Digital Copyright

217 Pages·2016·0.81 MB·English

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Books Faculty Scholarship
2006
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Jessica D. Litman
University of Michigan Law School, [email protected]
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/books/1
Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/books
Part of the Computer Law Commons, Intellectual Property Law Commons, Internet Law Commons,
and the Legislation Commons
Recommended Citation
Litman, Jessica D. Digital Copyright. 2nd ed. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 2006.
This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at University of Michigan Law
School Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Books by an authorized administrator of
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[email protected].
D I G I T A L
C O P Y R I G H T

D I G I T A L
C O P Y R I G H T
Protecting intellectual property on the Internet © The Digital Millennium
Copyright Act © Copyright lobbyists conquer the Internet © Pay per view...
pay per listen...pay per use © What the major players stand to gain ©
What the public stands to lose
J E S S I C A
L I T M A N
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive
Amherst, New York 14228-2197
Published 2006 by Prometheus Books
Digital Copyright. Copyright © 2001 by Jessica Litman. Afterword copyright © 2006
by Jessica Litman. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repro-
duced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, dig-
ital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via
the Internet or a Web site without prior written permission of the publisher, except
in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Inquiries should be addressed to
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive
Amherst, New York 14228–2197
VOICE: 716–691–0133, ext. 207
FAX:[phone]
WWW.PROMETHEUSBOOKS.COM
05 04 03 02 01 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Litman, Jessica, 1953–
Digital copyright / Jessica Litman.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1–59102–420–X (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978–1–59102–420–0
1. Copyright and electronic data processing—United States. 2. Intellectual
property—United States. I. Title.
KF3030.1.L58 2006
346.7304'82—dc22 2006009273
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
For Ari

CONTENTS
11. Acknowledgments 9
11. Introduction 11
11. Copyright Basics 15
12. The Art of Making Copyright Laws 22
13. Copyright and Compromise 35
14. A Thought Experiment 70
15. Choosing Metaphors 77
16. Copyright Lawyers Set Out to Colonize Cyberspace 89
17. Creation and Incentives 101
18. “Just Say Yes to Licensing!” 111
19. The Bargaining Table 122
10. The Copyright Wars 151
11. Copyright Law in the Digital Millennium 166
12. Revising Copyright Law for the Information Age 171
13. The Copyright Bargain 192
11. Afterword 197
11. Glossary 203
11. Index 211
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I
began the research reflected in this book fifteen years ago, and many
people have helped me to formulate and clarify my thinking. Jon Wein-
berg has helped more than anyone; he asked me all the difficult questions
(even before he married me). I cannot imagine writing anything without
his help. Jon has read every word in this book at least a dozen times, and
offered perceptive suggestions each time.
James Boyle suggested the idea for the book, and kept urging me to write
it. Jane Ginsburg is a longtime friend and collaborator who has had to
struggle to find any sentence she agrees with in my recent work. Jane’s idea
of the public good is very different from mine, for which I’m grateful. The
opportunity to argue with someone who sincerely and without ulterior
motive believes that we would all be better off if copyright protection were
even stronger than it is now kept me honest. Pam Samuelson and I have
worked together and in parallel on digital copyright issues for many years.
Pam’s work and thinking has greatly influenced mine. It was Pam’s request
for a paper that set me on the road leading to my proposal in chapter 12 for
an alternative copyright system. Peter Jaszi’s inspiration to recruit foot sol-
diers in the copyright wars to join the Digital Future Coalition gave me both
something constructive to do with my outrage and the opportunity to learn
how lobbyists work their backstage magic. American University gave me a
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