If the only way a library can offer an Internet exhibit about the New Deal is to hire a lawyer to clear the rights to every image and sound, then the copyright system is burdening creativity in a way that…

Quote by Lawrence Lessig

Topics: Lawrence Lessig Quotes

A free culture has been our past, but it will only be our future if...

A free culture has been our past, but it will only be our future if...

The real harm of term extension comes not from these famous works. The real harm...

The real harm of term extension comes not from these famous works. The real harm...

A culture without property, or in which creators can't get paid, is anarchy, not freedom.

A culture without property, or in which creators can't get paid, is anarchy, not freedom.

Notwithstanding the fact that the most innovative and progressive space we've seen - the Internet...

Notwithstanding the fact that the most innovative and progressive space we've seen - the Internet...

So uncritically do we accept the idea of property in culture that we don't even...

So uncritically do we accept the idea of property in culture that we don't even...

Before the monopoly should be permitted, there must be reason to believe it will do...

Before the monopoly should be permitted, there must be reason to believe it will do...

Copyrights have not expired, and will not expire, so long as Congress is free to...

Copyrights have not expired, and will not expire, so long as Congress is free to...

Believing we know what makes prosperity work, ignoring the nature of the actual prosperity all...

Believing we know what makes prosperity work, ignoring the nature of the actual prosperity all...

All around us are the consequences of the most significant technological, and hence cultural, revolution...

All around us are the consequences of the most significant technological, and hence cultural, revolution...

Now that copyrights can be just about a century long, the inability to know what...

Now that copyrights can be just about a century long, the inability to know what...

We have a massive system to regulate creativity. A massive system of lawyers regulating creativity...

We have a massive system to regulate creativity. A massive system of lawyers regulating creativity...

Monopoly controls have been the exception in free societies; they have been the rule in...

Monopoly controls have been the exception in free societies; they have been the rule in...

A time is marked not so much by ideas that are argued about as by...

A time is marked not so much by ideas that are argued about as by...

This does not mean that every copyright must prove its value initially. That would be...

This does not mean that every copyright must prove its value initially. That would be...

When government disappears, it's not as if paradise will take its place. When governments are...

When government disappears, it's not as if paradise will take its place. When governments are...

While the creative works from the 16th century can still be accessed and used by...

While the creative works from the 16th century can still be accessed and used by...

Of all the creative work produced by humans anywhere, a tiny fraction has continuing commercial...

$Of all the creative work produced by humans anywhere, a tiny fraction has continuing commercial...$

Remember the refrain: We always build on the past; the past always tries to stop...

Remember the refrain: We always build on the past; the past always tries to stop...

The danger in media concentration comes not from the concentration, but instead from the feudalism...

The danger in media concentration comes not from the concentration, but instead from the feudalism...

In these times, the hardest task for social or political activists is to find a...

In these times, the hardest task for social or political activists is to find a...