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A Call for Copyright Rebellion
November 6, 2009 | 11:12 am
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By Steven Lyle Jordan
At the 2009 Educause Conference held in Denver, Lawrence Lessig, the Harvard University law professor and renowned open-access advocate, discussed the disconnect between copyright law and the digital world, especially regarding the needs of education, and the need to get it fixed.
Copyright law was originally intended to protect those who create for profit (Lessig used the example of recording artist Britney Spears). But academics also create original works, he said, and they are — or should be — motivated by a desire to advance human knowledge, not line their pockets. Therefore, sealing their work behind copyright barriers does no social good.
The discussion highlighted the changes to publishing and text use that the digital age has wrought, and the fact that existing copyright law does not address those modern concerns.
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Comments:
The Copyright symbol over the earth … that’s a metaphor for our times, and a stunning logo: brilliant design. Thanks.
Michael Pastore
50 Benefits of Ebooks
I can’t take the credit… it was in the media library. But I agree, it is apt.
Lessing, a law professor at Harvard, is well-paid by that highly-endowed institution, so well paid that he obviously has no understanding of just how little most college professors make. They write not just to “advance human knowledge,” but to get enough to afford dental work for their kids. Yet Prof. Lessing thinks they write to “line their pockets.” That is sick, sick, sick.
I have no data other than my own personal contacts, but I suspect that the typical professor writing in his field, is likely to be earning less for his labors than a burger-flipper at MacDonalds, especially if he is writing on a specialized topic. Yet Lessing, affluent and self-righteous, wants to not only deny him that pittance, he accuses him and his fellows of being greedy. Pitiful.
And since the topic is copyright, just much time does Lessing spend criticizing what his fellow copyright lawyers make? Their income starts at around $300/hour and climbs into the stratosphere. Has Lessing asked himself how many ordinary college professors can afford to hire the graduates of his law school. Does he every criticize them for being greedy?
Most authors, academic or otherwise, need strong copyright laws simply for the fear factor. They can’t afford a lawyer. And given the perhaps 100-fold difference between what a professor earns from his writing and what a copyright lawyer earns from his, it’s not too much to expect Lessing to spend a bit more time denouncing his own caste than he spends beating up on impoverished math or English professors at small private colleges.
Since I like the idea of Creative Commons and have released books under it, I keep trying to like Prof. Lessing. But callous and ignorant remarks like these make that hard to do. Over and over again he sounds and acts like a prig.
Mike if you are going to spout off, at least do some basic research first.
According to Money Magazine the average college professor makes over 75 thousand dollars per year and 75% make more than 60 thousand. Those are hardly burger flipping wages.
The fact of the matter is that writing directly generates very little income for most college professors. In modern academia, the work is so specialized that it has little interest to the general public. Their potential audience for a journal article is essentially limited to the potential authors for same said journal. There are exceptions of course, but even then the bulk of the money earned for writing tends to be books intended for the general public, not works intended for research.
So why do Professors write? Its simple, its how they justify the salaries they make at a University. If you figure that a full Professor makes more than the average I quoted above, and only has to be in the classroom roughly 6 hours a week for two 14 weeks terms, he is either extremely well compensated for his teaching, or there is another aspect to his salary. Part of his compensation is to support him as he does research and writes.. or supervises the research and writing of others. Indeed, most colleges and universities expect their professors to publish regularly in order to obtain and keep tenure.
Lets remember, Colleges and Universities are generally either State Institutions or “Non-Profit” institutions. In theory the Institutions and their employees have made a choice to work for the public good. Lets make sure their work actually does go toward the public good.
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Bill