The Power of Larry
at 4:36pm
on Thursday, 6th February 2003
As he admits himself, 'My brand is pessimism'. He warns of the impending doom of an internet that is controlled by the content industries (music, film, software etc) to the extent that 'fair use' of material controlled by copyright will be 'no use'. He argues that the big companies have successfully lobbied to create layers of legal (such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act) and technical (like Digital Rights Management software) protection for their content which have dire consequences for all of us. As he puts it, 'When faced with a perceived threat, the content industries have attempted to break the knee caps of the internet.'
At heart, this is a debate about creativity. Given the new technological environment we've created, what's the best framework for ensuring diversity and hence future creativity? Lessig doesn't think we've got it right, citing the example of internet radio as an example. Theoretically it should allow vast diversity of radio stations that are able to broadcast to anywhere in the world, but a combination of legislation and royalty payment models developed by the record industry may mean that internet radio goes the same way as conventional broadcasting where ownership is concentrated in the hands of a small number of companies.
In the UK, Lessig has pretty much won the argument. Both the Financial Times and the Economist have come on side to some extent. He admits himself that he doesn't have all the answers to how we should design the regulatory framework, but he's been highly effective in creating a debate which will play out over the coming months and years.
Read Steven Levy's excellent profile of Lessig in Wired here.
Read an article by Lessig outlining his argument here.
As he admits himself, 'My brand is pessimism'. He warns of the impending doom of an internet that is controlled by the content industries (music, film, software etc) to the extent that 'fair use' of material controlled by copyright will be 'no use'. He argues that the big companies have successfully lobbied to create layers of legal (such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act) and technical (like Digital Rights Management software) protection for their content which have dire consequences for all of us. As he puts it, 'When faced with a perceived threat, the content industries have attempted to break the knee caps of the internet.'
At heart, this is a debate about creativity. Given the new technological environment we've created, what's the best framework for ensuring diversity and hence future creativity? Lessig doesn't think we've got it right, citing the example of internet radio as an example. Theoretically it should allow vast diversity of radio stations that are able to broadcast to anywhere in the world, but a combination of legislation and royalty payment models developed by the record industry may mean that internet radio goes the same way as conventional broadcasting where ownership is concentrated in the hands of a small number of companies.
In the UK, Lessig has pretty much won the argument. Both the Financial Times and the Economist have come on side to some extent. He admits himself that he doesn't have all the answers to how we should design the regulatory framework, but he's been highly effective in creating a debate which will play out over the coming months and years.
Read Steven Levy's excellent profile of Lessig in Wired here.
Read an article by Lessig outlining his argument here.
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