[ Free Culture ] by Lawrence Lessig (Hardback)

[ about the book ]
[ about the author ]
[ creative commons project ]

Stanford Law professor Lawrence Lessig is building a case, and his latest book contains irrefutable evidence, powerful testimonies, and a clever closing statement to tie it all together. In Free Culture, Lessig argues that today’s copyright law, which caters to large and powerful corporations at the expense of fair use and public domain, is unable to provide the rights set out by the constitution.

The bedrock of his argument begins with a discussion on the nature and importance of this concept of free culture — what exactly is free culture and why is it a traditional and important part of American society? Following this, Lessig speaks about piracy and its various forms. He notes that many past creators whom we hail as great innovators (e.g., Walt Disney) would now be considered pirates thanks to our absurd copyright laws. Now, Lessig is not an anarchist by any means, and quickly points out that he does not wish for the laws of property to be abolished. Instead, he proposes that a balance between controlled culture and anarchy must be found. Both the rights of the creator and the consumer must be protected, and furthermore, creators of this generation should not be constrained by over-protected past work. Lessig then speaks about his own experience with the court system, in which he assisted the movement to limit copyright terms. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of unlimited copyright extensions, one of the primary obstacles to free culture. Lessig then concludes with a brief outline of one possible solution to the legal problem in America.

Overall, this book is very well written, and quite entertaining. But more importantly, it is painfully relevant to our situation. If you have ever downloaded music or movies (legally or otherwise), or have any interest in culture, you must read this book. If you don’t feel strongly about these issues, you also must read this book — it will certainly change your mind about the subject!

Rating: 5 of 5