the people vs. copyright

The future of copyright is being fought out between two polarised factions. Music and film producers like Jack Valenti are looking for harsher ways to deter digital copying: the users and programmers, like Richard Stallman, say copyright has no place in a digital age. In this debate we work towards defining practical solutions for the future, with contributions from Siva Vaidhyanathan, Brian Zisk from the Future of Music Coalition, Jason Toynbee, and 9-time Grammy nominated singer, Janis Ian. Also see: the interactive copyright timeline.
Monday 25th June

The iCommons harvest

Felix Cohen, 25 June 2007
There's no tragedy in a digital commons where quality content is king
Wednesday 13th June

The reinvention of scarcity

Tony Curzon Price, 13 June 2007
The digital commons creates abundance, but at what cost to community?
Tuesday 12th June

The Magnatune revolution

John Buckman, 12 June 2007
A net-based record label is pioneering "open music" to the benefit of musicians and consumers alike

Plus: Tom Chance takes on Lawrence Lessig
Monday 11th June

Free culture: tumble down the walls

Tom Chance, 11 June 2007
The Creative Commons movement needs to pursue a bold vision for the enlargement of cultural freedom
Thursday 7th December

The future of intellectual property: Andrew Gowers interviewed

Becky Hogge, 7 December 2006
Andrew Gowers, commissioned by the British government to map the next generation's intellectual-property framework, explains his thinking to Becky Hogge – and leaves her feeling that the "copyfight" for a public domain of information has only just begun.
Tuesday 5th September

Brazil's two music industries

Sam Howard–Spink, 5 September 2006
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Thursday 8th June

Rip this: piracy and politics in Sweden

George South, 8 June 2006
Last weekend’s pro-piracy rallies in Stockholm were a surprise even to local copyright reformers. George South asks, how many peer to peer file sharers does it take to swing an election?
Wednesday 26th April

Mining the wealth of networks with Yochai Benkler

Yochai Benkler and Christian Ahlert, 26 April 2006
Yochai Benkler's new book "The Wealth of Networks" is both precise and provocative in defining afresh the role of peer production in the networked information economy. Christian Ahlert, public project lead of Creative Commons England and Wales, interviews him.
Friday 16th December

Google: Search or Destroy?

Sarah Waladan, Roger Clarke, Moyra McAllister, Michael Handler, Matthew Rimmer, and Chris Creswell, 16 December 2005
Google stands accused of copyright infringement by two major American authors’ associations and a French newswire. But the tools the company provides have done more to promote global access to information than any other. Here, librarians, lawyers, legislators and thinkers discuss the rights and wrongs of an internet giant.
Tuesday 13th December

Global voices: blogging the world

Becky Hogge, 13 December 2005
The pioneering Global Voices initiative hosted bloggers from Algeria to Zambia at a conference in London. An impressed Becky Hogge reflects on the challenges it may soon face.
Tuesday 29th November

The online public finds its voice

Becky Hogge, 29 November 2005
The Open Rights Group campaign for online freedom of information, individual liberty and the integrity of the public domain is a new stage in the defence of digital rights, says Becky Hogge.
Monday 5th September

Mozilla's 'magic pixie dust'

Hamza Khan-Cheema and Becky Hogge, 5 September 2005
Open standards are just as important as open debate: Becky Hogge explains why openDemocracy recommends the Mozilla Firefox web browser.
Sunday 12th June

Creative Commons: Making copyright work for democracy

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 12 June 2005
Since its inception openDemocracy has set the standard for accessible and informed deliberation of globally important issues. Now it is truly both open and democratic. Siva Vaidhyanathan welcomes openDemocracy to the Creative Commons.
Monday 25th April

Democracy and dissent at the World Intellectual Property Organisation

Becky Hogge, 25 April 2005
On World Intellectual Property Day, Becky Hogge speaks to Cory Doctorow, who has been campaigning for reform at the World Intellectual Property Organisation for two years, about the strains put on the democratic process by the arrival of dissenting voices.
Friday 11th March

Patents for profit: dystopian visions of the new economy

Becky Hogge, 11 March 2005
The struggle over intellectual property is the concern of more than knowledge economy specialists, says Becky Hogge: it is a contest over freedom as well as technology.
Thursday 28th November

Beyond romance and repression: social authorship in a capitalist age

Jason Toynbee, 28 November 2002
The imposition of punitive new intellectual property regimes represents a corporate assault on public culture. The connection between capitalism and copyright helps us to understand why it is happening; while the reality of ‘social authorship’ offers a way to open up new possibilities for creative workers in a reformed copyright system.
Tuesday 15th October

Play fair: the evolution of copyright

Bill Thompson, 15 October 2002
Since May under the deliberately provocative title ‘the people vs copyright’ we have been discussing copyright laws in the digital age. Bill Thompson ponders, summarises and wraps up the debate. If things are moving as quickly in the intellectual property rights world as he suggests, whether it stays wrapped is open to question.
Tuesday 1st October

The ABCs of copyright protection

Clyde Wayne Crews and Adam Thierer, 1 October 2002
In managing copyright, technology is better than law. The balance between artistic and business interests and users who enjoy free access can be preserved by giving the market time to work.
Tuesday 24th September

The European Copyright Directive in the UK: making rules that strangle freedoms

Julian Midgley, 24 September 2002
The UK government is preparing to implement the European Copyright Directive. If the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act seems harsh, the UK Patent Office has even more stringent measures in mind to enforce a copy-protection regime that will inhibit free inquiry.
Tuesday 20th August

Carnival and calypso in the shadow of copyright: life lessons from Trinidad and Tobago

Nikhil Gyan, 20 August 2002
Pirating and copying was part of everyday life in the small island state of Trinidad and Tobago until 1996. The effect of new laws was to disturb its distinctive calypso and carnival traditions and to threaten its educational system. For a young engineering student, there was only one way to go: adapt and survive.
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