel (or at "
18445 "least I'm willing to assume it does); but it does not make sense for that "
18446 "right to run for the same term as the underlying copyright. The derivative "
18447 "right could be important in inducing creativity; it is not important long "
18448 "after the creative work is done. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
18451 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18452 #: freeculture.xml:13961
18454 "<emphasis>Scope:</emphasis> Likewise should the scope of derivative rights "
18455 "be narrowed. Again, there are some cases in which derivative rights are "
18456 "important. Those should be specified. But the law should draw clear lines "
18457 "around regulated and unregulated uses of copyrighted material. When all "
18458 "<quote>reuse</quote> of creative material was within the control of "
18459 "businesses, perhaps it made sense to require lawyers to negotiate the "
18460 "lines. It no longer makes sense for lawyers to negotiate the lines. Think "
18461 "about all the creative possibilities that digital technologies enable; now "
18462 "imagine pouring molasses into the machines. That's what this general "
18463 "requirement of permission does to the creative process. Smothers it."
18466 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18467 #: freeculture.xml:13974
18469 "This was the point that Alben made when describing the making of the Clint "
18470 "Eastwood CD. While it makes sense to require negotiation for foreseeable "
18471 "derivative rights—turning a book into a movie, or a poem into a "
18472 "musical score—it doesn't make sense to require negotiation for the "
18473 "unforeseeable. Here, a statutory right would make much more sense."
18476 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
18477 #: freeculture.xml:13990
18478 msgid "Goldstein, Paul"
18481 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para>
18482 #: freeculture.xml:13988
18484 "Paul Goldstein, <citetitle>Copyright's Highway: From Gutenberg to the "
18485 "Celestial Jukebox</citetitle> (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003), "
18486 "187–216. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
18489 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18490 #: freeculture.xml:13982
18492 "In each of these cases, the law should mark the uses that are protected, and "
18493 "the presumption should be that other uses are not protected. This is the "
18494 "reverse of the recommendation of my colleague Paul Goldstein.<placeholder "
18495 "type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> His view is that the law should be written so "
18496 "that expanded protections follow expanded uses."
18499 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18500 #: freeculture.xml:13996
18502 "Goldstein's analysis would make perfect sense if the cost of the legal "
18503 "system were small. But as we are currently seeing in the context of the "
18504 "Internet, the uncertainty about the scope of protection, and the incentives "
18505 "to protect existing architectures of revenue, combined with a strong "
18506 "copyright, weaken the process of innovation."
18510 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18511 #: freeculture.xml:14003
18513 "The law could remedy this problem either by removing protection beyond the "
18514 "part explicitly drawn or by granting reuse rights upon certain statutory "
18515 "conditions. Either way, the effect would be to free a great deal of culture "
18516 "to others to cultivate. And under a statutory rights regime, that reuse "
18517 "would earn artists more income."
18520 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><title>
18521 #: freeculture.xml:14013
18522 msgid "4. Liberate the Music—Again"
18525 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18526 #: freeculture.xml:14015
18528 "The battle that got this whole war going was about music, so it wouldn't be "
18529 "fair to end this book without addressing the issue that is, to most people, "
18530 "most pressing—music. There is no other policy issue that better "
18531 "teaches the lessons of this book than the battles around the sharing of "
18535 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18536 #: freeculture.xml:14022
18538 "The appeal of file-sharing music was the crack cocaine of the Internet's "
18539 "growth. It drove demand for access to the Internet more powerfully than any "
18540 "other single application. It was the Internet's killer app—possibly in "
18541 "two senses of that word. It no doubt was the application that drove demand "
18542 "for bandwidth. It may well be the application that drives demand for "
18543 "regulations that in the end kill innovation on the network."
18546 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18547 #: freeculture.xml:14031
18549 "The aim of copyright, with respect to content in general and music in "
18550 "particular, is to create the incentives for music to be composed, performed, "
18551 "and, most importantly, spread. The law does this by giving an exclusive "
18552 "right to a composer to control public performances of his work, and to a "
18553 "performing artist to control copies of her performance."
