kottke.org

...is a weblog about the liberal arts 2.0 edited by Jason Kottke since March 1998 (archives). You can read about me and kottke.org here. If you've got questions, concerns, or interesting links, send them along.

Copyright double billing

Having seen many of his presentations and read many of his articles, it's been enjoyable watching Larry Lessig refine his copyright arguments over the past few years. Many still wrongly assume that he's anti-copyright, but his views are much more nuanced than that, certainly more subtle than those of the media industry or the US government. Here's a short passage from his latest article on copyright term extensions:

We rightfully grant the monopoly called copyright to inspire new creative work. But once that work has been created, there is no public justification for extending its term. The public has already paid. Term extension is just double billing. Any wealth it creates for copyright holders is swamped by the wealth the public loses in lower costs and wider access.

A limited term of protection in exchange for freely available creative work...sounds reasonable to me.

By Jason Kottke    Dec 29, 2004 at 02:58 pm

kottke.org, quickly...

The best way to get a sense of what kottke.org is all about is to head to the front page or check out some random entries from the archives. Follow kottke.org via RSS or Twitter.

Want to share your something special with kottke.org's readers? Sponsor the RSS feed for a week!

Looking for work?

See more on the Job Board.

Recommended sites

David Archer    Matthew Paul Thomas    Rebecky    greg.org    jimr(ay)    evhead    panopticist    strange maps    Nivi    Type for you.    Airbag    Ikeepadiary    The Pop!Tech Blog    Eater    tremble.com    Frumination    Personism    NYT Science    Idle Words    The Laboratorium