Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity
Synopsis
This is a book about copyright — what it meant originally, what it means now, what it regulated originally, what it regulates now — and about how new technology should force us to rewrite old laws so that common sense prevails.
Review
In my opinion, a must-read for anyone interested in freedom, culture, and copyright. Parts of the book are unfortunately very dull and not very well-structured (and also written in Lawyerese), but the subject matter is more important (besides, the parts that aren't dull are exceedingly good).
Table of contents
- PREFACE
- INTRODUCTION
- "PIRACY"
- CHAPTER ONE: Creators
- CHAPTER TWO: "Mere Copyists"
- CHAPTER THREE: Catalogs
- CHAPTER FOUR: "Pirates"
- Film
- Recorded Music
- Radio
- Cable TV
- CHAPTER FIVE: "Piracy"
- Piracy I
- Piracy II
- "PROPERTY"
- CHAPTER SIX: Founders
- CHAPTER SEVEN: Recorders
- CHAPTER EIGHT: Transformers
- CHAPTER NINE: Collectors
- CHAPTER TEN: "Property"
- Why Hollywood Is Right
- Beginnings
- Law: Duration
- Law: Scope
- Law and Architecture: Reach
- Architecture and Law: Force
- Market: Concentration
- Together
- PUZZLES
- CHAPTER ELEVEN: Chimera
- CHAPTER TWELVE: Harms
- Constraining Creators
- Constraining Innovators
- Corrupting Citizens
- BALANCES
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Eldred
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Eldred II
- CONCLUSION
- AFTERWORD
- Us, Now
- Rebuilding Freedoms Previously Presumed: Examples
- Rebuilding Free Culture: One Idea
- Them, Soon
- 1. More Formalities
- Registration and Renewal
- Marking
- 2. Shorter Terms
- 3. Free Use Vs. Fair Use
- 4. Liberate the Music—Again
- 5. Fire Lots of Lawyers
- 1. More Formalities
- Us, Now
- NOTES
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- INDEX