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:
- Notes, questions from the webcast audience, and real-time logs of the online conversation during the event are available on the original event page, preserved in all its year 2000 glory. This page and its resources will soon be migrated into the new Berkman website; feed your nostalgia while you can.
- Lessig v. Valenti, round two, November 29, 2001, at the Norman Lear Center (photo at the top of this page from their remembrance of Valenti and the debate)
- Slashdot readers interview Lessig, December 21, 2001.
