Computers and Creativity (Computers, Internet, and Society)

Computers and Creativity explores the many ways people use computers to create software, invent new machines, and express themselves through words, music, graphic art, and multimedia. This brand-new, full-color resource also explains how computers enable people to collaborate over space and time on a scale never before possible without the use of professional intermediaries. Additionally, it examines the ways in which computer-enabled creativity causes us to rethink copyright and patent law, providing legal protection for the creative works of both artists and inventors.

Chapters include:

Writing: Farewell to Pen and Paper

Music: Personal Computer as Piano

Video: Recording, Editing, and Creating Special Effects

Programming: How Software Is Created

Inventing: Using Computers to Drive Innovation

Collaboration: Bringing People Together Over the Internet

Disintermediation: Cutting Out the Middleman

Intellectual Property: Protecting Creativity in the Digital World

Robert Plotkin is a patent attorney specializing in patent protection for computer technology. His firm, Robert Plotkin, P.C., has been named a "Go-To Law Firm for Leading Technology Companies" by American Lawyer Media. He is the author of The Genie in the Machine: How Computer-Automated Inventing Is Revolutionizing Law and Business, which explores the impact of invention automation technology on high-tech companies and patent law. Plotkin received his undergraduate degree in computer science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his law degree from the Boston University School of Law, where he now teaches a course entitled Software and the Law.