Copyright's Paradox

Providing a vital economic incentive for much of society's music, art, and literature, copyright is widely considered "the engine of free expression"—but it is also used to stifle news reporting, political commentary, historical scholarship, and even artistic expression. In Copyright's Paradox, Neil Weinstock Netanel explores the tensions between copyright law and free speech, revealing the unacceptable burdens on expression that copyright can impose.Tracing the conflict across both traditional and digital media, Netanel examines the remix and copying culture at the heart of current controversies related to the Google Book Search litigation, YouTube and MySpace, hip-hop music, and digital sampling. The author juxtaposes the dramatic expansion of copyrightholders' proprietary control against the individual's newly found ability to digitally cut, paste, edit, remix, and distribute sound recordings, movies, TV programs, graphics, and texts the world over. He tests whether, in light of these and other developments, copyright still serves as a vital engine of free expression and assesses how copyright does—and does not—burden free speech. Taking First Amendment values as his lodestar, Netanel offers a crucial, timely call to redefine the limits ofcopyright so it can most effectively promote robust debate and expressive diversity—and he presents a definitive blueprint for how this can be accomplished.

"Copyright's Paradox fluently examines an array of recent copyright controversies, highlighting the problematic free speech implications of an ever-expanding copyright regime...Netanel's incisive examination of his subject through a First Amendment lens helps illuminate some of the issue's critical cultural and constitutional dimensions."--Harvard Law Review "Neil Netanel is rightly hailed as one of the most important writers and thinkers in the field... his latest book, Copyright's Paradox, cements that reputation...Best of all, Copyright's Paradox offers solutions, a set of simple legislative recommendations that are both realistic and promising-solutions that will end the copyright wars without destroying the public interest or the fortunes of artists."--Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing.net "Timely and topical...Netanel's well-researched, informative and eminently readable book is a thoughtful and important contribution to the debate, and should be read by those seeking practical solutions to a problem that will not go away with wishful thinking."--New Jersey Lawyer"Copyright's Paradox is a major book by a major thinker, and a must read for all."--William Patry, The Patry Copyright Blog"Netanel makes an original and creative argument that copyright is in the end about speech. Copyright's Paradox should be on the list of required reading for anyone concerned with the inner workings of the copyright system, and those interested in issues of institutional or regulatory design as they relate to public policy goals."--Yale Law Journal

Neil Weinstock Netanel is Professor of Law at the University of California at Los Angeles. He writes and teaches in the areas of copyright, international intellectual property, and media and telecommunications.