LISNews: Librarian News

Standford professor and outspoken critic of copyright Lawrence Lessig spoke at this year\'s South by South West (SXSW) festival. In his lecture he railed against the corporate take over of copyright \"such as Walt Disney Co. have successfully pressed for extensions of copyright powers far beyond the intent of the Constitution\'s framers.\"

``We came from a free speech tradition,\'\' Lessig said. ``What happened? It\'s been bought off.\'\' Copyright has its place, and artists should be compensated for their works, Lessig said. But continually extending copyrights hurts society, he said. \"Artists rip, mix and burn the cultural past,\'\' Lessig said. ``There\'s no such thing as creativity that doesn\'t build on the past.\'\'

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