Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How it Threatens Creativity [Hardcover]

An in-depth look at American copyright law and the flaws of its current legal framework

Copyright reflects far more than economic interests. Embedded within conflicts over royalties and infringement are cultural valuesabout race, class, access, ownership, free speech, and democracywhich influence how rights are determined and enforced. Questions of legitimacyof what constitutes intellectual property or fair use, and of how to locate a precise moment of cultural creationhave become enormously complicated in recent years, as advances in technology have exponentially increased the speed of cultural reproduction and dissemination.

InCopyrights and Copywrongs, Siva Vaidhyanathan tracks the history of American copyright law through the 20th century, from Mark Twains vehement 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. He argues persuasively that in its current punitive, highly restrictive form, American copyright law hinders cultural production, thereby contributing to the poverty of civic culture.

In addition to choking cultural expression, recent copyright law, Vaidhyanathan argues, effectively sanctions biases against cultural traditions which differ from the Anglo-European model. In African-based cultures, borrowing from and building upon earlier cultural expressions is not considered a legal trespass, but a tribute. Rap and hip hop artists who practice such borrowing by sampling and mixing, however, have been sued for copyright violation and forced to pay substantial monetary damages. Similarly, the oral transmission of culture, which has a centuries-old tradition within African American culture, is complicated by current copyright laws. How, for example, can ownership of music, lyrics, or stories which have been passed down through generations be determined? Upon close examination, strlS&