Copyrights and Copywrongs

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Book: Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How It Threatens Creativity. Siva Vaidhyanathan. New York: New York University Press, 2001.

Available in full text at http://homepages.nyu.edu/~sv24/


In Copyrights and Copywrongs, Siva Vaidhyanathan tracks the history of American copyright law through the 20th 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 persuasively that in its current punitive, highly restrictive form, American copyright law hinders cultural production, thereby contributing to the poverty of civic culture.