Common sense is with the copyright warriors because the debate so far has been framed at the extremes - as a grand either/or: either property or anarchy, either total control or artists won't be paid. If that really is the choice, then the warriors should win. The mistake here is the error of the excluded middle. There are extremes in this debate, but the extremes are not all that there is. There are those who believe in maximal copyright - 'All Rights Reserved' - and those who reject copyright - 'No Rights Reserved.' The 'All Rights Reserved' sorts believe that you should ask permission before you 'use' a copyrighted work in any way. The 'No Rights Reserved' sorts believe you should be able to do with content as you wish, regardless of whether you have permission or not. ... What's needed is a way to say something in the middle - neither 'all rights reserved' nor 'no rights reserved' but 'some rights reserved' - and thus a way to respect copyrights but enable creators to free content as they see fit. In other words, we need a way to restore a set of freedoms that we could just take for granted before.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The copyright debate falsely frames choices as total control or no control, ignoring the middle ground.
- In plain terms
- There are many options between all rights and no rights.
- What can you take from it?
- Find middle ground in copyright.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Where should lines be drawn?
- How do we find balance?
Another view
Some issues may truly require clear boundaries.
More from Lawrence Lessig
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