Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity.(Book Review)

LAWRENCE LESSIG. Penguin Press, $24.95 (332p) ISBN 1-59420-006-8

* From Stanford law professor Lessig (Code; The Future of Ideas) comes this expertly argued, alarming and surprisingly entertaining look at the current copyright wars. Copyright law in the digital age has become a hot topic, thanks to millions of music downloaders and the controversial, high-profile legal efforts of the music industry to stop them. Here Lessig argues that copyright as designed by the Framers has become dangerously unbalanced, favoring the interests of corporate giants over the interests of citizens and would-be innovators. In clear, well-paced prose, Lessig illustrates how corporations …