~ TQTOACC ~ The Quest To Own And Control Culture

~ WWOCPOT-CC-AFATU-IIB-PALU-TSOTPIR ~ What Was Once Considered Part Of The – Cultural Commons – Available For All To Use – Is Increasingly Being – Privatized And Locked Up – The Scope Of This Plunder Is Remarkable

~ T-OOC-NET-LOTA-DSAC-AE-S ~ The – Ownership Of Culture – Now Extends To – Letters Of The Alphabet – Distinctive Sounds And Colors – And Even – Scents

~ TTU-EW-IA-NC-EIA-F-T-W-EF-PANP-A-YEA-SCU-AZOT-II ~ Try To Use – Existing Works – In A – New Creation – Even In A – Fleeting – Partial – Way – Even For – Personal And Noncommercial Purposes – And – You Enter A – Shadowy Cultural Underground – A Zone Of The Illegal Imagination

~ WWGD? ~ What Would Groucho Do?

~ M-P/M/W-BWTWA-‘Q’-ETIIEIAFSTBATQT ~ Many – Painters / Musicians / Writers – Balk When Their Works Are – “Quoted” – Even Though It Is Essential In A Free Society To Be Able To Quote Them

~ O-LC ~ Over-Lawyered Corporation

~ TRQ-H-IW-FSAC-BT-E-OCT-CI ~ The Real Question – However – Is Whether – Free Speech And Culture – Belong To – Everyone – Or Chiefly To – Commercial Interests

~ CATL-IOGNTBR-ICNTBEMTE-TVAFFOIACNTBP-TPROAAUMBH ~ Copyright And Trademark Law – Its Original Goals Need To Be Restored – Individual Creators Need To Be Empowered More Than Ever – The Volume And Free Flow Of Information And Creativity Need To Be Protected – The Public’s Rights Of Access And Use Must Be Honored

~ WMSANBOPAPITTAOTSDOTIADT ~ We Must Strike A New Balance Of Private And Public Interests That Takes Account Of The Special Dynamics Of The Internet And Digital Technology

~ AAC:UOAD ~ Art And Culture: Use Only As Directed

~ CC-SIT-‘VA’-W-TDF-TUSOCW ~ Copyright Champions – Systematically Ignore The – “Value Added” – Wealth – That Derives From – The Unmetered Sharing Of Creative Works

~ ACDUACC-F-I-I-A-D ~ All Creators Depend Upon A Cultural Commons – For – Inspiration – Imitation – And – Derivation

~ F-AWWIRBAA-DW-CB-G-AMA-T-FTCAL-NC-GEI ~ For – Artists Whose Work Is Reused By Another Artist – Derivative Works – Can Be – Gifts – As Much As – Theft

~ A-ACSFCTVASOMC ~ Appropriation – A Crucial Strategy For Critiquing The Values And Sensibilities Of Mainstream Culture

~ CL-HLRA-‘PD’-B-IAPI-TSOS-FT-JE-IILTBC-P-N-A-G-TMCTIHMOTOWTPU ~ Copyright Law – Has Long Recognized A – “Parody Defense” – But – If A Parody Is – Too Sly Or Subtle – For The – Judicial Eye – It Is Likely To Be Considered – Piracy – Not – Art – Generally – The Most Critical Test Is How Much Of The Original Work The Parody Uses

~ SAOLADTPA-T-‘D’-O-‘T’ ~ Small Armies Of Lawyers Are Dedicated To Protecting Against – Trademark – “Dilution” – Or – “Tarnishment”

~ ACO-EPCIKAC-ICO-TPI ~ A Crush Of – Expansive Property Claims In Knowledge And Creativity – Is Crowding Out – The Public Interest

~ TVO-FA-SFT-‘GE’-O-TFC;CISAAFTMBATFCAMOTC ~ The Vitality Of – Folk Art – Stems From The – “Gift Economy” – Of – The Folk Community; Creativity Is Seen As A Gift That Must Be Allowed To Freely Circulate Among Members Of The Community

~ SCCAETTAN-‘PI’-F-CL-TEI ~ Stunning Creativity Can Arise Even Though There Are No – “Property Incentives” – From – Copyright Law – To Encourage It

~ SCBATOOICBU ~ Should Companies Be Allowed To Own Online Identities Created By Users?

~ OC-HB-VS ~ Online Citizens – Have Become – Virtual Serfs

~ TPL ~ Trademarking Public Life

~ TPOBE ~ The Power Of Public Exposure

~ P-IACGOHS-EWTFPARS-SSAA-FU-W-OAN ~ Parody – Is A Classic Genre Of Human Societies – Even When The Factual Patterns Are Remarkably Similar – Some Spoofs Are Adjudged – Fair Use – While – Others Are Not

~ I-10%-OY-A-DGT-P-IMBI ~ If – 10 Percent – Of Your – Audience – Doesn’t Get The – Parody – It May Be Illegal

~ TD ~ Trademark Dilution

~ TIT-TL-AA-ANM-O-AGWOP-IANO ~ The Idea That – Trademark Law – Allows An – Absolute National Monopoly – On – A Given Word Or Phrase – Is A New One

