1. The document discusses the history of copyright law from 1774 to the present, noting how copyright duration and scope have continually expanded over time at the expense of a free culture. 2. New technologies like the printing press and internet enabled unprecedented levels of sharing and building upon existing works, but these were increasingly regulated by copyright law and technological measures to control use and sharing. 3. The essay argues that current copyright and technology trends have moved society away from free and open sharing of creativity and innovation, and advocates for reclaiming an open approach that limits control of past works like in earlier eras.

2. <free culture>
OSCON
July 24, 2002

3. <refrain>

4. 1. Creativity and innovation always builds on the
past.

5. 2. The past always tries to control the creativity that
builds on it.

6. 3. Free societies enable the future by limiting the
past.

7. 4. Ours is less and less a free society.

8. </refrain>

9. (1)

10. 1774
Donaldson v. Beckett
free culture
born

11. 1774
Donaldson v. Beckett
free culture
born

12. 1774
Donaldson v. Beckett
free culture
born

13. 1774
Donaldson v. Beckett
free culture
born

14. 1710
Statute of Anne
limited term
14 years

15. 1710
Statute of Anne
limited term
14 years

16. 1710
Statute of Anne
limited term
14 years

17. 1710
Statute of Anne
limited term
14 years

18. 1740s
Scottish publishers
reprint classics

19. 1740s
Scottish publishers
reprint classics

20. 1740s
Scottish publishers
reprint classics

21. London publishers:
“copyright is forever”

22. London publishers:
“copyright is forever”

23. [Sonny Bono:
“forever minus a day”]

24. London publishers:
“copyright is forever”

25. publishers

26. “old patentees and monopolizers in the trade of
bookselling, men who do not labour in an honest
profession to learning is indetted.”

27. “common law copyright”

28. 1769
Millar v. Taylor
publishers prevail

29. 1769
Millar v. Taylor
publishers prevail

30. 1769
Millar v. Taylor
publishers prevail

31. 1774
Millar reversed

32. 1774
Millar reversed

33. Shakespeare free

34. freed culture

35. <refrain>

36. 1. Creativity and innovation always builds on the
past.

37. 2. The past always tries to control the creativity that
builds on it.

38. 3. Free societies enable the future by limiting the
past.

39. 4. Ours is less and less a free society.

40. </refrain>

41. (2)

42. 1790
unregulated creativity
“printing”
free derivatives
14 years

43. 1790
unregulated creativity
“printing”
free derivatives
14 years

44. 1790
unregulated creativity
“printing”
free derivatives
14 years

45. 1790
unregulated creativity
“printing”
free derivatives
14 years

46. 1790
unregulated creativity
“printing”
free derivatives
14 years

47. 1790
free code
transparent technology

48. 1790
free code
transparent technology

49. 1790
free code
transparent technology

50. control

51. control

52. not
just
then

53. 1928
Walt Disney
Steamboat Willie
Steamboat Bill., Jr.

55. 1928
Walt Disney
Steamboat Willie
Steamboat Bill., Jr.

56. QuickTime™ and a Video Format cvid decompressor are needed to see this picture.

57. 1928
Walt Disney
Steamboat Willie
Steamboat Bill., Jr.

59. 1928
Walt Disney
Steamboat Willie
Steamboat Bill, Jr.

60. “always parroting the feature length mainstream
films”

74. commons

75. lawyer

76. lawyer

77. “limited Times”

78. 1790
“fourteen years”
maybe x2

79. to 42
(1831)

80. 56
(1909)

81. 59
(1962)

82. 61
(1965)

83. 63
(1967)

84. 64
(1968)

85. 65
(1969)

86. 66
(1970)

87. 67
(1971)

88. 68
(1972)

89. 70
(1974)

90. 75
(1976)

91. 95
(1998)

92. Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act

93. aka

94. Mickey Mouse Protection Act

95. No one can
do to Disney, Inc.
what Walt Disney did to
the Brothers Grimm

97. <refrain>

98. 1. Creativity and innovation always builds on the
past.

99. 2. The past always tries to control the creativity that
builds on it.

100. 3. Free societies enable the future by limiting the
past.

101. 4. Ours is less and less a free society.

