Orlowski On Doonsbury On Creative Commons

industrial plant life this on The Register, past times Andrew Orlowski (with the IPKat's links added):

"As anyone involved alongside the master copy Apple Newton project knows solely also well, when Garry Trudeau's satirical oculus engages a target, there's solely ane winner. The Doonesbury cartoonist has a gift for belongings upwardly a mirror to bad ideas as well as so they collapse nether the weight of their ain absurdities. This calendar week Trudeau has turned his attending to the "Creative Commons" project.

The commencement Apple Newton project

Beginning alongside Monday's comic, radio interviewer Mark questions aging stone star Jim Thudpucker close "free music". Thudpucker returns alongside a barrage of techno utopian babble that suggests he's been inhaling the heady vapors of the blogosphere.

Jim Thudpucker: fan bases volition last stored inward Palm Pilots

"There are no stone stars whatsoever more!" insists Thudpucker. "With file sharing, we're beingness liberated from the hierarchical tyranny of tape sales… Careers henceforth volition last concert-driven, fragmented, as well as small!"

"And fan bases?" asks Mark.

"Will last kept inward Palm Pilots!" replies the blog-brained Thudpucker.

This bright satire of the belief that technology tin past times itself topple entrenched institutions volition last familiar to anyone who's picked upwardly a re-create of Wired in the final decade. Thudpucker is an ever-present type at whatsoever blogging convention. The conversation continued throughout the week, as well as nosotros won't spoil whatsoever to a greater extent than of Trudeau's punchlines, except to banknote that he captures the other worldliness of this strand of techno utopian idiocy real sweetly.

What's incorrect alongside this picture?

Well, there's null incorrect alongside utopianism inward itself: it's merely a wishing for a amend world, as well as nosotros should all last able to imagine something better. But when utopianism becomes a denial as well as a retreat from the existent world, it serves no useful purpose. It becomes a distraction, draining fourth dimension as well as unloose energy from what tin last achievable. And similar fringe political activism, it tin eventually larn no to a greater extent than than a psychological crutch for its advocates.

Creative Commons - launched past times Professor Lawrence Lessig later on a catastrophic Supreme Court defeat 2 years ago, which laid upwardly dorsum the copyright reform get past times many years - is ane such noble idea.

But at that spot are reasons why the crusade - widely blogged, but fifty-fifty to a greater extent than widely ignored - has failed to orbit much traction.

Broadcaster Bill Thompson picked on ane argue why the crusade has got nowhere fast. (Try calling the Creative Commons role inward the promise of finding a human on the other terminate of the employment as well as you'll realize to a greater extent than or less other - there's no ane home.)

But Thompson highlights the legalistic, American-centric ground of the campaign.

"Lessig doesn't empathise why people inward Europe help close an author's moral rights, which are inalienable inward European law. And because he doesn't understand, he dismisses it. To an American constitutional lawyer copyright is merely an economical matter," Thompson told us.

"I own got an objection to the British National Party using something I wrote inward their political party political broadcasts. That's my right."

"I'm a critical supporter of Creative Commons, but I don't own got United States of America hegemony inward this or whatsoever other area."

So Creative Commons is emblematic of how fifty-fifty the best of the United States of America fails to empathise how the residual of the ground works. Is this a failure of empathy? Or a deeper philosophical failure which places also much emphasis on the law, as well as thus "hacking" the law? ...

Fortunately nosotros own got to a greater extent than practical remedies to such escapist fantasies to hand. We solely demand to pose them to work

welcomes refreshing fighting on the Holy Cow of Creative Commons, which has become, equally much equally anything else, an mental attitude which is de rigeur in academic copyright circles. Let's maintain the fighting alive! Merpel adds

Lessig on Orlowski here