~ TRP-OC-IT-LCDLTBCOAPSABATW ~ The Real Point – Of Course – Is That – Large Corporations Don’t Like To Be Criticized On A Public Stage As Big As The Web

~ YEWTROPNIOCP-TIAODT-TLOMC-CTIUCTCO-‘A’-M ~ Yet Even With The Rise Of Powerful New Instruments Of Cultural Pluralism – The Internet And Other Digital Technologies – The Leviathans Of Mass Culture – Continue To Insist Upon Controlling The Circulation Of – “Authorized” – Meanings

~ CL-SNBATIW-CDP ~ Copyright Law – Should Not Be Allowed To Interfere With – Core Democratic Principles

~ F-D-A-O-COI-AA-SR-A-PG:TIEWEHATH;DIVWTAC ~ Facts – Data – And – Other – Compilations Of Information – Are A – Shared Resource – A – Public Good: That Is Enriched When Everyone Has Access To Them; Diminished In Value When They Are Tightly Controlled

~ CM ~ Copyright Maximalists

~ YMNTYRDNT ~ You May Not Teach Your Robot Dog New Tricks

~ TFCAPAWT-AFOIPL-MSCW-P-TIINITTTD ~ There Finally Comes A Point At Which The – Absurd Frontiers Of Intellectual Property Law – Merge So Completely With – Parody – That It Is Nearly Impossible To Tell The Difference

~ DTSACOTW-CM-TTIT-AACI-O-Q-S-CC-A-TUO-PW ~ Determined To Secure Absolute Control Over Their Works – Copyright Maximalists – Tend To Ignore The – Artistic And Civic Importance – Of – Quotation – Sharing – Creative Collaboration – And – Transformation Uses Of – Prior Works

~ TGCL ~ The Great Cultural Lockdown

~ N-TBNWO-SCC-HSSIFAODS-PT-R-S-R-C-A-C-AB-CF ~ Naturally – This – Brave New World – Of – Strictly Controlled Content – Has Some Serious Implications For An Open Democratic Society – Permission To – Read – Share – Reuse – Collaborate – And – Create – All Become – Conditional Freedoms

~ ALD ~ Aggressive Litigation Dragnets

~ L-POAO-FIT-E-F-CA-T-PM-IAGWTE-L-E-A-DC-NTM-STMFB-B ~ Libraries – Part Of An Old-Fashioned Idea That – Easy – Free – Citizen Access – To – Printed Material – Is A Great Way To Encourage – Literacy – Education – And – Democratic Culture – Not To Mention – Seed The Market For Book-Buying

~ TMTAPRTEIIIAS ~ The Mania To Assign Property Rights To Every Imaginable Intangible Is A Sickness

~ OTSOFCG ~ Owning The Smell Of Freshly Cut Grass

~ T-NFITCOL-I-SE ~ The – Next Frontier In The Commodification Of Life – Is – Sensory Experience

~ PL-HTRTA-NI-B-NAN-IOTQF-PP-B-APBPNJ-PI-B-II-A-BM-TSHER-EITCSFAGPID-ICNBUTISI ~ Patent Law – Has Traditionally Required That Any – New Invention – Be – Novel And Nonobvious – In Order To Qualify For – Patent Protection – But – As Patents Began Protecting Not Just – Physical Inventions – But – Intangible Ideas – And – Business Methods – Their Scope Has Expanded Radically – Even If The Claimed Scope For A Given Patent Is Dubious – It Can Nonetheless Be Used To Intimidate Supposed Infringers

~ BO-SSFGP-TBWDNNRTAIOGIA-TPVOP-IMI-IA-LT-A-BC-IDWC ~ Because Of – Slacker Standards For Granting Patents – The Business World Does Not Necessarily Regard Them As Indicative Of Genuine Innovation Anymore – The Practical Value Of Patents – In Many Instances – Is A – Legal Threat – And – Bargaining Chip – In Dealings With Competitors

~ AWORO-CP-IT-POCACAL-F-WMCIUCRA’BP’ ~ A Whole Other Realm Of – Controversial Patents – Involves The – Patenting Of Common Agricultural Crops And Life-Forms – Which Many Critics In Underdeveloped Countries Regard As – “BioPiracy”

~ A-W-EG-CBA-I-AA-DLRA ~ A – Well-Executed Gag – Can Be As – Illuminating – As A – Dozen Law Review Articles

~ DT-TTTIPLHTOTPG-ANMT-ATPI-I-STTSAGM ~ Despite The – Troubling Trajectory That Intellectual Property Law Has Taken Over The Past Generation – A New Movement To – Assert The Public Interest – Is – Starting To Take Shape And Gain Momentum

~ WNTDA-NL-TEWT-PD-ISIT-C-C-D-A-C ~ We Need To Develop A – New Language – That Explains Why The – Public Domain – Is So Indispensable To – Creativity – Culture – Democracy – And – Commerce

~ RTATAVRF-‘IO’-WNA-EAPPL-TUTVO-‘PK’-A-AST-PARI ~ Rather Than Assume That All Value Results From – “Individual Originality” – We Need An – Economics And Public Policy Language – That Understands The Value Of – “Public Knowledge” – And – Affirmatively Seeks To – Protect And Replenish It