Lessig Is More

A Stanford professor rails against the copyright system. Cult status follows.

Bernice Yeung

Time was, the fight for free speech was synonymous with hippies in Berkeley burning American flags.

But in our cyberage, the revolutionary has a new face: that of a bespectacled, nebbishy academic. His name is Lawrence Lessig, board member of Electronic Frontier Foundation and director of Stanford's cyberlaw clinic, and he's been fighting for your right to openly share and borrow ideas. For his persistent legal challenges, he's gained a cult following among Internet intellectuals and free traders in ideas.

Undeterred by losing a suit that made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, Lessig's back at it. Recently, he lobbed another lawsuit against the federal government, claiming that the restrictive copyright system stifles free speech because it doesn't acknowledge advancements in technology. His contention: over decades, Congress has changed the laws so that copyrights are doled out automatically (every email is protected) and for longer time periods—even when someone doesn't want one. In practice, this means today's artists can't riff off orphan works (those with no market value) and Internet librarians can't do their jobs (with some exceptions, third-party copying preservation is against the law).

Lessig teamed up with plaintiffs Brewster Kahle, of the Internet Archive, and Rick Prelinger, co-owner of a famous collection of ephemeral film. Prelinger wants to preserve deteriorating, obscure movies from 1903 to 1980 and make them available for free through Kahle's website, but he can't till the copyright expires, decades from now. Yet Congress insists in court papers that the laws are necessary to protect creators.

A decision is expected soon from U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney. A ruling in Lessig's favor could upend the creative industries. But the smart money's on the DOJ. "Lessig has the better policy argument," says Justin Hughes, a professor at New York's Cardozo School of Law, echoing many experts. "But the DOJ has the better legal argument." Either way, it's likely we'll hear from Lessig again.