Copyrighting Culture

Download Copyrighting Culture PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429969856
Total Pages : 289 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Copyrighting Culture by : Ronald V. Bettig

Download or read book Copyrighting Culture written by Ronald V. Bettig and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-10-08 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Launching into a complete analysis of copyright law in our capitalistic and hegemonistic political system, Ronald Bettig uncovers the power of the wealthy few to expand their fortunes through the ownership and manipulation of intellectual property. Beginning with a critical interpretation of copyright history in the United States, Bettig goes on to explore such crucial issues as the videocassette recorder and the control of copyrights, the invention of cable television and the first challenge to the filmed entertainment copyright system, the politics and economics of intellectual property as seen from both the neoclassical economists and the radical political economists points of view, and methods of resisting existing laws. }Launching into a complete analysis of copyright law in our capitalistic and hegemonistic political system, Ronald Bettig uncovers the power of the wealthy few to expand their fortunes through the ownership and manipulation of intellectual property. Beginning with a critical interpretation of copyright history in the United States, Bettig goes on to explore such crucial issues as the videocassette recorder and the control of copyrights, the invention of cable television and the first challenge to the filmed entertainment copyright system, the politics and economics of intellectual property as seen from both the neoclassical economists and the radical political economists points of view, and methods of resisting existing laws.Beautifully written and well argued, this book provides a long, clear look at how capitalism and capitalists seize and control culture through the ownership of copyrights, thus perpetuating their own ideologies and economic superiority. }

Copyrighting Culture

Download Copyrighting Culture PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429969856
Total Pages : 289 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Copyrighting Culture by : Ronald V. Bettig

Download or read book Copyrighting Culture written by Ronald V. Bettig and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-10-08 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Launching into a complete analysis of copyright law in our capitalistic and hegemonistic political system, Ronald Bettig uncovers the power of the wealthy few to expand their fortunes through the ownership and manipulation of intellectual property. Beginning with a critical interpretation of copyright history in the United States, Bettig goes on to explore such crucial issues as the videocassette recorder and the control of copyrights, the invention of cable television and the first challenge to the filmed entertainment copyright system, the politics and economics of intellectual property as seen from both the neoclassical economists and the radical political economists points of view, and methods of resisting existing laws. }Launching into a complete analysis of copyright law in our capitalistic and hegemonistic political system, Ronald Bettig uncovers the power of the wealthy few to expand their fortunes through the ownership and manipulation of intellectual property. Beginning with a critical interpretation of copyright history in the United States, Bettig goes on to explore such crucial issues as the videocassette recorder and the control of copyrights, the invention of cable television and the first challenge to the filmed entertainment copyright system, the politics and economics of intellectual property as seen from both the neoclassical economists and the radical political economists points of view, and methods of resisting existing laws.Beautifully written and well argued, this book provides a long, clear look at how capitalism and capitalists seize and control culture through the ownership of copyrights, thus perpetuating their own ideologies and economic superiority. }

Copyrighting Culture

Download Copyrighting Culture PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429980930
Total Pages : 313 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Copyrighting Culture by : Ronald V. Bettig

Download or read book Copyrighting Culture written by Ronald V. Bettig and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-10-08 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Launching into a complete analysis of copyright law in our capitalistic and hegemonistic political system, Ronald Bettig uncovers the power of the wealthy few to expand their fortunes through the ownership and manipulation of intellectual property. Beginning with a critical interpretation of copyright history in the United States, Bettig goes on to explore such crucial issues as the videocassette recorder and the control of copyrights, the invention of cable television and the first challenge to the filmed entertainment copyright system, the politics and economics of intellectual property as seen from both the neoclassical economists and the radical political economists points of view, and methods of resisting existing laws. }Launching into a complete analysis of copyright law in our capitalistic and hegemonistic political system, Ronald Bettig uncovers the power of the wealthy few to expand their fortunes through the ownership and manipulation of intellectual property. Beginning with a critical interpretation of copyright history in the United States, Bettig goes on to explore such crucial issues as the videocassette recorder and the control of copyrights, the invention of cable television and the first challenge to the filmed entertainment copyright system, the politics and economics of intellectual property as seen from both the neoclassical economists and the radical political economists points of view, and methods of resisting existing laws.Beautifully written and well argued, this book provides a long, clear look at how capitalism and capitalists seize and control culture through the ownership of copyrights, thus perpetuating their own ideologies and economic superiority. }

