Aram Sinnreich

MediaCon Panel with Trevor Pinch & DJ Spooky (audio)

This weekend, I was fortunate to host a keynote discussion between media theorist (and Moog afficionado) Trevor Pinch and DJ/author Paul D. Miller, a/k/a DJ Spooky. It was part of an excellent conference called "Extending Play" organized by the doctoral students at Rutgers SC&I. 

Our panel was a lot of fun -- a freewheeling discussion that ranged from music and tech geekery to broad social theory. You can listen to the audio transcript here:

ExtendingPlay_Keynote_Sinnreich_Pinch_Miller

 

 

New Syllabus: Copyright, Culture & Commerce

This semester, I'll be teaching a class called "Copyright, Culture & Commerce" at Rutgers SC&I. I used to teach a very similar course at NYU (which I inherited from Siva Vaidhyanathan), but this is basically a complete reboot. I've built the syllabus from scratch, and made a real effort to balance some of my own opinions with conflicting ones, and to integrate debate into the classroom experience.

One of the biggest problems I've faced is that I know so much more about the subject than I did 5 years ago when I first taught the class, and have read so many more texts, that it's much harder to squeeze it all into one coherent undergraduate experience. 

I welcome your feedback -- especially over the next few days, before I have to finalize the syllabus and hand it out to my students.

Week 1: Introduction

Week 2: Why Do We Have Copyright?

• Readings:
  • Vaidhyanathan, Copyrights and Copywrongs, Ch. 1
  • Patterson, Copyright in Historical Perspective, Ch. 1 & 12
  • Also peruse: http://www.copyright.gov/history/
• Debate: Madison vs. Jefferson, U.S. Constitution
• EXTRA CREDIT: Attend Amy Goodman talk, 7pm at RSC Multipurpose Room

Week 3: Commons & Anticommons

• Readings:
  • Boyle, The Second Enclosure Movement: http://j.mp/VFVrtH
  • Heller, Gridlock Economy, Ch. 1
• Debate: New York Times Co. v. Tasini: http://j.mp/VfXvrb

Week 4: The Growth of Copyright

• Readings:
  • Lessig, Free Culture, Ch. 10: http://j.mp/UovJIa
  • Netanel, “Copyright and a Democratic Civil Society”, Section I: The Expansion of Copyright Holder Rights: http://j.mp/Y5TdXa
  • Hatch, Introduction of The Copyright Term Extension Act of 1997: http://j.mp/VfX9B2
  • Miller, Extending Copyrights Preserves US Culture: http://j.mp/VfX5Bb 
• Debate: Eldred v. Ashcroft: http://j.mp/Y5RxNp

Week 5 : Fair Use and the Public Domain

• Readings:
  • Aufderheide & Jazsi, Reclaiming Fair Use, Ch. 1-4
  • Lethem, The Ecstasy of Influence: A Plagiarism: http://j.mp/W9Kj5B
  • Article about Rupert Murdoch opposition to fair use: http://j.mp/W9IaXA
• Debate: Rogers v. Koons: http://j.mp/UkOtYQ

Week 6: IP & Corporate Power

• Readings:
  • Bollier, Brand Name Bullies, Ch. 8 & 11
  • McLeod, Freedom of Expression, Ch. 5: http://j.mp/UoKxX1
  • Steiglehner, 10 Questions for Evaluating a Company’s IP Portfolio: http://j.mp/W9Lxh4
• Debate: Toywar: http://j.mp/11BOoFQ

Week 7: Copyright & Globalization

• Readings:
  • Brown, Can Culture be Copyrighted?: http://j.mp/Upmzef
  • Drahos & Braithwaite, Information Feudalism, Ch. 5: http://j.mp/UpnJqa
  • Interview with Francis Gurry, WIPO Director: http://j.mp/VIzDgY
• Debate: ACTA: http://j.mp/X8Eu6Y

Week 8: Piracy & Punishment

• Readings:
  • Sinnreich, The Piracy Crusade, Ch. 4-5
  • Johns, Piracy: The Intellectual Property Wars, Ch. 15
  • Drahos & Braithwaite, Information Feudalism, Ch. 2: http://j.mp/UpnJqa
• Debate: MGM v. Grokster: http://j.mp/VKL1ZK
• Guest Lecture: Ray Beckerman, Recording Industry vs. The People
• Midterm Assigned

Week 9: DRM & DMCA

• Readings:
  • Copyright Office DMCA summary: http://j.mp/X7zAHq
  • EFF, Unintended Consequences: Twelve Years under the DMCA: http://j.mp/X7Aqnm
  • Doctorow, Content, Ch. 2-3: http://j.mp/X7zeAq
• Debate: Felten v. RIAA

Week 10: Copyright, Convergence & Configurability

• Readings:
  • Sinnreich, Mashed Up, excerpted on Truthdig.com: http://j.mp/W9T5QX
  • Jenkins, Convergence Culture, Ch. 5
  • Latonero & Sinnreich, The Hidden Demography of New Media Ethics
• Debate: Newton v. Diamond: http://j.mp/X8NEQW & Bridgeport v. Dimension http://j.mp/VKNIuD

Week 11: Open Source, Free Software & Copyfight

• Readings:
  • Stallman, GNU Manifesto: http://j.mp/VKktrO
  • Barlow, Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace: http://bit.ly/axHR1T
  • Lessig, Free Culture, “US, NOW” pp. 276-286: http://j.mp/UovJIa
  • Coleman, Coding Freedom, pp. 185-205: http://j.mp/X7KigV 
• Debate: tk 

Week 12: In Defense of Copyright

• Readings:
  • Levine, Free Ride. Ch. 3
  • Sherman, What Wikipedia Won’t Tell You: http://nyti.ms/y59NF7
  • Day, In Defense of Copyright: http://j.mp/UQG11Q
• Debate: tk
• Guest lecture (via Skype): Robert Levine 

Week 13: Can Copyright be Fixed?

• Readings:
  • Lessig, Free Culture, “THEM, SOON” pp. 287-306: http://j.mp/UovJIa
  • van Schijndel & Smiers, Imagining a World Without Copyright: http://j.mp/X8bhsW
  • Patry, How to Fix Copyright, Ch. 2
  • Public Knowledge, The Internet Blueprint: http://j.mp/Wi6Pcn
  • Debate: OPEN Act: http://j.mp/VKlMqL
• Final project assigned

Week 14: Is Democracy Piracy?

• Readings:
  • Sinnreich, The Piracy Crusade, Ch. 8-9
  • Hyde, Common As Air, Ch. 9
  • Ray Kurzweil interview: http://j.mp/X8zaAD
• Debate: Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics: http://j.mp/VKHVoM

Aram talks Piracy Crusade at the New School (video)

I recently gave a guest lecture about my forthcoming book The Piracy Crusade via Google Hangout for Josephine Dorado's classes on internet culture at the New School. Here's the video:

INET NY Copyright Panel (video)

Two weeks ago, I sat on a panel at INET New York about the "six strikes" Copyright Alert System, the bargain struck between Hollywood and America's major broadband ISPs to identify people suspected of illegally infringing copyrighted content and slowly cut off their bandwidth.

The event was very informative. For the first hour, corporate stakeholders (e.g. RIAA, MPAA, Verizon, Comcast) discussed the specifics of their plan. For the second hour, a bunch of us critics and consumer advocates (e.g. Gigi Sohn, Jeff Jarvis) responded to the plan, raising several questions and concerns.

Then there was a final mega-panel in which both groups got to address each other directly. I don't think any of us had our minds changed 180 degrees, but I'm pretty sure we all gained some deeper insight into what's at stake here. The full video of the event is below. Surprisingly riveting for a wonkfest.

