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''Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace'' is a 1999 book by Lawrence Lessig on the structure and nature of regulation of the Internet.
The primary idea of the book, as expressed in the title, is the notion that
Code V.2 Wiki
to update the book with current information, which he then adapted into a second edition of the book, '' Code: Version 2.0'', in 2006.
Summary
The primary idea of the book, as expressed in the title, is the notion that computer code
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These progra ...
(or "West Coast Code", referring to Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...
) regulates conduct in much the same way that legal code
A code of law, also called a law code or legal code, is a systematic collection of statutes. It is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the cod ...
(or "East Coast Code", referring to Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
) does. More generally, Lessig argues that there are actually four major regulators (Law, Norms, Market, Architecture) each of which has a profound impact on society and whose implications must be considered (sometimes called the "pathetic dot theory
The pathetic dot theory or the New Chicago School theory was introduced by Lawrence Lessig in a 1998 article and popularized in his 1999 book, '' Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace''. It is a socioeconomic theory of regulation. It discusses how l ...
", after the "dot" that is constrained by these regulators.)
The book includes a discussion of the implications for copyright law, arguing that cyberspace
Cyberspace is a concept describing a widespread interconnected digital technology. "The expression dates back from the first decade of the diffusion of the internet. It refers to the online world as a world 'apart', as distinct from everyday rea ...
changes not only the technology of copying but also the power of law to protect against illegal copying. It goes so far as to argue that code displaces the balance in copyright law and doctrines such as fair use. If it becomes possible to license every aspect of use (by means of trusted systems created by code), no aspect of use would have the protection of fair use. The importance of this side of the story is generally underestimated and, as the examples in the book show, very often, code is even (only) considered as an extra ''tool'' to fight against "unlimited copying."
Other books
''The Future of Ideas
''The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World'' (2001) is a book by Lawrence Lessig, at the time of writing a professor of law at Stanford Law School, who is well known as a critic of the extension of the copyright term in US ...
'' is a continuation of ''Code's'' analysis of copyright, where Lessig argues that too much long term copyright protection hampers the creation of new ideas based on existing works, and advocates the importance of existing works entering the public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
quickly.
Revision
In March 2005, Lessig launched thCode V.2 Wiki
to update the book with current information, which he then adapted into a second edition of the book, '' Code: Version 2.0'', in 2006.
Influence
The book has been widely cited, and Lessig has repeatedly achieved top places on lists of most-cited law school faculty. It has been called "the most influential book to date about law and cyberspace", "seminal", and in a critical essay on the book's 10th anniversary, authorDeclan McCullagh
Declan McCullagh is an American entrepreneur, journalist, and software engineer.
He is the CEO and co-founder, with computer scientist Celine Bursztein, of Recent Media Inc., a startup in Silicon Valley that has built a recommendation engine and i ...
(subject of the chapter "What Declan Doesn't Get") said it was "difficult to overstate the influence" of the book.
See also
*Cyberspace
Cyberspace is a concept describing a widespread interconnected digital technology. "The expression dates back from the first decade of the diffusion of the internet. It refers to the online world as a world 'apart', as distinct from everyday rea ...
* Digital rights management
Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures (TPM) such as access control technologies can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works. ...
* Government by algorithm
* Information society
* ''Free Culture
The free-culture movement is a social movement that promotes the freedom to distribute and modify the creative works of others in the form of free content or open content without compensation to, or the consent of, the work's original creators, ...
''
* ''Internet and Technology Law Desk Reference
''Internet and Technology Law Desk Reference'' is a non-fiction book about information technology law, written by Michael Dennis Scott. The book uses wording from legal cases to define information technology jargon, and gives citations to individu ...
''
References
{{Lawrence Lessig 1999 non-fiction books Books about the Internet Works about intellectual property law Copyright law literature Books by Lawrence Lessig