The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind

Livro digital

Título:
The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind

Autor:
James Boyle

Categoria:
Tecnologia > Geral

Doador:
Raffaello D. N.

Sinopse:
Why should ideas, stories, inventions, and scientific knowledge be enclosed like land—and what is lost when the boundaries keep expanding? James Boyle builds the argument through Thomas Jefferson’s reflections on ideas, the “second enclosure movement,” the supposed threat of the internet, a farmer’s allegory, and the unruly creativity of the mashup. The chapter sequence makes intellectual property visible as a political design choice rather than an unquestionable fact. Boyle moves between copyright, patents, biotechnology, music, software, and the infrastructure of online culture to show how exclusive rights can encourage creation while also narrowing the commons on which new creation depends. Case studies from science and technology reveal the practical costs of overprotection, while the discussion of Creative Commons demonstrates how authors and institutions can deliberately rebuild spaces for sharing. Written for readers beyond the legal profession, the book offers a lucid framework for thinking about ownership in the information age. It equips creators, researchers, policymakers, and citizens to ask better questions about access, incentives, and cultural freedom. More than a defense of the public domain, it is an invitation to recognize it as essential infrastructure for imagination, innovation, and democratic life.