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Lessig v. Valenti on the future of intellectual property online

Lessig v. Valenti on the future of intellectual property online

Gather the family, make some popcorn, turn off the TV. As part of the Berkman Center’s ongoing tenth anniversary celebration, Berkman@10, we’re retrieving some classics from our multimedia archive and adding them to our new YouTube channel.

In honor of Lawrence Lessig’s upcoming Berkman@10 speaker series talk (April 4; save the date!), and in anticipation of the Berkman@10 conference on “The Future of the Internet,” we are delighted to re-present Jack Valenti debating Lessig on an intimately connected future, “The Future of Intellectual Property on the Internet.”

The debate took place on October 1, 2000, and was moderated by Jonathan Zittrain. In the context of Napster, the DeCSS case, and other developments in the sharing of digital content, the battle between Valenti (then head of the MPAA) and Lessig quickly became legendary, extending into three subsequent debates and an endorsement of Creative Commons. Lessig’s eulogy to Valenti is moving and speaks to this history.

Without further ado...

 

Further reading and viewing:

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