The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind

Used in many intro to copyright law classes, this enlightening book describes what author James Boyle “calls the range wars of the information age today’s heated battles over intellectual property. Boyle argues that just as every informed citizen needs to know at least something about the environment or civil rights, every citizen should also understand intellectual property law. Why? Because intellectual property rights mark out the ground rules of the information society, and today’s policies are unbalanced, unsupported by evidence, and often detrimental to cultural access, free speech, digital creativity, and scientific innovation.