 

p.s. As of today, the CAS launch has been postponed till next year (ostensibly due to Hurricane Sandy)

Presentation for The Piracy Crusade

This week, I'll be giving my first public talks based on The Piracy Crusade, first at Woodbury University and then at NYU. Here's the full presentation -- I welcome your feedback.

The Piracy Crusade on Prezi

Moscow Panel: "Culture: Create or Copy" [video]

Last month, I returned to Moscow to speak at Google's Big Tent Event. My panel, which was entitled "Culture: Create or Copy," was focused on the question of whether configurable cultural practices like memes, mashups and remixes are legitimate and socially valuable, and therefore whether communications and cultural policy should provide a degree of support for them. Obviously, I was there to bang the "yes" drum. This was not an idle "academic" topic; the panel's moderator was Ekatrina Chukovskaya, Deputy Minister of Culture for the Russian Federation.

Here's the video of the panel:

My new book project: PiracyCrusade.com

My new book project, loosely based on my LimeWire expert testimony, is called "The Piracy Crusade." Although it will be published as a paper book next year by University of Massachusetts Press, I'm also publishing draft chapters as I write them on an open, Creative Commons-licensed, comments-enabled platform hosted by the MediaCommons project.

This kind of prepublication is increasingly being used as "peer-to-peer review," a crowdsourced alternative to the traditional academic "peer review" process, in which 2-3 anonymous readers with unclear motives and levels of interest weigh in on your work after 6-12 months of waiting. Obviously, when you're covering something fast-moving like law, technology, culture, or all three, that kind of a waiting process can be deadly.

If you have any interest, experience, or opinions regarding music, intellectual property law, new technologies, or the digital media industry, I encourage you to take a look, and leave a comment. All constructive commenters will get a shout-out in the final version of the book's Acknowledgments section.

The first two chapters are already up, and Chapter 3 is in process. Check it out on PiracyCrusade.com!

p.s. I'm also looking for some cover art -- if you're interested in creating something (I can't pay you, but I'll give you a credit on the cover), let me know.

Video of "Beyond the Internet" panel

Last night, I was was fortunate to host an excellent panel on Internet freedom, cyberliberties, mesh networking, and next-gen networks at Rutgers University, with Laura DeNardis, Jonathan Baldwin, Michael Potter, Josh King, and my colleague, Aaron Trammell. ISOC-NY generously offered to livestream the event, which is now archived on their site.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

internetsocietychapters on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Happy American Censorship Day

Today, in honor of American Censorship Day, I've replaced my standard banner with a cheerful black bar.

I do this as a form of protest against the spirit of censorship pervading the regulation of the Internet and other communications platforms -- specifically, the pending legislation known as ProtectIP and SOPA being discussed in a Congressional hearing today. This legislation would criminalize huge swaths of the Internet as we know it today, and put a politically unacceptable degree of censorship power in the hands of government and large corporations. I stand with organizations like Public Knowledge and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, as well as publishers like TechDirt and BoingBoing, in opposition to these measures, and I hope you will as well.

To find out more, and to take action, please visit AmericanCensorship.org.

 

"Beyond the Internet" event at Rutgers tomorrow

Tomorrow, I'll be hosting an event at Rutgers called "Beyond the Internet." It continues the themes I've been working on with the MondoNet project, surrounding the potential of new and emerging platforms (e.g. ad hoc, wireless mesh networks) to provide a more robust platform for free speech and the exercise of cyberliberties.

The cornerstone of the event will be a panel featuring some of the technologists and thinkers at the forefront of these issues, including:

• Laura E. DeNardis, American University / Yale Information Society Project
• Michael Potter, Geeks Without Frontiers
• Jonathan Baldwin, Parsons
• Josh King, New America Foundation/OTI
• Isaac Wilder, founder, Free Network Foundation

The event is free and open to the public, hope you can make it!

Time and location:
Wed, November 16
7:00pm – 9:00pm
Rutgers University, College Ave Campus
Alexander Library
4th Floor Lecture Hall
Map: http://bit.ly/t5fDnq 
Event website: technologies.rutgers.edu