Lawrence Lessig Quotes & Sayings

“A culture without property, or in which creators can't get paid, is anarchy, not freedom.”

“We have a massive system to regulate creativity. A massive system of lawyers regulating creativity as copyright law has expanded in unrecognizable forms, going from a regulation of publishing to a regulation of copying.”

“Before the monopoly should be permitted, there must be reason to believe it will do some good - for society, and not just for monopoly holders.”

“A time is marked not so much by ideas that are argued about as by ideas that are taken for granted. The character of an era hangs upon what needs no defense.”

“By the time Apple's Macintosh operating system finally falls into the public domain, there will be no machine that could possibly run it. The term of copyright for software is effectively unlimited.”

“All around us are the consequences of the most significant technological, and hence cultural, revolution in generations.”

“If the only way a library can offer an Internet exhibit about the New Deal is to hire a lawyer to clear the rights to every image and sound, then the copyright system is burdening creativity in a way that has never been seen before because there are no formalities.”

“Of all the creative work produced by humans anywhere, a tiny fraction has continuing commercial value. For that tiny fraction, the copyright is a crucially important legal device.”

“In these times, the hardest task for social or political activists is to find a way to get people to wonder again about what we all believe is true. The challenge is to sow doubt.”

“When government disappears, it's not as if paradise will take its place. When governments are gone, other interests will take their place.”