Essay on Lawrence Lessig - 2664 Words

In 2012, copyright laws and the creative industries they protect, have come face to face with the Internet in an unprecedented struggle for power. According to some, this is having a dramatic effect on our culture (Lessig 2001; Lessig 2004). Whilst most of the attention has been focused towards the United States and the two controlling industry bodies, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the consequences for stricter copyright laws, or new measures to protect them will have international effects (Barrett 2012; Horten 2012; Lessig 2001; Lessig 2004). This essay seeks to discuss the concepts raised in the accompanying poster whilst also examining both the past and present†¦show more content†¦ACTA represents an international framework for legislating Internet users and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in order to protect against copyright infringements (Barrett 2012; Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 2012; Horten 2012). SOPA and PIPA were United States specific acts aimed at providing unprecedented powers to copyright holders to shut down both domestic and foreign websites, financial services and advertising services which may be connected to copyright infringements (Barrett 2012; Horten 2012). On the surface these measures pose as an attempt to stop copyright infringements, however their influence runs far beyond that of just copyright. These measures threatened the very fabric of the Internet that Lessig (2001; 2004) sees as vital to the cultural commons; it is an attempt to â€Å"reintroduce the barriers that the internet originally removed†(Lessig 2001: 16) SOPA and PIPA would have substantially impacted the rights of allegedly infringing international corporations, individuals or ISPs by enacting laws that could shut them down before being proven guilty (Barrett 2012). These measures could have also impacted claims of fair use, criminalized many innocent people and may have also influenced free speech. With these effects considered, the cultural commons of the Internet could be left closedShow MoreRelated`` For The Love Of Culture `` By Lawrence Lessig1740 Words   |  7 Pagescrime by using information and be subjected to lawsuits, despite good intentions. Lawrence Lessig’s three proposals for copyright changes are key concepts facing issues like this. It is crucial we pay attention because our cultural future is in jeopardy. In Lawrence Lessig’s article â€Å"For the Love of Culture†, he explains his concern that our copyright laws are hampering our opportunity to learn about our past. Lessig gives us a good example in the beginning about a daughter of a late great AmericanRead MoreAnalysis Of Lawrence Lessig s Remix : Making Art And Commerce Thrive1448 Words   |  6 Pages‘remix culture’ that redefine the way the world is perceived through the reproduction and recyclability of their works and the works of others. Remix culture, or ‘read-write culture’ , lets people generate â€Å"art as readily as they consume it† . In Lawrence Lessig’s book Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy, he argues that the contemporary generation’s form of ‘literacy’ is technologically-based . In this contemporary society, technology plays a significant role in the appropriationRead More Creative Commons - America Needs Fair Use Licenses Essay1723 Words   |  7 Pagesbeen developed which addresses many of these issues in an effort to encourage new creative development through the open sharing of intellectual property. (Lessig) There are many issues with the current copyright laws that exist in the Canada and the United States today. Many critics of these laws like, Creative Commons founder Lawrence Lessig; believe that current copyright laws only exist to protect entrenched, and often uncreative interests at the expense of everyone else. (Plotkin) In the UnitedRead MoreE Phishing Software And The Privacy Of Consumers Online By Warning And Preventing Them From Phishing Websites1574 Words   |  7 Pagestransformation to or copy/cut and paste from works is a crime (Lessig, 2012, p ) In addition, copyrights go to ridiculous measures to supposedly protect works, which only yields inconveniences to most legal consumers. Lessig points out that in his Adobe E-Book some e-books restrict how many passages can be copied, how times he is allowed to read the novel, and decide whether the software is permitted to read aloud or not. (Lessig, 2012, ) DRMs do little to stop piracy and hurt consumers inRead MoreAnalysis Of Disney Company s Recreation Of Public Domain Fairy Tales2060 Words   |  9 Pagesas regulates the capabilities of younger generations to apply their artiscic and imaginative creativity. The regulation of culture is present now within America in regards to creativity as well as the control is so great creativity suffers. Lawrence Lessig, a law professor at Harvard and is an avoid advocate to reduced copyright laws. He writes a chapter in Helle Posdam’s book called Copyright and Other Fairy Tales about the dangers of copyright laws in such a technological world: It’s a world whereRead MoreWhen Does Fair Use Become Theft and Viceversa680 Words   |  3 Pagesespecially those passed in the US over the last 15 years, are draconian and destroy the very creativity that they claim to nurture. By combining documentary footage with interviews with Girl Talk, Creative Commons founder and Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig, BoingBoing founder Cory Doctorow and Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil, Gaylor proclaims sampling and remixing as a natural extension of human creativity. In his film, he identifies 2 major groups: the Copy Right (those who feel that ideas areRead MoreEssay Filesharing1193 Words   |  5 Pagesinformation. Perhaps the most useful article I found was an article written by Lawrence Lessig, A Stanford professor and author of â€Å"Free Culture†. In his article Lessig pointed out that the battle against online piracy is hopeless the way it is currently being fought. He noted that prosecuting these so-called â€Å"pirates† has not led to an increase of profits for the artists nor a decrease in the amount if illegal filesharing.(2) Lessig also wrote about a consequence of P2P network piracy that I had not beforeRead MoreInternet Regulation S hould Not Be Regulated Essay1297 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction In this paper, I will be arguing against the text by Lawrence Lessig by providing evidence and reasoning that proves that complete internet regulation would never be implemented on a global scale due to the privacy concerns that the United States would face while minimal internet regulation, like what Lessig suggests, would be unable to coexist with countries like China and Saudi Arabia who morally conflict with a global majority. Internet regulation will never be consistent in a globalRead More Buying Favor: Why Congress Depends on Funding From Special Interests2126 Words   |  9 Pages The previous sentence summarizes the collective sentiment of the general public concerning the legislative branch of the federal government. A 2010 Gallop poll revealed that over eighty-nine percent of Americans have no confidence in Congress (Lessig 2). It is theorized that Congress is so far out of favor because it has been unable to resolve the nation’s most important issues, such as Medicare, Medicaid, immigration reform, and the growing budget deficit, due to seemingly trivial reasons. Read MoreBill Gates and Microsoft1662 Words   |  7 PagesCode) programming language for use on the Altair. They were contracted to work as programmers at MITS headquarters in New Mexico (Stevenson). When the company that Gates and Allen worked for went bankrupt, Microsoft moved to Seattle, Washington (Lessig). His big break came in 1980 when IBM asked him to provide the operating system for IBM’s computer (â€Å"Bill Gates†). Instead of creating a new program Microsoft purchased QDOS (Quick and Dirty Operating System) and modified it for IBM’s PC. Gates