18556 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18557 #: freeculture.xml:14038
18559 "File-sharing networks complicate this model by enabling the spread of "
18560 "content for which the performer has not been paid. But of course, that's not "
18561 "all the file-sharing networks do. As I described in chapter <xref "
18562 "xrefstyle=\"select: labelnumber\" linkend=\"piracy\"/>, they enable four "
18563 "different kinds of sharing:"
18567 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
18568 #: freeculture.xml:14047
18570 "There are some who are using sharing networks as substitutes for purchasing "
18575 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
18576 #: freeculture.xml:14052
18578 "There are also some who are using sharing networks to sample, on the way to "
18584 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
18585 #: freeculture.xml:14058
18587 "There are many who are using file-sharing networks to get access to content "
18588 "that is no longer sold but is still under copyright or that would have been "
18589 "too cumbersome to buy off the Net."
18593 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
18594 #: freeculture.xml:14064
18596 "There are many who are using file-sharing networks to get access to content "
18597 "that is not copyrighted or to get access that the copyright owner plainly "
18601 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18602 #: freeculture.xml:14070
18604 "Any reform of the law needs to keep these different uses in focus. It must "
18605 "avoid burdening type D even if it aims to eliminate type A. The eagerness "
18606 "with which the law aims to eliminate type A, moreover, should depend upon "
18607 "the magnitude of type B. As with VCRs, if the net effect of sharing is "
18608 "actually not very harmful, the need for regulation is significantly "
18612 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18613 #: freeculture.xml:14078
18615 "As I said in chapter <xref xrefstyle=\"select: labelnumber\" "
18616 "linkend=\"piracy\"/>, the actual harm caused by sharing is controversial. "
18617 "For the purposes of this chapter, however, I assume the harm is real. I "
18618 "assume, in other words, that type A sharing is significantly greater than "
18619 "type B, and is the dominant use of sharing networks."
18622 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18623 #: freeculture.xml:14086
18625 "Nonetheless, there is a crucial fact about the current technological context "
18626 "that we must keep in mind if we are to understand how the law should "
18630 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18631 #: freeculture.xml:14091
18633 "Today, file sharing is addictive. In ten years, it won't be. It is addictive "
18634 "today because it is the easiest way to gain access to a broad range of "
18635 "content. It won't be the easiest way to get access to a broad range of "
18636 "content in ten years. Today, access to the Internet is cumbersome and "
18637 "slow—we in the United States are lucky to have broadband service at "
18638 "1.5 MBs, and very rarely do we get service at that speed both up and "
18639 "down. Although wireless access is growing, most of us still get access "
18640 "across wires. Most only gain access through a machine with a keyboard. The "
18641 "idea of the always on, always connected Internet is mainly just an idea."
18645 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18646 #: freeculture.xml:14103
18648 "But it will become a reality, and that means the way we get access to the "
18649 "Internet today is a technology in transition. Policy makers should not make "
18650 "policy on the basis of technology in transition. They should make policy on "
18651 "the basis of where the technology is going. The question should not be, how "
18652 "should the law regulate sharing in this world? The question should be, what "
18653 "law will we require when the network becomes the network it is clearly "
18654 "becoming? That network is one in which every machine with electricity is "
18655 "essentially on the Net; where everywhere you are—except maybe the "
18656 "desert or the Rockies—you can instantaneously be connected to the "
18657 "Internet. Imagine the Internet as ubiquitous as the best cell-phone service, "
18658 "where with the flip of a device, you are connected."
18662 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para>
18663 #: freeculture.xml:14136
18665 "See, for example, <quote>Music Media Watch,</quote> The J@pan "
18666 "Inc. Newsletter, 3 April 2002, available at <ulink "
18667 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #76</ulink>."
18670 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18671 #: freeculture.xml:14118
18673 "In that world, it will be extremely easy to connect to services that give "
18674 "you access to content on the fly—such as Internet radio, content that "
18675 "is streamed to the user when the user demands. Here, then, is the critical "
18676 "point: When it is <emphasis>extremely</emphasis> easy to connect to services "
18677 "that give access to content, it will be <emphasis>easier</emphasis> to "
18678 "connect to services that give you access to content than it will be to "
18679 "download and store content <emphasis>on the many devices you will have for "
18680 "playing content</emphasis>. It will be easier, in other words, to subscribe "
18681 "than it will be to be a database manager, as everyone in the "
18682 "download-sharing world of Napster-like technologies essentially is. Content "
18683 "services will compete with content sharing, even if the services charge "
18684 "money for the content they give access to. Already cell-phone services in "
18685 "Japan offer music (for a fee) streamed over cell phones (enhanced with plugs "
18686 "for headphones). The Japanese are paying for this content even though "
18687 "<quote>free</quote> content is available in the form of MP3s across the "
18688 "Web.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
18692 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18693 #: freeculture.xml:14143
18695 "This point about the future is meant to suggest a perspective on the "
18696 "present: It is emphatically temporary. The <quote>problem</quote> with file "
18697 "sharing—to the extent there is a real problem—is a problem that "
18698 "will increasingly disappear as it becomes easier to connect to the "
18699 "Internet. And thus it is an extraordinary mistake for policy makers today "
18700 "to be <quote>solving</quote> this problem in light of a technology that will "
18701 "be gone tomorrow. The question should not be how to regulate the Internet "
18702 "to eliminate file sharing (the Net will evolve that problem away). The "
18703 "question instead should be how to assure that artists get paid, during this "
18704 "transition between twentieth-century models for doing business and "
18705 "twenty-first-century technologies."
