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littlemascara's review against another edition
4.0
Read this one for school. I found it engaging and insightful, and I certainly appreciated the humor with which the author approached this topic. Much like many books of this type, I found the prescriptives at the end a little tacked on and I think he has a bit too much faith in Creative Commons. But his point that our current approach to copyright law needs to change is well made, and I hope many people receive it and appreciate it.
leaton01's review
5.0
So everyone should read this book that is ever thinking of making anything in any form that they may or may not want credit for (either in accolades or payment). It's a great book for understanding the complexities of the public domain and the ways in which ensuring there is indeed a public commons of works after a reasonable time has passed from its creation (that is, current copyright is ridiculous) ensures a rich and vibrant culture. Additionally, it is a book that practices what it preaches and is indeed available in digital for free on its website.
If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out my other reviews and writings at By Any Other Nerd/
If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out my other reviews and writings at By Any Other Nerd/
slapshottechnology's review
5.0
Great read! But then I enjoy the intellectual property/Copyright stories. Throughout the book he cites many examples, Disney, Apple, and many other groups I love to hate. One of the most interesting is the entire life of the song that started as a hymn, was 'borrowed' by Ray Charles for 'I Got a Woman,' and later borrowed by Kanye West for 'Golddigger.' Seems lots of sampling happened long ago as well.
nyssasilv's review
4.0
James Boyle retains a personable voice throughout the book if he sometimes dwells on some points longer than my layman's attention can focus on them. He introduces the reader not just to current intellectual property law but also to the more abstract notion of what it is we're trying to protect and what we're trying to remote through the use of copyrights and patents.
One of the most interesting points that Boyle brings up is how, because of the low cost of copying in our society, the use of technology is falling more under the stranglehold of copyright. That idea alone should be enough to motivate people to read the book. You'll learn about intellectual property, yes, but you'll also start to realize its importance to our culture and why it's time to reform some of it.
One of the most interesting points that Boyle brings up is how, because of the low cost of copying in our society, the use of technology is falling more under the stranglehold of copyright. That idea alone should be enough to motivate people to read the book. You'll learn about intellectual property, yes, but you'll also start to realize its importance to our culture and why it's time to reform some of it.
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