Copyrighting Culture

Download Copyrighting Culture PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Westview Press
ISBN 13 : 9780813333045
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (33 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Copyrighting Culture by : Ronald V. Bettig

Download or read book Copyrighting Culture written by Ronald V. Bettig and published by Westview Press. This book was released on 1996-09-13 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Launching into a complete analysis of copyright law in our capitalistic and hegemonistic political system, Ronald Bettig uncovers the power of the wealthy few to expand their fortunes through the ownership and manipulation of intellectual property. Beginning with a critical interpretation of copyright history in the United States, Bettig goes on to explore such crucial issues as the videocassette recorder and the control of copyrights, the invention of cable television and the first challenge to the filmed entertainment copyright system, the politics and economics of intellectual property as seen from both the neoclassical economists' and the radical political economists' points of view, and methods of resisting existing laws.Beautifully written and well argued, this book provides a long, clear look at how capitalism and capitalists seize and control culture through the ownership of copyrights, thus perpetuating their own ideologies and economic superiority.

The Culture of the Copy

Download The Culture of the Copy PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 1935408453
Total Pages : 473 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (354 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Culture of the Copy by : Hillel Schwartz

Download or read book The Culture of the Copy written by Hillel Schwartz and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2014-11-02 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A novel attempt to make sense of our preoccupation with copies of all kinds—from counterfeits to instant replay, from parrots to photocopies. The Culture of the Copy is a novel attempt to make sense of the Western fascination with replicas, duplicates, and twins. In a work that is breathtaking in its synthetic and critical achievements, Hillel Schwartz charts the repercussions of our entanglement with copies of all kinds, whose presence alternately sustains and overwhelms us. This updated edition takes notice of recent shifts in thought with regard to such issues as biological cloning, conjoined twins, copyright, digital reproduction, and multiple personality disorder. At once abbreviated and refined, it will be of interest to anyone concerned with problems of authenticity, identity, and originality. Through intriguing, and at times humorous, historical analysis and case studies in contemporary culture, Schwartz investigates a stunning array of simulacra: counterfeits, decoys, mannequins, and portraits; ditto marks, genetic cloning, war games, and camouflage; instant replays, digital imaging, parrots, and photocopies; wax museums, apes, and art forgeries—not to mention the very notion of the Real McCoy. Working through a range of theories on biological, mechanical, and electronic reproduction, Schwartz questions the modern esteem for authenticity and uniqueness. The Culture of the Copy shows how the ethical dilemmas central to so many fields of endeavor have become inseparable from our pursuit of copies—of the natural world, of our own creations, indeed of our very selves. The book is an innovative blend of microsociology, cultural history, and philosophical reflection, of interest to anyone concerned with problems of authenticity, identity, and originality. Praise for the first edition “[T]he author... brings his considerable synthetic powers to bear on our uneasy preoccupation with doubles, likenesses, facsimiles, replicas and re-enactments. I doubt that these cultural phenomena have ever been more comprehensively or more creatively chronicled.... [A] book that gets you to see the world anew, again.” —The New York Times “A sprightly and disconcerting piece of cultural history” —Terence Hawkes, London Review of Books “In The Culture of the Copy, [Schwartz] has written the perfect book: original and repetitive at once.” —Todd Gitlin, Los Angeles Times Book Review

What if we could reimagine copyright?

Download What if we could reimagine copyright? PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : ANU Press
ISBN 13 : 1760460818
Total Pages : 344 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (64 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis What if we could reimagine copyright? by : Rebecca Giblin

Download or read book What if we could reimagine copyright? written by Rebecca Giblin and published by ANU Press. This book was released on 2017-01-09 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What if we could start with a blank slate, and write ourselves a brand new copyright system? What if we could design a law, from scratch, unconstrained by existing treaty obligations, business models and questions of political feasibility? Would we opt for radical overhaul, or would we keep our current fundamentals? Which parts of the system would we jettison? Which would we keep? In short, what might a copyright system designed to further the public interest in the current legal and sociological environment actually look like? Taking this thought experiment as their starting point, the leading international thinkers represented in this collection reconsider copyright’s fundamental questions: the subject matter that should be protected, the ideal scope and duration of those rights, and how it should be enforced. Tackling the biggest challenges affecting the current law, their essays provocatively explore how the law could better secure to creators the fruits of their labours, ensure better outcomes for the world’s more marginalised populations and solve orphan works. And while the result is a collection of impossible ideas, it also tells us much about what copyright could be – and what prescriptive treaty obligations currently force us to give up. The book shows that, reimagined, copyright could serve creators and the broader public far better than it currently does – and exposes intriguing new directions for achievable reform.