18708 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18709 #: freeculture.xml:14159
18711 "The answer begins with recognizing that there are different "
18712 "<quote>problems</quote> here to solve. Let's start with type D "
18713 "content—uncopyrighted content or copyrighted content that the artist "
18714 "wants shared. The <quote>problem</quote> with this content is to make sure "
18715 "that the technology that would enable this kind of sharing is not rendered "
18716 "illegal. You can think of it this way: Pay phones are used to deliver ransom "
18717 "demands, no doubt. But there are many who need to use pay phones who have "
18718 "nothing to do with ransoms. It would be wrong to ban pay phones in order to "
18719 "eliminate kidnapping."
18722 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18723 #: freeculture.xml:14170
18725 "Type C content raises a different <quote>problem.</quote> This is content "
18726 "that was, at one time, published and is no longer available. It may be "
18727 "unavailable because the artist is no longer valuable enough for the record "
18728 "label he signed with to carry his work. Or it may be unavailable because the "
18729 "work is forgotten. Either way, the aim of the law should be to facilitate "
18730 "the access to this content, ideally in a way that returns something to the "
18734 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18735 #: freeculture.xml:14179
18737 "Again, the model here is the used book store. Once a book goes out of print, "
18738 "it may still be available in libraries and used book stores. But libraries "
18739 "and used book stores don't pay the copyright owner when someone reads or "
18740 "buys an out-of-print book. That makes total sense, of course, since any "
18741 "other system would be so burdensome as to eliminate the possibility of used "
18742 "book stores' existing. But from the author's perspective, this "
18743 "<quote>sharing</quote> of his content without his being compensated is less "
18747 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18748 #: freeculture.xml:14189
18750 "The model of used book stores suggests that the law could simply deem "
18751 "out-of-print music fair game. If the publisher does not make copies of the "
18752 "music available for sale, then commercial and noncommercial providers would "
18753 "be free, under this rule, to <quote>share</quote> that content, even though "
18754 "the sharing involved making a copy. The copy here would be incidental to the "
18755 "trade; in a context where commercial publishing has ended, trading music "
18756 "should be as free as trading books."
18760 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18761 #: freeculture.xml:14200
18763 "Alternatively, the law could create a statutory license that would ensure "
18764 "that artists get something from the trade of their work. For example, if the "
18765 "law set a low statutory rate for the commercial sharing of content that was "
18766 "not offered for sale by a commercial publisher, and if that rate were "
18767 "automatically transferred to a trust for the benefit of the artist, then "
18768 "businesses could develop around the idea of trading this content, and "
18769 "artists would benefit from this trade."
18772 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18773 #: freeculture.xml:14210
18775 "This system would also create an incentive for publishers to keep works "
18776 "available commercially. Works that are available commercially would not be "
18777 "subject to this license. Thus, publishers could protect the right to charge "
18778 "whatever they want for content if they kept the work commercially "
18779 "available. But if they don't keep it available, and instead, the computer "
18780 "hard disks of fans around the world keep it alive, then any royalty owed for "
18781 "such copying should be much less than the amount owed a commercial "
18785 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18786 #: freeculture.xml:14220
18788 "The hard case is content of types A and B, and again, this case is hard only "
18789 "because the extent of the problem will change over time, as the technologies "
18790 "for gaining access to content change. The law's solution should be as "
18791 "flexible as the problem is, understanding that we are in the middle of a "
18792 "radical transformation in the technology for delivering and accessing "
18796 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18797 #: freeculture.xml:14228
18799 "So here's a solution that will at first seem very strange to both sides in "
18800 "this war, but which upon reflection, I suggest, should make some sense."
