Animpassioned,darklyamusinglookathowcorporationsmisusecopyrightlawtostiflecreativityandfreespeechIfyouwanttomakefunofMickeyorBarbieonyourWebsite,youmaybehearingfromsomecorporatelawyers.Youshouldalsothinktwiceaboutcallingsomething““fairandbalanced““orpubliclyusingMartinLutherKingJr.’s““IHaveaDream““speech.Itmaybeillegal.Oritmaybeentirelylegal,butthedistinctiondoesn’tmatterifyoucan’taffordalawyer.Moreandmore,corporationsaregrabbingandassertingrightsovereveryideaandcreationinourworld,regardlessofthelaw’sintentorthepublicinterest.Butbeyondthehumorousabsurdityofallthis,thereliesadarkerproblem,asDavidBolliershowsinthisimportantnewbook.Lawsuitsandlegalbullyingclearlypreventthecreationoflegitimatenewsoftware,newartandmusic,newliterature,newbusinesses,andworstofall,newscientificandmedicalresearch.DavidBollier(Amherst,MA)iscofounderofPublicKnowledgeandSeniorFellowattheNormanLearCenter,USCAnnenbergSchoolforCommunication.HisbooksincludeSilentTheft.
