Category Archives: Uncategorized

Larry Lessig from time to time flagellates himself about losing the Eldred case in the Supreme Court. He shouldn’t; it was unwinnable for a host of reason (the lopsided vote–7-2–is a clue). Yes, Congress can confer copyrights only “for limited Times,” but what’s “limited” is a matter of perspective. If the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act had been in force in Shakespeare’s time (there was no copyright then, in fact), then, since Shakespeare died in 1616, his works would have entered the public domain in 1686–more than 300 years ago. So Larry focused on the retroactive feature of the… Continue reading →

Sad to say, there are two things that, as a judge, I can’t talk about in public (and this is in public). One is pending cases, which means (in any court, not just mine) cases in which all possibilities of further proceedings, such as an appeal to the Supreme Court, have not yet been exhausted. Oh I can mention a case, e.g., Grokster, which Tim discussed and linked to, or even talk around it a bit, but I can’t comment directly or indirectly on the merits of the decision. I can, though, point you to a case, related to Grokster,… Continue reading →

Tim having vacated the premises early, I thought I should accelerate my entry, especially to correct his statement that “Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag” is my favorite movie. It was my favorite movie, but that was before I saw “The Matrix,” which is my current favorite (though just the first of the three Matrix films), and which seems to me a portent of one of the directions in which technology is moving us. The social and legal impact of technology is going to be the principal theme of my week as Larry’s guest blogger…. Continue reading →

I’m Dick Posner; I’ll be Larry’s guest blogger next week (week of Aug. 23). If you don’t know anything about me, you can check my home page: Richard A. Posner… Continue reading →

Speaking of balkanization and translations, this is what appears to be a double translation of Lessig blog. From English to Japanese and back again, as in: “If it will not be able to bear to like him, John Perry Barlow is the man who does not separate only in tedious existence.” “Thierer, The Next Telecom Act – What does Cato want?” “After [ a cyber-ethics champion ] paddle.”… Continue reading →

An interesting question raised by comments: What do self-proclaimed libertarians say about intellectual property laws nowadays, and have things changed since the 1990s?… Continue reading →

Whether you like him or he drives you nuts, John Perry Barlow is incapable of being boring. From his interview with Reason, on reality TV, intellectual propetry, and his decision to leave the Republican party: “If all ideas have to be bought, then you have an intellectually regressive system that will assure you have a highly knowledgeable elite and an ignorant mass.” “I think he�s [Kerry] been in the U.S. Senate long enough to have his backbone dissolved. … But I think Kerry will be somewhat better than Bush, if for no other reason than he is not on… Continue reading →

Whenever I speak with librarians about fair use or the Copyright Act more generally, I inevitably hear them express concerns that we run the risk of becoming a pay per use society, one in which content is available only for a fee. I am concerned that the bookmobiles we all grew up with and their modern day equivalents will go the way of the eight track and the reel-to-reel, replaced by a world in which access to information will depend on the ability to pay and, worse, a world in which a payment gets you only a license to view… Continue reading →

Next year, Congress will begin the difficult process of rewriting the Telecommunications Act of 1996. As a Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (as well as the Judiciary Committee), I see this exercise as an enormously valuable opportunity to fashion new federal guidelines for the era of Internet-based communications. In anticipation of this debate, I have joined with Representative Cliff Stearns of Florida in drafting H.R. 4757, the Advanced Internet Communications Services Act. The legislation would stimulate investment in, and encourage the rapid deployment of, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and other Advanced Internet Communcations Services. We begin… Continue reading →

Out of concern that the Digital Millenium Copyright Act went too far in restricting fair use in the digital era, I have drafted and introduced along with John Doolittle of California H.R. 107, the Digital Media Consumers’ Rights Act. Among other objectives, the bill would confirm that a person would not be deemed to have illegally “circumvented” technical protection measures guarding access to copyrighted works under Section 1201 of the DMCA as long as he or she had no intent to infringe the copyright in the work. Our bill also embodies the Supreme Court’s Betamax standard to insulate from liability… Continue reading →