18803 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18804 #: freeculture.xml:14232
18806 "Stripped of the rhetoric about the sanctity of property, the basic claim of "
18807 "the content industry is this: A new technology (the Internet) has harmed a "
18808 "set of rights that secure copyright. If those rights are to be protected, "
18809 "then the content industry should be compensated for that harm. Just as the "
18810 "technology of tobacco harmed the health of millions of Americans, or the "
18811 "technology of asbestos caused grave illness to thousands of miners, so, too, "
18812 "has the technology of digital networks harmed the interests of the content "
18817 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18818 #: freeculture.xml:14243
18820 "I love the Internet, and so I don't like likening it to tobacco or "
18821 "asbestos. But the analogy is a fair one from the perspective of the law. "
18822 "And it suggests a fair response: Rather than seeking to destroy the "
18823 "Internet, or the p2p technologies that are currently harming content "
18824 "providers on the Internet, we should find a relatively simple way to "
18825 "compensate those who are harmed."
18828 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para><indexterm><primary>
18829 #: freeculture.xml:14288
18830 msgid "Fisher, William"
18833 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><indexterm><primary>
18834 #: freeculture.xml:14290 freeculture.xml:14316
18835 msgid "Promises to Keep (Fisher)"
18838 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para>
18839 #: freeculture.xml:14255
18841 "William Fisher, <citetitle>Digital Music: Problems and "
18842 "Possibilities</citetitle> (last revised: 10 October 2000), available at "
18843 "<ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #77</ulink>; William "
18844 "Fisher, <citetitle>Promises to Keep: Technology, Law, and the Future of "
18845 "Entertainment</citetitle> (forthcoming) (Stanford: Stanford University "
18846 "Press, 2004), ch. 6, available at <ulink "
18847 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #78</ulink>. Professor Netanel "
18848 "has proposed a related idea that would exempt noncommercial sharing from the "
18849 "reach of copyright and would establish compensation to artists to balance "
18850 "any loss. See Neil Weinstock Netanel, <quote>Impose a Noncommercial Use Levy "
18851 "to Allow Free P2P File Sharing,</quote> available at <ulink "
18852 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #79</ulink>. For other proposals, "
18853 "see Lawrence Lessig, <quote>Who's Holding Back Broadband?</quote> "
18854 "<citetitle>Washington Post</citetitle>, 8 January 2002, A17; Philip "
18855 "S. Corwin on behalf of Sharman Networks, A Letter to Senator Joseph "
18856 "R. Biden, Jr., Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 26 "
18857 "February 2002, available at <ulink "
18858 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #80</ulink>; Serguei Osokine, "
18859 "<citetitle>A Quick Case for Intellectual Property Use Fee "
18860 "(IPUF)</citetitle>, 3 March 2002, available at <ulink "
18861 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #81</ulink>; Jefferson Graham, "
18862 "<quote>Kazaa, Verizon Propose to Pay Artists Directly,</quote> "
18863 "<citetitle>USA Today</citetitle>, 13 May 2002, available at <ulink "
18864 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #82</ulink>; Steven M. Cherry, "
18865 "<quote>Getting Copyright Right,</quote> IEEE Spectrum Online, 1 July 2002, "
18866 "available at <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #83</ulink>; "
18867 "Declan McCullagh, <quote>Verizon's Copyright Campaign,</quote> CNET "
18868 "News.com, 27 August 2002, available at <ulink "
18869 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #84</ulink>. Fisher's proposal "
18870 "is very similar to Richard Stallman's proposal for DAT. Unlike Fisher's, "
18871 "Stallman's proposal would not pay artists directly proportionally, though "
18872 "more popular artists would get more than the less popular. As is typical "
18873 "with Stallman, his proposal predates the current debate by about a "
18874 "decade. See <ulink url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #85</ulink>. "
18875 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
18876 "id=\"1\"/> <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"2\"/>"
18879 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18880 #: freeculture.xml:14251
18882 "The idea would be a modification of a proposal that has been floated by "
18883 "Harvard law professor William Fisher.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
18884 "id=\"0\"/> Fisher suggests a very clever way around the current impasse of "
18885 "the Internet. Under his plan, all content capable of digital transmission "
18886 "would (1) be marked with a digital watermark (don't worry about how easy it "
18887 "is to evade these marks; as you'll see, there's no incentive to evade "
18888 "them). Once the content is marked, then entrepreneurs would develop (2) "
18889 "systems to monitor how many items of each content were distributed. On the "
18890 "basis of those numbers, then (3) artists would be compensated. The "
18891 "compensation would be paid for by (4) an appropriate tax."
