The Copyright Wars

Three Centuries of Trans-Atlantic Battle

Nonfiction, History, European General, Americas
Cover of the book The Copyright Wars by Peter Baldwin, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Peter Baldwin ISBN: 9781400851911
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: September 22, 2014
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: Peter Baldwin
ISBN: 9781400851911
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: September 22, 2014
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

Today's copyright wars can seem unprecedented. Sparked by the digital revolution that has made copyright—and its violation—a part of everyday life, fights over intellectual property have pitted creators, Hollywood, and governments against consumers, pirates, Silicon Valley, and open-access advocates. But while the digital generation can be forgiven for thinking the dispute between, for example, the publishing industry and Google is completely new, the copyright wars in fact stretch back three centuries—and their history is essential to understanding today’s battles. The Copyright Wars—the first major trans-Atlantic history of copyright from its origins to today—tells this important story.

Peter Baldwin explains why the copyright wars have always been driven by a fundamental tension. Should copyright assure authors and rights holders lasting claims, much like conventional property rights, as in Continental Europe? Or should copyright be primarily concerned with giving consumers cheap and easy access to a shared culture, as in Britain and America? The Copyright Wars describes how the Continental approach triumphed, dramatically increasing the claims of rights holders. The book also tells the widely forgotten story of how America went from being a leading copyright opponent and pirate in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to become the world’s intellectual property policeman in the late twentieth. As it became a net cultural exporter and its content industries saw their advantage in the Continental ideology of strong authors’ rights, the United States reversed position on copyright, weakening its commitment to the ideal of universal enlightenment—a history that reveals that today’s open-access advocates are heirs of a venerable American tradition.

Compelling and wide-ranging, The Copyright Wars is indispensable for understanding a crucial economic, cultural, and political conflict that has reignited in our own time.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Today's copyright wars can seem unprecedented. Sparked by the digital revolution that has made copyright—and its violation—a part of everyday life, fights over intellectual property have pitted creators, Hollywood, and governments against consumers, pirates, Silicon Valley, and open-access advocates. But while the digital generation can be forgiven for thinking the dispute between, for example, the publishing industry and Google is completely new, the copyright wars in fact stretch back three centuries—and their history is essential to understanding today’s battles. The Copyright Wars—the first major trans-Atlantic history of copyright from its origins to today—tells this important story.

Peter Baldwin explains why the copyright wars have always been driven by a fundamental tension. Should copyright assure authors and rights holders lasting claims, much like conventional property rights, as in Continental Europe? Or should copyright be primarily concerned with giving consumers cheap and easy access to a shared culture, as in Britain and America? The Copyright Wars describes how the Continental approach triumphed, dramatically increasing the claims of rights holders. The book also tells the widely forgotten story of how America went from being a leading copyright opponent and pirate in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to become the world’s intellectual property policeman in the late twentieth. As it became a net cultural exporter and its content industries saw their advantage in the Continental ideology of strong authors’ rights, the United States reversed position on copyright, weakening its commitment to the ideal of universal enlightenment—a history that reveals that today’s open-access advocates are heirs of a venerable American tradition.

Compelling and wide-ranging, The Copyright Wars is indispensable for understanding a crucial economic, cultural, and political conflict that has reignited in our own time.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book All the Missing Souls by Peter Baldwin
Cover of the book The Crisis of American Foreign Policy by Peter Baldwin
Cover of the book Beyond the Brain by Peter Baldwin
Cover of the book Fascinating Mathematical People by Peter Baldwin
Cover of the book The Future of the Brain by Peter Baldwin
Cover of the book Jane Austen, Game Theorist by Peter Baldwin
Cover of the book Women in Western Political Thought by Peter Baldwin
Cover of the book The Discrete Charm of the Machine by Peter Baldwin
Cover of the book The Emancipation of Europe's Muslims by Peter Baldwin
Cover of the book Searching for a Corporate Savior by Peter Baldwin
Cover of the book The War of the Sexes by Peter Baldwin
Cover of the book Good and Plenty by Peter Baldwin
Cover of the book The Arctic Guide by Peter Baldwin
Cover of the book Inventing Falsehood, Making Truth by Peter Baldwin
Cover of the book Who Votes Now? by Peter Baldwin
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy