The document discusses the history and challenges of copyright law over time. It notes that copyright originated 300 years ago to protect authors and encourage creativity. However, as technology has advanced, the traditional concepts of property and control embedded in copyright law have come into conflict with new modes of creation and sharing information. The document examines different ideas and experiments that have aimed to balance control with openness and creativity, such as Creative Commons licensing. It suggests copyright law could benefit from moving the dialog away from strict legal control and toward supporting creativity without fear.