Circulation and Control

Download Circulation and Control PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Open Book Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1800641494
Total Pages : 334 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (6 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Circulation and Control by : Marie-Stéphanie Delamaire

Download or read book Circulation and Control written by Marie-Stéphanie Delamaire and published by Open Book Publishers. This book was released on 2021-10-08 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The nineteenth century witnessed a series of revolutions in the production and circulation of images. From lithographs and engraved reproductions of paintings to daguerreotypes, stereoscopic views, and mass-produced sculptures, works of visual art became available in a wider range of media than ever before. But the circulation and reproduction of artworks also raised new questions about the legal rights of painters, sculptors, engravers, photographers, architects, collectors, publishers, and subjects of representation (such as sitters in paintings or photographs). Copyright and patent laws tussled with informal cultural norms and business strategies as individuals and groups attempted to exert some degree of control over these visual creations. With contributions by art historians, legal scholars, historians of publishing, and specialists of painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic arts, this rich collection of essays explores the relationship between intellectual property laws and the cultural, economic, and technological factors that transformed the pictorial landscape during the nineteenth century. This book will be valuable reading for historians of art and visual culture; legal scholars who work on the history of copyright and patent law; and literary scholars and historians who work in the field of book history. It will also resonate with anyone interested in current debates about the circulation and control of images in our digital age.

Digital Copyright

Download Digital Copyright PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Prometheus Books
ISBN 13 : 161592051X
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (159 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Digital Copyright by : Jessica Litman

Download or read book Digital Copyright written by Jessica Litman and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Professor Litman's work stands out as well-researched, doctrinally solid, and always piercingly well-written.-JANE GINSBURG, Morton L. Janklow Professor of Literary and Artistic Property, Columbia UniversityLitman's work is distinctive in several respects: in her informed historical perspective on copyright law and its legislative policy; her remarkable ability to translate complicated copyright concepts and their implications into plain English; her willingness to study, understand, and take seriously what ordinary people think copyright law means; and her creativity in formulating alternatives to the copyright quagmire. -PAMELA SAMUELSON, Professor of Law and Information Management; Director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, University of California, BerkeleyIn 1998, copyright lobbyists succeeded in persuading Congress to enact laws greatly expanding copyright owners' control over individuals' private uses of their works. The efforts to enforce these new rights have resulted in highly publicized legal battles between established media and new upstarts.In this enlightening and well-argued book, law professor Jessica Litman questions whether copyright laws crafted by lawyers and their lobbyists really make sense for the vast majority of us. Should every interaction between ordinary consumers and copyright-protected works be restricted by law? Is it practical to enforce such laws, or expect consumers to obey them? What are the effects of such laws on the exchange of information in a free society?Litman's critique exposes the 1998 copyright law as an incoherent patchwork. She argues for reforms that reflect common sense and the way people actually behave in their daily digital interactions.This paperback edition includes an afterword that comments on recent developments, such as the end of the Napster story, the rise of peer-to-peer file sharing, the escalation of a full-fledged copyright war, the filing of lawsuits against thousands of individuals, and the June 2005 Supreme Court decision in the Grokster case.Jessica Litman (Ann Arbor, MI) is professor of law at Wayne State University and a widely recognized expert on copyright law.

Copyrights and Copywrongs

Download Copyrights and Copywrongs PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : NYU Press
ISBN 13 : 9780814788073
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (88 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Copyrights and Copywrongs by : Siva Vaidhyanathan

Download or read book Copyrights and Copywrongs written by Siva Vaidhyanathan and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2003-04 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this text, the author tracks the history of American copyright law through the 20th century, from Mark Twain's exhortations for 'thick' copyright protection, to recent lawsuits regarding sampling in rap music and the 'digital moment', exemplified by the rise of Napster and MP3 technology.

The Copyright Thing Doesn't Work Here

Download The Copyright Thing Doesn't Work Here PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : U of Minnesota Press
ISBN 13 : 0816670021
Total Pages : 233 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (166 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Copyright Thing Doesn't Work Here by : Boatema Boateng

Download or read book The Copyright Thing Doesn't Work Here written by Boatema Boateng and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The intersection of Western intellectual property law and traditional knowledge in Africa.

