About a decade ago, intellectual property started getting systematically treated as a national se... more About a decade ago, intellectual property started getting systematically treated as a national security threat to the United States. The scope of the threat is broadly conceived to include hacking, trade secret theft, file sharing, and even foreign students enrolling in American universities. In each case, the national security of the United States is claimed to be at risk, not just its economic competitiveness. This article traces the U.S. government's efforts to establish and articulate intellectual property theft as a national security issue. It traces the discourse on intellectual property as a security threat and its place within the larger security dialogue of cyberwar and cybersecurity. It argues that the focus on the theft of intellectual property as a security issue helps justify enhanced surveillance and control over the Internet and its future development. Such a framing of intellectual property has consequences for how we understand information exchange on the Internet and for the future of U.S. diplomatic relations around the globe.
By drawing from a number of studies in the field as well as the Snowden revelations and the case ... more By drawing from a number of studies in the field as well as the Snowden revelations and the case of MegaUpload/MEGA, the article makes an analysis of relevant legislation on privacy in the digital context. The purpose of the analysis is to understand to what extent and how the current paradigm of privacy protection is, or is not, sufficient for contemporary needs. In particular, we ask how privacy is protected by policy in an American context and to what extent this is or is not insufficient in relation to an approach of “privacy by design”. In short, we conclude that privacy by policy is necessary but not sufficient and that efforts should be made to further implement policy by design.
... Recently, District Court Judge George H. Wu dismissed the charges against Drew because the ca... more ... Recently, District Court Judge George H. Wu dismissed the charges against Drew because the case would set a precedent of using the TOS as a vehicle for criminal convictions with which he was uncomfortable (Zavis, 2009). ...
The future for intellectual property law is ripe with possibilities. Even as the U.S. government ... more The future for intellectual property law is ripe with possibilities. Even as the U.S. government passes legislation that will make it more difficult to exchange information, technology is rapidly transforming the way we think and use the objects of intellectual property law. This article outlines our probable future if we continue to pass laws that perpetuate our current intellectual property framew6rk. I also offer two possible alternative scenarios that highlight the assumptions made in order to make intellectual property law work.
User-generated content is a term used to describe the division between culture produced as a comm... more User-generated content is a term used to describe the division between culture produced as a commodity for consumption and the culture that is generated by people acting as creative beings without any market incentive. While under current copyright law all types of creativity are protected, the laws of copyright exist primarily to protect commercial forms of expression, not the non-commercial ones that form the foundation of user-generated content. The disconnect between what current copyright law protects and how most people create generates tensions that must be addressed. This Article presents an argument for broader protection of all creative work, including creative work built upon the work of others. It recognizes that authors exist outside the commercial sphere of the culture industry and that works of authorship, broadly conceived, are built upon the works of others. It is time to demand change to our copyright policy-change that facilitates a type of self-expression that has been mislabeled "user-generated content." Part I of this Article sketches the evolution of the term "usergenerated content" in order to identify the politics inherent in the definition and how technology has changed our relationship with Vol. 11:4:921 entertainment and information. Part II deconstructs the assumptions behind the term "user-generated content" in order to clarify its political economy. Part III maps the "problem" of user-generated content by focusing on the example of YouTube in order to highlight the flow of ideas that are inherent in culture, and argues that the problem is not the user, but the over-commodification of culture. Part IV offers several recommendations for policy changes, and Part V concludes by arguing that it is time to strike a new balance between commercial interests and the public at large.
Innovation-the European Journal of Social Science Research, 2002
ABSTRACT The article begins with the realist assumption in political science that posits that pol... more ABSTRACT The article begins with the realist assumption in political science that posits that political violence and chaos occurs in the absence of the state, and that the international system is congenitally anarchic. Using the Y2K problem and the 11 September 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York as two instances of violent political phenomena within global modernity, this article examines notions of citizenship, pluralism, and their relationships with modern public space through the lens of 'public disaster' scenarios in which the breakdown of centralized systems of power tends to lead to chaos. However, public disasters also appear to create the opposite effect of bonding communities together in the face of adversity that leads to greater social cohesion rather than the breakdown of social institutions. The article tries to resolve this apparent enigma through several theories of public space, democracy, and civil society.
