Copyrights and Copywrongs ― The Rise of Intellectual Property and How It Threatens Creativity

Copyright reflects far more than economic interests. Embedded within conflicts over royalties and infringement are cultural values - about access, ownership, free speech, race, class, and democracy - which influence how rights are determined and enforced. Questions of legitimacy - of what constitutes "intellectual property" or "fair use," and of how to locate a precise moment of cultural creation - have become enormously complicated in recent years, as advances in technology have exponentially increased the speed of cultural reproduction and dissemination.
In Copyrights and Copywrongs, Siva Vaidhyanathan tracks the history of American copyright law through the twentieth century, from Mark Twain's 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 that in its current punitive, highly restrictive form, American copyright law hinders cultural production, thereby contributing to the poverty of civic culture.