18894 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18895 #: freeculture.xml:14303
18897 "Fisher's proposal is careful and comprehensive. It raises a million "
18898 "questions, most of which he answers well in his upcoming book, "
18899 "<citetitle>Promises to Keep</citetitle>. The modification that I would make "
18900 "is relatively simple: Fisher imagines his proposal replacing the existing "
18901 "copyright system. I imagine it complementing the existing system. The aim "
18902 "of the proposal would be to facilitate compensation to the extent that harm "
18903 "could be shown. This compensation would be temporary, aimed at facilitating "
18904 "a transition between regimes. And it would require renewal after a period of "
18905 "years. If it continues to make sense to facilitate free exchange of content, "
18906 "supported through a taxation system, then it can be continued. If this form "
18907 "of protection is no longer necessary, then the system could lapse into the "
18908 "old system of controlling access. <placeholder type=\"indexterm\" "
18913 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18914 #: freeculture.xml:14319
18916 "Fisher would balk at the idea of allowing the system to lapse. His aim is "
18917 "not just to ensure that artists are paid, but also to ensure that the system "
18918 "supports the widest range of <quote>semiotic democracy</quote> possible. But "
18919 "the aims of semiotic democracy would be satisfied if the other changes I "
18920 "described were accomplished—in particular, the limits on derivative "
18921 "uses. A system that simply charges for access would not greatly burden "
18922 "semiotic democracy if there were few limitations on what one was allowed to "
18923 "do with the content itself."
18926 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18927 #: freeculture.xml:14333
18929 "No doubt it would be difficult to calculate the proper measure of "
18930 "<quote>harm</quote> to an industry. But the difficulty of making that "
18931 "calculation would be outweighed by the benefit of facilitating "
18932 "innovation. This background system to compensate would also not need to "
18933 "interfere with innovative proposals such as Apple's MusicStore. As experts "
18934 "predicted when Apple launched the MusicStore, it could beat "
18935 "<quote>free</quote> by being easier than free is. This has proven correct: "
18936 "Apple has sold millions of songs at even the very high price of 99 cents a "
18937 "song. (At 99 cents, the cost is the equivalent of a per-song CD price, "
18938 "though the labels have none of the costs of a CD to pay.) Apple's move was "
18939 "countered by Real Networks, offering music at just 79 cents a song. And no "
18940 "doubt there will be a great deal of competition to offer and sell music "
18944 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18945 #: freeculture.xml:14348
18947 "This competition has already occurred against the background of "
18948 "<quote>free</quote> music from p2p systems. As the sellers of cable "
18949 "television have known for thirty years, and the sellers of bottled water for "
18950 "much more than that, there is nothing impossible at all about "
18951 "<quote>competing with free.</quote> Indeed, if anything, the competition "
18952 "spurs the competitors to offer new and better products. This is precisely "
18953 "what the competitive market was to be about. Thus in Singapore, though "
18954 "piracy is rampant, movie theaters are often luxurious—with "
18955 "<quote>first class</quote> seats, and meals served while you watch a "
18956 "movie—as they struggle and succeed in finding ways to compete with "
18957 "<quote>free.</quote>"
18960 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18961 #: freeculture.xml:14360
18963 "This regime of competition, with a backstop to assure that artists don't "
18964 "lose, would facilitate a great deal of innovation in the delivery of "
18965 "content. That competition would continue to shrink type A sharing. It would "
18966 "inspire an extraordinary range of new innovators—ones who would have a "
18967 "right to the content, and would no longer fear the uncertain and "
18968 "barbarically severe punishments of the law."
18971 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18972 #: freeculture.xml:14369
18973 msgid "In summary, then, my proposal is this:"
18977 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18978 #: freeculture.xml:14374
18980 "The Internet is in transition. We should not be regulating a technology in "
18981 "transition. We should instead be regulating to minimize the harm to "
18982 "interests affected by this technological change, while enabling, and "
18983 "encouraging, the most efficient technology we can create."
18986 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
18987 #: freeculture.xml:14381
18988 msgid "We can minimize that harm while maximizing the benefit to innovation by"
18992 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
18993 #: freeculture.xml:14387
18994 msgid "guaranteeing the right to engage in type D sharing;"
18998 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
18999 #: freeculture.xml:14391
19001 "permitting noncommercial type C sharing without liability, and commercial "
19002 "type C sharing at a low and fixed rate set by statute;"
19006 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
19007 #: freeculture.xml:14397
19009 "while in this transition, taxing and compensating for type A sharing, to the "
19010 "extent actual harm is demonstrated."
