Cory Doctorow and Copyright

I've been reading a lot of Cory Doctorow lately (see www.boingboing.com). His genre is nominally science fiction but only generally so. Doctorow's books (Down and out in the Magic Kingdom, For the Win, Makers) channel the late Michael Crichton in that Doctorow is able to illuminate important social and scientific questions through characterization and situation. Where Crichton took an almost overly broad view of a subject/issue, Doctorow isn't afraid to get mired in the details. That said, Doctorow (who's Canadian by the way) still needs a better editor as his books tend to be repetitive - that is, he makes his point over and over again without need.


I've also read Doctorow's book Content which is ostensibly about copyright in the digital age. It's an informative book by a Canadian intellect working at the cutting edge of tech.  If there's a flaw in the book it's that while Doctorow is not shy about pointing out what's bad about current copyright law (including Canada's)  he never fully articulates his vision of what good copyright should be in the aftermath of the Naspster wars.

If I understand Doctorow's point, copyright laws need to be focused more on giving artists control over their own work rather than embedding the current, and by necessity, outdated business models of the sellers of artistic content. The technology shouldn't matter because the tech is only a means by which art reaches its audience. The restrictions  imposed by proprietary software and technology such as digital locks are therefore an anathema to artistic endeavour.  The Internet, like radio and TV before, has challenged the business models of the current art market by further democratizing art and art forms.

Where does this leave copyright, which attempts to balance property law, fair use and compensation for art? How should be Bill C-32 be changed?

good questions...not sure I know just yet

Another excellent source is Michael Geist's website.l Geist is a law professor at University of Ottawa and the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law. See http://www.michaelgeist.


good blogs on Bill C-32..

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/