#2 - Lawrence Lessig: Remix, Copyright by the laws of humanity

Lessig, L. (2008). Remix: Making art and commerce thrive in the hybrid economy. New York: The Penguin Press.

He continues:

Comparing to the Pokeman characters in Japanese media culture he shows how a different society to the US encourages identity with numerous characters and "created" characters rather than one omni-potent character or one RO ("Read-only") character(p.78)

Instead of the focus being, "Here's something, do something with it," the focus in the US is instead, "Here's something, buy it" (p.80)

Remix and sampling is just the same as what we've been doing throughout history with citing sources in our written documents (p.82). And this is exactly what I am doing here. I assume L. Lessig would approve.

He remembers with glee the day his own kid challenged the plot of a "monster man" story in favor of his own made up plot shift. The creative mind he asserts is not RO but is more inclined towards RW (Read-write) culture (p.87).

Creativity in media and remixing will generate more revenue for media companies because of the need for the production tools (p.88).

The complexity of media content will determine its value or its ability to be appreciated in and of itself. With RW and RO culture together we will generate more interesting content and the competition will be greater for better content.

The law is inclined towards protecting RO culture to the detriment of RW culture. Lessig says they can and must co-habit.

We may have to pay for electronic access to an e-book every time we access it. Unlike the book in my hands right now which I can read, reread, loan, or give to someone to read, an e-book may have a cost attached every time it is viewed. This is a fundamental shift in the way we share information and are charged for it(p.100).

This access to RO information was challenged by the tape recorder and the VCR and they did not kill the RO culture. The economy survived.

The law is reaching to the amateur for the first time to regulate how we recreate. Used to be, we could cite and recreate. Now we are in danger of being compelled to pay through the nose to "cite" media sources.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2004 said that every sample used in a remix triggered copyright law, regardless of the size of the sample (p.104)

Why would the system stop this creativity by economic strangulation? "no good reason, save inertia and the forces that like the world frozen as it is" (Lessig, 2008, p.105). Lawyers continue to reap the benefits of strong business.

The law is making our creative youth criminals for doing what is second nature to humans. This second nature is to write/create new work by citing your sources.

"We need to decriminalize creativity before we further criminalize a generation of our kids" (Lessig, 2008, p.114)

Lawrence Lessig: Remix, Copyright by the laws of humanity

Lessig, L. (2008). Remix: Making art and commerce thrive in the hydrid economy. New York: The Penguin Press.

May I suggest that if the first sixty pages are anything to go by every educator and parent should have their students, children and themselves read this book. At this time in history, this is an important read for our youth and beyond.

The beauty of this book is that it is easy to read and easy to understand while Lessig takes on all the relevant and complex issues. Some of the simplest things in life are also some of the most complex and Lessig plays this out beautifully.

His writing style is straight forward and lacks any iota of pretentiousness or legal jargon. He entices us into the most complex issues of copyright laws of the internet and beyond by giving real examples. Real people and their stories are employed to subtly explain to us in terms of living why copyright and creative commons are important.

And this isn't the only reason all our youth should be reading this book. Lessig talks about the law in terms of humanity. He asks for more "humility in regulation." He talks about respect: "If you want to respect Yo-Yo Ma, try playing a cello." This idea in itself is reason enough for wanting our youth to read this book. The idea that you can have more respect for others by attempting to fill their shoes is indicative of a true learning experience.

What parent wouldn't be happy to have their offspring reading about copyright in the twent-first century through the lens of humility and respect?

If you are not aware of L. Lessig here is a look into the man. If you cannot watch all 18 minutes of this video please watch the last minute.

[A great holiday gift idea and - no I don't know him nor do I get anything from the sales of his book]