Remember the refrain: We always build on the past; the past always tries to stop us. Freedom is about stopping the past, but we have lost that ideal.

Quote by Lawrence Lessig

Topics: Lawrence Lessig Quotes

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...

If the only way a library can offer an Internet exhibit about the New Deal...

If the only way a library can offer an Internet exhibit about the New Deal...

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.

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...

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...

Power runs with ideas that only the crazy would draw into doubt.

Power runs with ideas that only the crazy would draw into doubt.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...