Larry Lessig, copyfighter, almost announces for Congress
Stanford law professor Larry Lessig, father of Creative Commons, has waged the good legal fight against such atrocities as copyright term extension and the current DMCA. But perhaps he’ll soon be able battle them in another arena, Congress. He’s currently mulling over whether to run for a seat from California’s 12the district. Copyright, of course, is just one of a slew of topics of interest to him; I especially like his goal of effecting campaign finance reform, which intersects with copyright matters. Oh, does it!
For newcomers: Current copyright law means you can’t read the Great Gatsby for free online, even though it came out in April 1925. Nor can you convert e-books from one DRMed format into another, thanks to the DMCA. Copyfight is among the better blogs tracking these issues.
Related: Lessig’s almost-campaign site with videos—as well as an Ars Technica write-up, Lessig wants to build a “creative commons” in Congress. Also see Google News roundup and stories linked from Techmeme.
Correction: That’s an almost announcement, not a full one. I’ve changed the headline.
Technorati Tags: Lawrence Lessig,Larry Lessig,Lessig,Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act
February 24th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
When you say “waged a good legal fight,” you actually mean “lost.”
February 24th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Certainly “good” in terms of effort, Joe. Furthermore, Lessig is now wisely addressing the real source of the problem: the campaign donations mess. D.C.’s on sale, and Hollywood keeps buying. Thanks. David