The expansion of copyright and the shrinking of the public domain did not begin with the Internet... more The expansion of copyright and the shrinking of the public domain did not begin with the Internet, but the Internet has exacerbated the problem. The threat posed by digital technology has led industries to obtain increasingly absolute protection over their "property." In this paper I will argue that developing a vibrant public domain is essential for resisting the overextension of copyrights and patents. Developing the public domain as a counterpoint to copyright and patent law is vital to an energized public sphere and by extension a democratic system.
Shulamith Firestone was a foundational second-wave feminist thinker. Firestone's radical feminism... more Shulamith Firestone was a foundational second-wave feminist thinker. Firestone's radical feminism argued for a future where technology was used to eliminate sexism by freeing women from childbirth and liberating both men and women from the patriarchal nuclear family. In many important ways, Firestone's work is the precursor for contemporary cyberfeminist writing, especially the work of Donna Haraway. This paper examines Shulamith Firestone and her contribution to the information age.
About a decade ago, intellectual property started getting systematically treated as a national se... more About a decade ago, intellectual property started getting systematically treated as a national security threat to the United States. The scope of the threat is broadly conceived to include hacking, trade secret theft, file sharing, and even foreign students enrolling in American universities. In each case, the national security of the United States is claimed to be at risk, not just its economic competitiveness. This article traces the U.S. government's efforts to establish and articulate intellectual property theft as a national security issue. It traces the discourse on intellectual property as a security threat and its place within the larger security dialogue of cyberwar and cybersecurity. It argues that the focus on the theft of intellectual property as a security issue helps justify enhanced surveillance and control over the Internet and its future development. Such a framing of intellectual property has consequences for how we understand information exchange on the Internet and for the future of U.S. diplomatic relations around the globe.
By drawing from a number of studies in the field as well as the Snowden revelations and the case ... more By drawing from a number of studies in the field as well as the Snowden revelations and the case of MegaUpload/MEGA, the article makes an analysis of relevant legislation on privacy in the digital context. The purpose of the analysis is to understand to what extent and how the current paradigm of privacy protection is, or is not, sufficient for contemporary needs. In particular, we ask how privacy is protected by policy in an American context and to what extent this is or is not insufficient in relation to an approach of “privacy by design”. In short, we conclude that privacy by policy is necessary but not sufficient and that efforts should be made to further implement policy by design.
... Recently, District Court Judge George H. Wu dismissed the charges against Drew because the ca... more ... Recently, District Court Judge George H. Wu dismissed the charges against Drew because the case would set a precedent of using the TOS as a vehicle for criminal convictions with which he was uncomfortable (Zavis, 2009). ...
The future for intellectual property law is ripe with possibilities. Even as the U.S. government ... more The future for intellectual property law is ripe with possibilities. Even as the U.S. government passes legislation that will make it more difficult to exchange information, technology is rapidly transforming the way we think and use the objects of intellectual property law. This article outlines our probable future if we continue to pass laws that perpetuate our current intellectual property framew6rk. I also offer two possible alternative scenarios that highlight the assumptions made in order to make intellectual property law work.
