The Standard: Copyrights Rule

But these are not simple or obvious cases. The issues they raise are as profoundly difficult as the issues raised by the state's objective to protect children from erotic speech. They require a patient and well-informed inquiry about the effects of different legislation. They require an opportunity for innovators to try out different models of content distribution. They require, in short, all the hesitancy - and humility - that the courts have demonstrated in the face of the regulation of porn.

Yet they don't do this. There is no hesitancy or humility when one questions the obvious. And in America's judiciary, it is obvious that Hollywood gets to control distribution and pornographers get to freely distribute porn. But the notion that these views are obvious is itself just bizarre.

Lawrence Lessig is a professor of law at Stanford Law School.

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MENTIONED COMPANIES

• MP3.com, Inc. (dossier)
• Napster, Inc. (dossier)

COLUMN ARCHIVE - LAWRENCE LESSIG

• Visible Hand
  Aug 13, 2001
• The Limits Of Credibility
  Jul 23, 2001
• Artful Dodges
  Jun 11, 2001
> See COMPLETE ARCHIVE












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