102. </refrain>

103. (3)

104. different
now

105. 2002
regulated creativity

106. 2002
regulated creativity

107. law:

108. ©

109. ©

110. ©

111. ©

112. ©

113. “publishing” to “copying”

114. “copies” to “derivative works”

115. “14 years” to “life+70”

116. technology:

117. opaque creativity

118. controlling uses

126. law + technology:

127. law regulates “copies”

128. uses

129. unregulated

130. unregulated
read

131. unregulated
read give

132. unregulated
read give
sell

133. unregulated
read give
sell sleep

134. unregulated
©

135. unregulated
publish ©

136. unregulated
©

137. unregulated
©
fair use

138. unregulated
©
quote

139. uses

140. uses
1. unregulated
2. regulated
3. ©

141. uses
1. unregulated
2. regulated
3. ©

142. uses
1. unregulated
2. fair use
3. ©

143. uses
1. unregulated
2. fair use
3. ©

144. enter the net

145. every
acts a
copy

146. every
act’s a
copy

147. every
act’s a
copy

148. unregulated uses

149. regulated

150. ©

151. uses
1. unregulated
2. fair use
3. ©

152. <del>
“fair use”

154. QuickTime™ and a
Sorenson Video decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

155. <http://aibopet.com>
“teach your Aibo jazz”

156. “[Y]our site contains information providing the means to
circumvent AIBO-ware's copy protection protocol constituting
a violation of the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act.”

159. uses
1. unregulated
2. fair use
3. ©

160. uses
©

161. controlled creativity

162. never more controlled

163. term
scope
concentration

164. term
scope
concentration

165. term
scope
concentration

166. never
fewer
more

167. never
fewer
more

168. never
fewer
more

169. 1773

170. control

171. <refrain>

172. 1. Creativity and innovation always builds on the
past.

173. 2. The past always tries to control the creativity that
builds on it.

174. 3. Free societies enable the future by limiting the
past.

175. 4. Ours is less and less a free society.

176. </refrain>

177. (4)

178. you

179. gnu

180. transparent creativity

181. free sharing

182. common base

183. create
like it’s
1790

184. proprietary
v.
free

185. proprietary
v.
free

186. for now

187. <refrain>

188. 1. Creativity and innovation always builds on the
past.

189. 2. The past always tries to control the creativity that
builds on it.

190. 3. Free societies enable the future by limiting the
past.

191. 4. Ours is less and less a free society.

192. </refrain>

193. (5)

194. free code threatens

195. threats to free code

196. item:
sw patents

197. Mr. Gates
on sw patents:

198. If people had understood how patents would be
granted when most of today’s ideas were invented
and had taken out patents, the industry would be at a
complete stand-still today.

199. The solution . . . is patenting as much as we can. . . . A future
start-up with no patents of its own will be forced to pay
whatever price the giants choose to impose. That price might be
high: Established companies have an interest in excluding future
competitors.

200. The solution . . . is patenting as much as we can. . . . A future
start-up with no patents of its own will be forced to pay
whatever price the giants choose to impose. That price might be
high: Established companies have an interest in excluding future
competitors.

201. Established companies have an interest in excluding future
competitors.

202. 4 years

203. tiny changes

204. tim changes

205. q. todd changes

206. apologists

207. what have you done?

208. “excluding future competitors”

209. defensive

210. offensive

211. what have you done?

212. item:
copyright wars

213. homeric tragedy

215. $25,000

216. insane rules
whole world

217. insane rules
for the whole world

218. broadcast flag

219. mandated fritz chips

220. “police state in every computer”

221. digital vigilantes

222. “a terrorist war”

223. for what?

224. “to stop the harm”

225. the harm:
5x
-5%

226. the harm:
5x
-5%

227. the harm:
5x
-5%

228. what have you done?

229. <refrain>

230. 1. Creativity and innovation always builds on the
past.

231. 2. The past always tries to control the creativity that
builds on it.

232. 3. Free societies enable the future by limiting the
past.

233. 4. Ours is less and less a free society.

234. </refrain>

235. (6)

236. JC Watts

237. “If you’re explaining,
you’re losing.”
JC Watts

238. 6 years

239. what have you done?

240. Boucher
Cannon
Hank Perritt

241. eff.org

242. do something