Hollywood's Copyright Wars

Download Hollywood's Copyright Wars PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231159471
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (311 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Hollywood's Copyright Wars by : Peter Decherney

Download or read book Hollywood's Copyright Wars written by Peter Decherney and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2013-09-01 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beginning with Thomas Edison's aggressive copyright disputes and concluding with recent lawsuits against YouTube, Hollywood's Copyright Wars follows the struggle of the film, television, and digital media industries to influence and adapt to copyright law. Though much of Hollywood's engagement with the law occurs offstage, in the larger theater of copyright, many of Hollywood's most valued treasures, from Modern Times (1936) to Star Wars (1977), cannot be fully understood without appreciating their legal controversies. Peter Decherney shows that the history of intellectual property in Hollywood has not always mirrored the evolution of the law and recounts these extralegal solutions and their impact on American media and culture.

Wired Shut

Download Wired Shut PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262250837
Total Pages : 405 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (622 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Wired Shut by : Tarleton Gillespie

Download or read book Wired Shut written by Tarleton Gillespie and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2009-09-18 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How the shift toward "technical copy protection" in the battle over digital copyright depends on changing political and commercial alignments that are profoundly shaping the future of cultural expression in a digital age. While the public and the media have been distracted by the story of Napster, warnings about the evils of "piracy," and lawsuits by the recording and film industries, the enforcement of copyright law in the digital world has quietly shifted from regulating copying to regulating the design of technology. Lawmakers and commercial interests are pursuing what might be called a technical fix: instead of specifying what can and cannot be done legally with a copyrighted work, this new approach calls for the strategic use of encryption technologies to build standards of copyright directly into digital devices so that some uses are possible and others rendered impossible. In Wired Shut, Tarleton Gillespie examines this shift to "technical copy protection" and its profound political, economic, and cultural implications. Gillespie reveals that the real story is not the technological controls themselves but the political, economic, and cultural arrangements being put in place to make them work. He shows that this approach to digital copyright depends on new kinds of alliances among content and technology industries, legislators, regulators, and the courts, and is changing the relationship between law and technology in the process. The film and music industries, he claims, are deploying copyright in order to funnel digital culture into increasingly commercial patterns that threaten to undermine the democratic potential of a network society. In this broad context, Gillespie examines three recent controversies over digital copyright: the failed effort to develop copy protection for portable music players with the Strategic Digital Music Initiative (SDMI); the encryption system used in DVDs, and the film industry's legal response to the tools that challenged them; and the attempt by the FCC to mandate the "broadcast flag" copy protection system for digital television. In each, he argues that whether or not such technical constraints ever succeed, the political alignments required will profoundly shape the future of cultural expression in a digital age.

Copyrighting Creativity

Download Copyrighting Creativity PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317159586
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (171 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Copyrighting Creativity by : Helle Porsdam

Download or read book Copyrighting Creativity written by Helle Porsdam and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-03-09 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the relationship between creativity, cultural heritage institutions and copyright? Who owns culture and cultural heritage? The digital age has expanded the horizon of creative possibilities for artists and cultural institutions - what is the impact on legal regimes that were constructed for an analogue world? What are the tensions between the safeguarding of cultural heritage and the dissemination of knowledge about culture? Inspired by a three year research project involving leading European universities, this book explores the relationship between copyright and intellectual property, creativity and innovation, and cultural heritage institutions. Its contributors are scholars from both the humanities and the social sciences - from cultural studies to law - as well as cultural practitioners and representatives from cultural heritage institutions. They all share an interest in the contribution of intellectual property to the role of cultural institutions in making culture accessible and encouraging new creativity.