19013 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
19014 #: freeculture.xml:14402
19016 "But what if <quote>piracy</quote> doesn't disappear? What if there is a "
19017 "competitive market providing content at a low cost, but a significant number "
19018 "of consumers continue to <quote>take</quote> content for nothing? Should the "
19019 "law do something then?"
19022 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
19023 #: freeculture.xml:14408
19025 "Yes, it should. But, again, what it should do depends upon how the facts "
19026 "develop. These changes may not eliminate type A sharing. But the real issue "
19027 "is not whether it eliminates sharing in the abstract. The real issue is its "
19028 "effect on the market. Is it better (a) to have a technology that is 95 "
19029 "percent secure and produces a market of size <citetitle>x</citetitle>, or "
19030 "(b) to have a technology that is 50 percent secure but produces a market of "
19031 "five times <citetitle>x</citetitle>? Less secure might produce more "
19032 "unauthorized sharing, but it is likely to also produce a much bigger market "
19033 "in authorized sharing. The most important thing is to assure artists' "
19034 "compensation without breaking the Internet. Once that's assured, then it may "
19035 "well be appropriate to find ways to track down the petty pirates."
19039 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
19040 #: freeculture.xml:14422
19042 "But we're a long way away from whittling the problem down to this subset of "
19043 "type A sharers. And our focus until we're there should not be on finding "
19044 "ways to break the Internet. Our focus until we're there should be on how to "
19045 "make sure the artists are paid, while protecting the space for innovation "
19046 "and creativity that the Internet is."
19049 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><title>
19050 #: freeculture.xml:14433
19051 msgid "5. Fire Lots of Lawyers"
19054 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
19055 #: freeculture.xml:14435
19057 "I'm a lawyer. I make lawyers for a living. I believe in the law. I believe "
19058 "in the law of copyright. Indeed, I have devoted my life to working in law, "
19059 "not because there are big bucks at the end but because there are ideals at "
19060 "the end that I would love to live."
19063 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
19064 #: freeculture.xml:14441
19066 "Yet much of this book has been a criticism of lawyers, or the role lawyers "
19067 "have played in this debate. The law speaks to ideals, but it is my view that "
19068 "our profession has become too attuned to the client. And in a world where "
19069 "the rich clients have one strong view, the unwillingness of the profession "
19070 "to question or counter that one strong view queers the law."
19074 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para>
19075 #: freeculture.xml:14458
19077 "Lawrence Lessig, <quote>Copyright's First Amendment</quote> (Melville "
19078 "B. Nimmer Memorial Lecture), <citetitle>UCLA Law Review</citetitle> 48 "
19079 "(2001): 1057, 1069–70."
19082 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
19083 #: freeculture.xml:14449
19085 "The evidence of this bending is compelling. I'm attacked as a "
19086 "<quote>radical</quote> by many within the profession, yet the positions that "
19087 "I am advocating are precisely the positions of some of the most moderate and "
19088 "significant figures in the history of this branch of the law. Many, for "
19089 "example, thought crazy the challenge that we brought to the Copyright Term "
19090 "Extension Act. Yet just thirty years ago, the dominant scholar and "
19091 "practitioner in the field of copyright, Melville Nimmer, thought it "
19092 "obvious.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/>"
19095 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
19096 #: freeculture.xml:14464
19098 "However, my criticism of the role that lawyers have played in this debate is "
19099 "not just about a professional bias. It is more importantly about our failure "
19100 "to actually reckon the costs of the law."
