CC’s Story: Week 2

Posted on October 12, 2005 by Lessig

So I’m having some fun writing up this history and future of Creative Commons, which I’m doing as penance for the fund raising campaign. If you’d like to read week 2, it’s here. If you’d like to give something to support Creative Commons, you can do so here. And if you read what I’ve written without supporting Creative Commons, well, we’ll just see how things turn out for you (and us, I guess).

Posted in creative commons | 9 Comments

Potter on Boyle and the Broadcast Treaty

Posted on October 6, 2005 by Lessig

Jon Potter has a response to Jamie Boyle’s piece about the Broadcasting and Webcasting Treaty under consideration at WIPO. Notice how Potter’s justifications are tied exclusively to “piracy.” And notice (now that I tell you) that those (very few) corporations pushing this treaty have consistently rejected a treaty limited to “piracy.” Not also the absurdity in this (non-IPR based) right being granted for 50 years. And note that practically every major rights organization has opposed the treaty.

Posted in free culture | 1 Comment

and so it continues

Posted on October 6, 2005 by Lessig

redbaiting by the oblivious: Ed Rothstein of the New York Times.

Posted in just plain silly | 20 Comments

e2e makes it to Geneva!

Posted on October 5, 2005 by Lessig

So everyone is hotly contesting questions about Internet governance. I know lots are conflicted about this. But notice some good news from the Europeans: The European Statement to the United Nations explicitly mentions and defends the “end-to-end” principle.

(Thanks, Bernard!)

Posted in good code | 15 Comments

on coming to love the TSA

Posted on October 2, 2005 by Lessig

So I’ve been a critic of the TSA in the past. But as I crossed the 275,000 miles flown this year, I realized I now like the TSA lots. I don’t like that we need a TSA; I don’t like many of the rules they enforce. But I have been struck by the change in the manner and character of TSA agents. They have become, with experience or training I don’t know, professional. I’ve seen them deal with things that would have closed airports in the past — and from my recent experience, they deal with them the way a good ER doctor does: with patience, and calm, and lots of humor. I was terrified when the post 9/11 TSA emerged. I was terrified by their character. I am relieved, indeed, heartened, by who the TSA has become.

Posted in Good news | 30 Comments

Fantastic lessons from Canada

Posted on October 1, 2005 by Lessig

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Michael Geist, professor of law at University of Ottawa, and editor of the BNA’s daily Internet Law News, has again done the extraordinary. After pulling together and editing an amazing collection of authors to write about the future of copyright reform in Canada, he convinced the publisher to release the book, In the Public Interest, under a Creative Commons license, and has gifted the royalties to Creative Commons. Buy the book, download the book, read the book: each will do some good. Thanks, Michael, again.

Posted in creative commons | 5 Comments

welcome the cc kids to SNL

Posted on October 1, 2005 by Lessig

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Saturday Night Live welcomes three CCommoners to the show tonight. As described in Wired News, Andy Samberg joins as a performer, and Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer join as writers. The three have been inviting remixes of their work for sometime now. When a pilot for Fox, Awesometown, was rejected, they released it for remix under a CC license. Awesome, indeed.

Posted in creative commons | 1 Comment

finally, progress

Posted on September 27, 2005 by Lessig

So I spend most of my life reflecting on how little progress I’ve made in the stuff I feel most strongly about.

But now, finally, some progress.

Dick Hardt is brilliant. Watch (and copy) the style. Learn tons from the substance. (My pride is tied to the style only).

Posted in heroes | 11 Comments

Network Neutrality: More on the economics

Posted on September 27, 2005 by Lessig

Barbara van Schewick has a fantastic new paper about the economics of network neutrality. As she nicely demonstrates, there is a severe threat of discrimination without network neutrality regulation, and that discrimination will reduce application-level innovation. van Schewick’s work is not funded by any of the special interests involved in this issue — nor is it sponsored by the “independent” think tanks that are funded by the special interests involved in this issue.

Grab the pdf here.

Posted in good code | 3 Comments

lisa’s songs from the commons

Posted on September 27, 2005 by Lessig


songs from the commons
on MondoGlobo.net

Lisa Rein, who helped us frame and get Creative Commons going, has launched series on “Songs from the Commons” — this week on my favorite topic, copyright term.

Posted in good code | 3 Comments