Cultures of Copyright

Download Cultures of Copyright PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Communication Law
ISBN 13 : 9781433125621
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (256 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Cultures of Copyright by : Dànielle Nicole DeVoss

Download or read book Cultures of Copyright written by Dànielle Nicole DeVoss and published by Communication Law. This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The symbols, signs, and traces of copyright and related intellectual property laws that appear on everyday texts, objects, and artifacts have multiplied exponentially over the past 15 years. Digital spaces have revolutionized access to content and transformed the ways in which content is porous and malleable. In this volume, contributors focus on copyright as it relates to culture. The editors argue that what «counts» as property must be understood as shifting terrain deeply influenced by historical, economic, cultural, religious, and digital perspectives. Key themes addressed include issues of how: - Culture is framed, defined, and/or identified in conversations about intellectual property; - The humanities and other related disciplines are implicated in intellectual property issues; - The humanities will continue to rub up against copyright (e.g., issues of authorship, authorial agency, ownership of texts); - Different cultures and bodies of literature approach intellectual property, and how competing dynasties and marginalized voices exist beyond the dominant U.S. copyright paradigm. Offering a transnational and interdisciplinary perspective, Cultures of Copyright offers readers - scholars, researchers, practitioners, theorists, and others - key considerations to contemplate in terms of how we understand copyright's past and how we chart its futures.

Copyright, Communication and Culture

Download Copyright, Communication and Culture PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0857933523
Total Pages : 285 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (579 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Copyright, Communication and Culture by : Carys J. Craig

Download or read book Copyright, Communication and Culture written by Carys J. Craig and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2011 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this provocative book, Carys Craig challenges the assumptions of possessive individualism embedded in modern day copyright law, arguing that the dominant conception of copyright as private property fails to adequately reflect the realities of cultural creativity. Employing both theoretical argument and doctrinal analysis, including the novel use of feminist theory, the author explores how the assumptions of modern copyright result in law that frequently restricts the kinds of expressive activities it ought to encourage. In contrast, Carys Craig proposes a relational theory of copyright based on a dialogic account of authorship, and guided by the public interest in a vibrant, participatory culture. Through a critical examination of the doctrines of originality and fair dealing, as well as the relationship between copyright and freedom of expression, she explores how this relational theory of copyright law could further the public purposes of the copyright system and the social values it embodies. This unique and insightful study will be of great interest to students and scholars of intellectual property, communications, cultural studies, feminist theory and the arts and humanities.

Making and Unmaking Intellectual Property

Download Making and Unmaking Intellectual Property PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022617249X
Total Pages : 476 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (261 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Making and Unmaking Intellectual Property by : Mario Biagioli

Download or read book Making and Unmaking Intellectual Property written by Mario Biagioli and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2015-07-31 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rules regulating access to knowledge are no longer the exclusive province of lawyers and policymakers and instead command the attention of anthropologists, economists, literary theorists, political scientists, artists, historians, and cultural critics. This burgeoning interdisciplinary interest in “intellectual property” has also expanded beyond the conventional categories of patent, copyright, and trademark to encompass a diverse array of topics ranging from traditional knowledge to international trade. Though recognition of the central role played by “knowledge economies” has increased, there is a special urgency associated with present-day inquiries into where rights to information come from, how they are justified, and the ways in which they are deployed. Making and Unmaking Intellectual Property, edited by Mario Biagioli, Peter Jaszi, and Martha Woodmansee, presents a range of diverse—and even conflicting—contemporary perspectives on intellectual property rights and the contested sources of authority associated with them. Examining fundamental concepts and challenging conventional narratives—including those centered around authorship, invention, and the public domain—this book provides a rich introduction to an important intersection of law, culture, and material production.

The Digital Public Domain

Download The Digital Public Domain PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Open Book Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1906924457
Total Pages : 250 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (69 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Digital Public Domain by : Melanie Dulong De Rosnay

Download or read book The Digital Public Domain written by Melanie Dulong De Rosnay and published by Open Book Publishers. This book was released on 2012 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Digital technology has made culture more accessible than ever before. Texts, audio, pictures and video can easily be produced, disseminated, used and remixed using devices that are increasingly user-friendly and affordable. However, along with this technological democratization comes a paradoxical flipside: the norms regulating culture's use - copyright and related rights - have become increasingly restrictive. This book brings together essays by academics, librarians, entrepreneurs, activists and policy makers, who were all part of the EU-funded Communia project. Together the authors argue that the Public Domain - that is, the informational works owned by all of us, be that literature, music, the output of scientific research, educational material or public sector information - is fundamental to a healthy society. The essays range from more theoretical papers on the history of copyright and the Public Domain, to practical examples and case studies of recent projects that have engaged with the principles of Open Access and Creative Commons licensing. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in the current debate about copyright and the Internet. It opens up discussion and offers practical solutions to the difficult question of the regulation of culture at the digital age.