19103 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para>
19104 #: freeculture.xml:14474
19106 "A good example is the work of Professor Stan Liebowitz. Liebowitz is to be "
19107 "commended for his careful review of data about infringement, leading him to "
19108 "question his own publicly stated position—twice. He initially "
19109 "predicted that downloading would substantially harm the industry. He then "
19110 "revised his view in light of the data, and he has since revised his view "
19111 "again. Compare Stan J. Liebowitz, <citetitle>Rethinking the Network "
19112 "Economy: The True Forces That Drive the Digital Marketplace</citetitle> (New "
19113 "York: Amacom, 2002), (reviewing his original view but expressing skepticism) "
19114 "with Stan J. Liebowitz, <quote>Will MP3s Annihilate the Record "
19115 "Industry?</quote> working paper, June 2003, available at <ulink "
19116 "url=\"http://free-culture.cc/notes/\">link #86</ulink>. Liebowitz's careful "
19117 "analysis is extremely valuable in estimating the effect of file-sharing "
19118 "technology. In my view, however, he underestimates the costs of the legal "
19119 "system. See, for example, <citetitle>Rethinking</citetitle>, 174–76. "
19120 "<placeholder type=\"indexterm\" id=\"0\"/>"
19123 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
19124 #: freeculture.xml:14469
19126 "Economists are supposed to be good at reckoning costs and benefits. But "
19127 "more often than not, economists, with no clue about how the legal system "
19128 "actually functions, simply assume that the transaction costs of the legal "
19129 "system are slight.<placeholder type=\"footnote\" id=\"0\"/> They see a "
19130 "system that has been around for hundreds of years, and they assume it works "
19131 "the way their elementary school civics class taught them it works."
19135 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
19136 #: freeculture.xml:14498
19138 "But the legal system doesn't work. Or more accurately, it doesn't work for "
19139 "anyone except those with the most resources. Not because the system is "
19140 "corrupt. I don't think our legal system (at the federal level, at least) is "
19141 "at all corrupt. I mean simply because the costs of our legal system are so "
19142 "astonishingly high that justice can practically never be done."
19145 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
19146 #: freeculture.xml:14506
19148 "These costs distort free culture in many ways. A lawyer's time is billed at "
19149 "the largest firms at more than $400 per hour. How much time should such a "
19150 "lawyer spend reading cases carefully, or researching obscure strands of "
19151 "authority? The answer is the increasing reality: very little. The law "
19152 "depended upon the careful articulation and development of doctrine, but the "
19153 "careful articulation and development of legal doctrine depends upon careful "
19154 "work. Yet that careful work costs too much, except in the most high-profile "
19155 "and costly cases."
19158 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
19159 #: freeculture.xml:14516
19161 "The costliness and clumsiness and randomness of this system mock our "
19162 "tradition. And lawyers, as well as academics, should consider it their duty "
19163 "to change the way the law works—or better, to change the law so that "
19164 "it works. It is wrong that the system works well only for the top 1 percent "
19165 "of the clients. It could be made radically more efficient, and inexpensive, "
19166 "and hence radically more just."
19169 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
19170 #: freeculture.xml:14524
19172 "But until that reform is complete, we as a society should keep the law away "
19173 "from areas that we know it will only harm. And that is precisely what the "
19174 "law will too often do if too much of our culture is left to its review."
19177 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
19178 #: freeculture.xml:14530
19180 "Think about the amazing things your kid could do or make with digital "
19181 "technology—the film, the music, the Web page, the blog. Or think about "
19182 "the amazing things your community could facilitate with digital "
19183 "technology—a wiki, a barn raising, activism to change something. "
19184 "Think about all those creative things, and then imagine cold molasses poured "
19185 "onto the machines. This is what any regime that requires permission "
19186 "produces. Again, this is the reality of Brezhnev's Russia."
19190 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
19191 #: freeculture.xml:14539
19193 "The law should regulate in certain areas of culture—but it should "
19194 "regulate culture only where that regulation does good. Yet lawyers rarely "
19195 "test their power, or the power they promote, against this simple pragmatic "
19196 "question: <quote>Will it do good?</quote> When challenged about the "
19197 "expanding reach of the law, the lawyer answers, <quote>Why not?</quote>"
19200 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><section><section><para>
19201 #: freeculture.xml:14548
19203 "We should ask, <quote>Why?</quote> Show me why your regulation of culture is "
19204 "needed. Show me how it does good. And until you can show me both, keep your "
19208 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><title>
19209 #: freeculture.xml:14557
19213 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
19214 #: freeculture.xml:14559
19216 "Throughout this text, there are references to links on the World Wide "
19217 "Web. As anyone who has tried to use the Web knows, these links can be highly "
19218 "unstable. I have tried to remedy the instability by redirecting readers to "
19219 "the original source through the Web site associated with this book. For each "
19220 "link below, you can go to http://free-culture.cc/notes and locate the "
19221 "original source by clicking on the number after the # sign. If the original "
19222 "link remains alive, you will be redirected to that link. If the original "
19223 "link has disappeared, you will be redirected to an appropriate reference for "
19227 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><title>
19228 #: freeculture.xml:14574
19229 msgid "ACKNOWLEDGMENTS"
19232 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
19233 #: freeculture.xml:14576
19235 "This book is the product of a long and as yet unsuccessful struggle that "
19236 "began when I read of Eric Eldred's war to keep books free. Eldred's work "
19237 "helped launch a movement, the free culture movement, and it is to him that "
19238 "this book is dedicated."
