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 is not a culture without property; it is not a culture in...

A free culture is not a culture without property; it is not a culture in...

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...

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...

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...

Americans have been selling this view around the world: that progress comes from perfect protection...

Americans have been selling this view around the world: that progress comes from perfect protection...

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

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

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...

By the time Apple's Macintosh operating system finally falls into the public domain, there will...

By the time Apple's Macintosh operating system finally falls into the public domain, there will...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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...

If the Internet teaches us anything, it is that great value comes from leaving core...

If the Internet teaches us anything, it is that great value comes from leaving core...

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...

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...

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...

As we've seen, our constitutional system requires limits on copyright as a way to assure...

As we've seen, our constitutional system requires limits on copyright as a way to assure...

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...

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...