COPYCENSE

"What do you get when you mix P2P, inexpensive digital input devices, open source software, easy editing tools, and reasonably affordable bandwidth? Potentially, you get what Lawrence Lessig calls remix culture: a rich, diverse outpouring of creativity based on creativity. This is not a certain future, however. Peer-to-peer is on the verge of being effectively outlawed. Continuation of the current copyright regime would mean that vast quantities of creative content will be forever locked away from remix artists.

"Lessig is joining the battle for the remix future on several fronts: the court battle on the legality of P2P; another legal battle to free ‘orphan works’ from their copyright gulag; rolling out new Creative Commons ‘sampling licenses’ with the help of big-name artists like David Byrne; and supporting the ‘free culture’ work of Brazilian musician and culture minister Gilberto Gil toward a society based on freedom of culture.

"In an extensive phone interview, I talked with Professor Lessig about all of these issues. Lessig will expound on many of these same topics in his upcoming keynote at O’Reilly’s Emerging Technology Conference, March 14-17 in San Diego."

Richard Koman. Remixing Culture: An Interview with Lawrence Lessig. O’Reilly Network. Feb. 24, 2005.

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