User-generated content is a term used to describe the division between culture produced as a comm... more User-generated content is a term used to describe the division between culture produced as a commodity for consumption and the culture that is generated by people acting as creative beings without any market incentive. While under current copyright law all types of creativity are protected, the laws of copyright exist primarily to protect commercial forms of expression, not the non-commercial ones that form the foundation of user-generated content. The disconnect between what current copyright law protects and how most people create generates tensions that must be addressed. This Article presents an argument for broader protection of all creative work, including creative work built upon the work of others. It recognizes that authors exist outside the commercial sphere of the culture industry and that works of authorship, broadly conceived, are built upon the works of others. It is time to demand change to our copyright policy-change that facilitates a type of self-expression that has been mislabeled "user-generated content." Part I of this Article sketches the evolution of the term "usergenerated content" in order to identify the politics inherent in the definition and how technology has changed our relationship with Vol. 11:4:921 entertainment and information. Part II deconstructs the assumptions behind the term "user-generated content" in order to clarify its political economy. Part III maps the "problem" of user-generated content by focusing on the example of YouTube in order to highlight the flow of ideas that are inherent in culture, and argues that the problem is not the user, but the over-commodification of culture. Part IV offers several recommendations for policy changes, and Part V concludes by arguing that it is time to strike a new balance between commercial interests and the public at large.
Innovation-the European Journal of Social Science Research, 2002
ABSTRACT The article begins with the realist assumption in political science that posits that pol... more ABSTRACT The article begins with the realist assumption in political science that posits that political violence and chaos occurs in the absence of the state, and that the international system is congenitally anarchic. Using the Y2K problem and the 11 September 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York as two instances of violent political phenomena within global modernity, this article examines notions of citizenship, pluralism, and their relationships with modern public space through the lens of 'public disaster' scenarios in which the breakdown of centralized systems of power tends to lead to chaos. However, public disasters also appear to create the opposite effect of bonding communities together in the face of adversity that leads to greater social cohesion rather than the breakdown of social institutions. The article tries to resolve this apparent enigma through several theories of public space, democracy, and civil society.
The expansion of copyright and the shrinking of the public domain did not begin with the Internet... more The expansion of copyright and the shrinking of the public domain did not begin with the Internet, but the Internet has exacerbated the problem. The threat posed by digital technology has led industries to obtain increasingly absolute protection over their "property." In this paper I will argue that developing a vibrant public domain is essential for resisting the overextension of copyrights and patents. Developing the public domain as a counterpoint to copyright and patent law is vital to an energized public sphere and by extension a democratic system.
Shulamith Firestone was a foundational second-wave feminist thinker. Firestone's radical feminism... more Shulamith Firestone was a foundational second-wave feminist thinker. Firestone's radical feminism argued for a future where technology was used to eliminate sexism by freeing women from childbirth and liberating both men and women from the patriarchal nuclear family. In many important ways, Firestone's work is the precursor for contemporary cyberfeminist writing, especially the work of Donna Haraway. This paper examines Shulamith Firestone and her contribution to the information age.
About a decade ago intellectual property started getting systematically treated as a national sec... more About a decade ago intellectual property started getting systematically treated as a national security threat to the United States. The scope of the threat is broadly conceived to include hacking, trade secrets theft, file sharing, and even foreign students enrolling in American universities. In each case, the national security of the United States is claimed to be at risk, not just its economic competitiveness. This article traces the U.S. government's efforts to establish and articulate intellectual property theft as a national security issue. It traces the discourse on intellectual property as a security threat and its place within the larger security dialogue of cyberwar and cybersecurity. It argues that the focus on the theft of intellectual property as a security issue helps justify enhanced surveillance and control over the Internet and its future development.
In 2005, a group of scholars and activists, mostly from the global South, created the Copy/South ... more In 2005, a group of scholars and activists, mostly from the global South, created the Copy/South Research Group to analyse, criticise, and confront the oppressive nature of current global copyright regimes, such as those defended by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, and similar ones around the globe. In May 2006, 22 of us, including 15 people from the global South, published THE COPY/SOUTH DOSSIER: Issues in the economics, politics, and ideology of copyright in the global South. The aim of the Dossier was to open ...
This chapter is published in "Expanding Intellectual Property: Copyrights and Patents in Twentiet... more This chapter is published in "Expanding Intellectual Property: Copyrights and Patents in Twentieth-Century Europe and Beyond." Edited by Hannes Seigrist and Augusta Dimou. Central European University Press, (2017).
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