Jamie Boyle’s case for believing in the possibility of legislative change
Well, I just wrapped up Jamie Boyle’s book, The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind. Cory Doctorow has a nice review at Boing-Boing, so I want to talk about something a bit more specific. I am struck by how forcefully he makes the point in his last chapter that communicating complicated and difficult information in clear and understandable ways so that people could grasp what was theretofore too abstract and esoteric was of great importance to the success of environmentalism. And yet he apologizes early on for making this book part of that formula for success (ie, incredibly readable). That is very perplexing given that he explicitly advocates an environmentalism of the mind. This, from p. 245:
Environmentalism has managed to win the battle for clarity—to make its points clearly enough that they ceased to be dismissed as “arcane” or technical, to overcome neglect by the media, to articulate a set of concerns that are those of any educated citizen. The other striking phenomenon of the last ten years is the migration of intellectual property issues off the law reviews or business pages and onto the front pages and the editorial pages. Blogs have been particularly influential. Widely read sites such as Slashdot and Boing-Boing have multiple postings on intellectual property issues each day; some are rants, but others are at a level of sophistication that once would have been confined to academic discussion.18
Scientists passionately debate the importance of open access to scholarly journals. Geographers and climatologists fume over access to geospatial data. The movement has been pronounced enough to generate its own reaction. The popular comics site “xkcd” has strips critical of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act,19 but also a nerdily idyllic picture of a stick figure reclining under a tree and saying, “Sometimes I just can’t get outraged over copyright law.”20 That cartoon now resides on my computer desktop. (It is under a Creative Commons license, ironically enough.)
His last book, more than 10 years ago, Software, Shamans and Spleens, and this book are sharply contrasting on this very point. Shamans is striking in its density and difficulty. I can honestly say that I have not read another book about copyright during my entire career as an attorney that was harder to understand than Software, Shamans and Spleens. It almost seemed deliberately difficult.
This book is striking in its appeal to common sensibilities and understanding, relying on common language rather than legalese or academic vocabulary that excludes the majority of potential readers. The book is anything but a yawn. I had read many of its arguments in earlier works by Boyle and others, but I still found it fascinating to see how he brought these arguments alive, gave them force and the power to ignite. The book moves effortlessly from one piece of his argument to the next, building patiently, referring to earlier points frequently enough to make them an integral part of later chapters.
In another post I wrote as I started to read the book, I indicated that I had given up on the idea that the problems with copyright could be addressed by our legislators, that the force of competition with the mass of free was more likely to move intellectual property practice (if not policy) than legal change, but that I hoped that Boyle could, well, here’s what I said:
Well, I have to say, I love this book. It is really readable, brings together many of his past writings with other authors I’ve read (many thanks to Phil), but focuses on the dire implications of our current trajectory. He is determined that the law has to change. As I’ve said many times, I’ve given up on that. I want to hope, but the underlying process seems so irretrievably lost to money, or so I believe. *** So where does [his] hope come from?
I’m going to keep reading. Maybe he explains his hope as well as he explains history, economics and philosophy.
And indeed, he does! You know, he could be just as discouraged as I am about the prospect for Congressional action, but he is convinced that the costs of inaction are far too high to give up. After reading this book, I can see pretty clearly that I tend to see things too simplistically:
Law is an impediment? Route around it.
Monopoly actually impedes progress and creativity? Competition will win out.
This stuff is way complicated. But, as I’ve tried to make clear, he makes it accessible without oversimplifying it. Most importantly, he makes a very compelling case for not giving up while we route around the law as best we can (for example, Creative Commons), while we wait for competition to prevail (for example, that openness turns profits too). He also makes a compelling case that it is possible to make a compelling case, and that we are on the way there, and that there are particular tools we can use to enhance the communication of the case to the public. The book actually has changed my mind about the futility of it all!
And small wonder. He has been working on these ideas and writing about them and studying them for 15 years (at least) and weaves together a vast quantity of knowledge, insight, perspective and conviction. A genius. And a great keynote speaker!
Ah, but then I think about Disney and the next go at term extension. 2017. Eight years from now. That’s a short time to pull it all together, isn’t it? But it’s possible…