19241 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
19242 #: freeculture.xml:14583
19244 "I received guidance in various places from friends and academics, including "
19245 "Glenn Brown, Peter DiCola, Jennifer Mnookin, Richard Posner, Mark Rose, and "
19246 "Kathleen Sullivan. And I received correction and guidance from many amazing "
19247 "students at Stanford Law School and Stanford University. They included "
19248 "Andrew B. Coan, John Eden, James P. Fellers, Christopher Guzelian, Erica "
19249 "Goldberg, Robert Hallman, Andrew Harris, Matthew Kahn, Brian Link, Ohad "
19250 "Mayblum, Alina Ng, and Erica Platt. I am particularly grateful to Catherine "
19251 "Crump and Harry Surden, who helped direct their research, and to Laura "
19252 "Lynch, who brilliantly managed the army that they assembled, and provided "
19253 "her own critical eye on much of this."
19257 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
19258 #: freeculture.xml:14596
19260 "Yuko Noguchi helped me to understand the laws of Japan as well as its "
19261 "culture. I am thankful to her, and to the many in Japan who helped me "
19262 "prepare this book: Joi Ito, Takayuki Matsutani, Naoto Misaki, Michihiro "
19263 "Sasaki, Hiromichi Tanaka, Hiroo Yamagata, and Yoshihiro Yonezawa. I am "
19264 "thankful as well as to Professor Nobuhiro Nakayama, and the Tokyo University "
19265 "Business Law Center, for giving me the chance to spend time in Japan, and to "
19266 "Tadashi Shiraishi and Kiyokazu Yamagami for their generous help while I was "
19270 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
19271 #: freeculture.xml:14607
19273 "These are the traditional sorts of help that academics regularly draw "
19274 "upon. But in addition to them, the Internet has made it possible to receive "
19275 "advice and correction from many whom I have never even met. Among those who "
19276 "have responded with extremely helpful advice to requests on my blog about "
19277 "the book are Dr. Mohammad Al-Ubaydli, David Gerstein, and Peter DiMauro, as "
19278 "well as a long list of those who had specific ideas about ways to develop my "
19279 "argument. They included Richard Bondi, Steven Cherry, David Coe, Nik "
19280 "Cubrilovic, Bob Devine, Charles Eicher, Thomas Guida, Elihu M. Gerson, "
19281 "Jeremy Hunsinger, Vaughn Iverson, John Karabaic, Jeff Keltner, James "
19282 "Lindenschmidt, K. L. Mann, Mark Manning, Nora McCauley, Jeffrey McHugh, Evan "
19283 "McMullen, Fred Norton, John Pormann, Pedro A. D. Rezende, Shabbir Safdar, "
19284 "Saul Schleimer, Clay Shirky, Adam Shostack, Kragen Sitaker, Chris Smith, "
19285 "Bruce Steinberg, Andrzej Jan Taramina, Sean Walsh, Matt Wasserman, Miljenko "
19286 "Williams, <quote>Wink,</quote> Roger Wood, <quote>Ximmbo da Jazz,</quote> "
19287 "and Richard Yanco. (I apologize if I have missed anyone; with computers come "
19288 "glitches, and a crash of my e-mail system meant I lost a bunch of great "
19292 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
19293 #: freeculture.xml:14627
19295 "Richard Stallman and Michael Carroll each read the whole book in draft, and "
19296 "each provided extremely helpful correction and advice. Michael helped me to "
19297 "see more clearly the significance of the regulation of derivitive works. And "
19298 "Richard corrected an embarrassingly large number of errors. While my work is "
19299 "in part inspired by Stallman's, he does not agree with me in important "
19300 "places throughout this book."
19303 #. type: Content of: <book><chapter><para>
19304 #: freeculture.xml:14636
19306 "Finally, and forever, I am thankful to Bettina, who has always insisted that "
19307 "there would be unending happiness away from these battles, and who has "
19308 "always been right. This slow learner is, as ever, grateful for her perpetual "
19309 "patience and love."