"common sense revolts at the idea"
2007-11-09 · Original WordPress address
What a great line from a 1946 Supreme Court opinion deciding property owners don't own the airspace above their land.
Larry Lessig has a good talk about property rights and copy rights in general. He makes two great points: First, he talks about how we need to set up a system were content that is "more free" (e.g. user generated content, mixes, etc) competes with content that is "less free" (e.g. music labels, etc). This is a good idea, but included in that discussion is one of the best statements of the virtue of competition I've ever heard. He says, the two competitors will "teach one the lessons of the other". In other words, competition is about learning.
The second point: Kids know they are living outside the law when they're following their instincts to recreate culture by remixing. Obviously, this "realization is extremely corrosive to a democracy" in which laws are meant to be for everyone.
Actually, besides these points and overall good content, the presentation itself is really good. Lessig puts on a good show.
So watch it already: