Copyright's Paradox (Hardcover)

by Neil Weinstock Netanel (Author)
Key Phrases: air pirates, free speech burdens, bloated copyright, First Amendment, Copyright Act, Supreme Court (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Why must a documentary filmmaker pay a $10,000 licensing fee for an image of Homer Simpson that appears briefly in the background? Netanel poses this real-life question as part of his compelling argument that an American copyright law originally intended to foster creativity now stifles it. Though he acknowledges that writers and artists need legal protection from piracy, Netanel shows that such protection has grown so broad that it threatens the free speech enshrined in the First Amendment. Particularly troubling are the new proprietary rights that hamstring those trying to use new technologies to recast works into parody, to fuse them into startling new combinations, or to inject into them the leavening of hostile critique. Specific cases make it troublingly clear that even traditional “fair use” exemptions to copyright law are disappearing as courts endorse the copyright holders’ broadest claims and so squelch free speech. To restore cherished freedoms, Netanel urges Americans to enact a specific set of copyright reforms, outlined in his conclusion. A balanced and cogent argument. --Bryce Christensen

Review

"Among copyfighters, Neil Netanel is rightly hailed as one of the most important writers and thinkers in the field... his latest book, Copyright's Paradox, cements that reputation... Best of all, Copyright's Paradox offers solutions, a set of simple legislative recommendations that are both realistic and promising--solutions that will end the copyright wars without destroying the public interest or the fortunes of artists."--BoingBoing.net
"Timely and topical... Netanel's well-researched, informative and eminently readable book is a thoughtful and important contribution to the debate, and should be read by those seeking practical solutions to a problem that will not go away with wishful thinking."--New Jersey Lawyer
"Copyright's Paradox is a well-written book that provides a balanced intellectual discourse on the issues embroiled in the copyright--free speech debate and an insightful road map on how to redraw copyright law to better serve free speech goals."--Houston Lawyer
"A fresh perspective...those interested in copyright law should turn to Copyright's Paradox...Netanel guides us towards the possibility of a more constructive copyright regime."--Law & Politics Book Review
"If there is anyone who doesn't yet see how copyright badly burdens free speech, it is only because they have not read this well-crafted and powerfully argued book."--Lawrence Lessig, author of Free Culture
"Recent controversies over the tensions between copyright and free speech have surfaced in the courts, in the academic literature, and in public and political discourse. It is the virtue of Neil Netanel's fine book that it combines a balanced and comprehensive guide to and analysis of these controversies, while also offering nuanced prescriptions that avoid the unrealistic and extreme positions often taken by those embroiled in the fight over copyright's reach."--Frederick Schauer, author of Free Speech: A Philosophical Enquiry
"Copyright's Paradox fluently examines an array of recent copyright controversies, highlighting the problematic free speech implications of an ever-expanding copyright regime.... Professor Netanel's incisive examination of his subject through a First Amendment lens helps illuminate some of the issue's critical cultural and constitutional dimensions."--Harvard Law Review
"Elegantly and clearly, Neil Netanel presents a scholarly middle ground in the copyright debates, avoiding both the misguided conservative view that copyright should be about either economic efficiency or natural rights of property and the copy-left view that no or minimal rights are proper. Instead, Netanel rightly locates a limited acceptance of copyright in its contribution to freedom and especially to democracy."--C. Edwin Baker, author of Media Concentration and Democracy: Why Ownership Matters
"The tension between copyright law and freedom of speech knows no treatment more sophisticated or nuanced than Neil Netanel's. This magnificent book searches the roots of both doctrines, offering a penetrating analysis of how our democratic institutions call for the preservation of traditional copyright and at the same time curtail its more recent 'bloated' manifestations. Highly recommended for devotees of both fields."--David Nimmer, co-author of Nimmer on Copyright


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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (April 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195137620
• ISBN-13: 978-0195137620
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #234,471 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #5 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Law > Intellectual Property > Patent, Trademark & Copyright
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What's Wrong with Copyright, September 1, 2008

By	doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

As the title indicates, this book examines the great paradox of modern copyright law in America. Copyright was meant to encourage and protect creativity, but is now used to restrict that same expression. For the layperson, copyright law may seem to be a guarantee of compensation for an artist's expressive works for a limited time, after which that expression enters the public domain for the benefit of all Americans. But in the real world (that is, the modern legal and business environment), corporations have hijacked copyright law for ensuring profits and suppressing contrarian speakers, and have heavily lobbied courts and lawmakers to accept this fractured anti-speech and anti-market definition of "expression." In another paradox, media industries complain about how new computerized tools damage their profits and beg lawmakers to stop the proliferation of those tools, while at the same time using that very same technology to gain rights and market power far beyond what copyright allows. Thus, today's legal landscape for copyright is a severe mutation of the law's original intent (from the Founding Fathers) as an engine to promote speech and the progress of knowledge.

As an academic researcher on this subject, I have seen many commentators bemoan these modern problems with copyright law in a variety of settings. But with this book, Netanel has created the most authoritative and concise study yet of the un-American mutation of copyright law into a vehicle for unfettered media industry profits, while it inexorably drifts away from its origins as an incentive for creativity and an engine of free expression. Netanel concludes the book with highly plausible (though overly ambitious, politically speaking) solutions that could just get copyright law back where it belongs - in the creative minds of the people. [~doomsdayer520~]

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for those who are interested in copyright and how it interact with first amendment, August 6, 2008

By	Bryan Huang (Taipei,Twiwan) - See all my reviews

Anyone who are interested in or have read Benkler's book The wealth of Networks should read this book. There are many insights of this book, such as the structural function of copyright and the concept and importance of diversity. In a word, Netanel elegantly shows us how copyright enhances(past tense though) and burdens free speech, and he proposes a remaking of copyright base on what he called Free Speech Principle.