46 quotes
We are on the cusp of this time where I can say, "I speak as a citizen of the world" without others saying, "God, what a nut."
The problem is their insane rules are now being applied to the whole world. This insanity of control is expanding as everything you do touches copyrights.
I believe it would be right for common sense to revolt against the extreme claims made today on behalf of "intellectual property."
Free Culture (2004)
We live in a world with "free" content, and this freedom is not an imperfection.
May the Source Be With You (2001)
Show me why your regulation of culture is needed. Show me how it does good. And until you can show me both, keep your lawyers away.
Free Culture (2004)
Some people view the public domain with contempt.
Free Culture (2004)
So uncritically do we accept the idea of property in ideas that we don't even notice how monstrous it is to deny ideas to a people who are dying without them.
Free Culture (2004)
"Writing" is the Latin of our times. The modern language of the people is video and sound.
Political discourse becomes isolated, and isolated discourse becomes more extreme.
Free Culture (2004)
They win because we've done nothing to stop it.
When government disappears, it's not as if paradise will take its place. When governments are gone, other interests will take their place.
In arguing for increasing content owners' control over content users, it's not sufficient to say "They didn't pay for this use."
May the Source Be With You (2001)
In these times, the hardest task for social or political activists is to find a way to get people to wonder again about what we all believe is true. The challenge is to sow doubt.
The Future of Ideas (2001)
Creation always involves building upon something else. There is no art that doesn't reuse. And there will be less art if every reuse is taxed by the appropriator. Monopoly controls have been the exception in free societies; they have been the rule in closed societies.
May the Source Be With You (2001)
A free culture has been our past, but it will only be our future if we change the path we are on right now.
Free Culture (2004)
All around us are the consequences of the most significant technological, and hence cultural, revolution in generations.
The Future of Ideas (2001)
We have a massive system to regulate creativity. A massive system of lawyers regulating creativity as copyright law has expanded in unrecognizable forms, going from a regulation of publishing to a regulation of copying.
If you understand this refrain, you're gonna' understand everything I want to say to you today. It has four parts
The real harm of term extension comes not from these famous works. The real harm is to the works that are not famous, not commercially exploited, and no longer available as a result.
Free Culture (2004)
In an interview two days ago, Watts said, Here's the problem with Washington: "If you are explaining, you are losing."