Copyfraud and Other Abuses of Intellectual Property Law

Intellectual property law in the United States is on the verge of breakdown and needs to be reformed--but, according to law professor Jason Mazzone, the author of Copyfraud and Other Abuses of Intellectual Property Law, not for the reasons given by most critics.  Most Americans are familiar with the problems of illicit downloading and stolen software. But in this compulsively readable book, Mazzone argues that these familiar problems mask a greater threat to creativity and commerce--the ever-growing overreaching by publishers, producers, artists and corporations that claim stronger ownership rights than the law gives them.  

 As Mazzone argues, something is wrong in a society where:

·      Comics can be sued for making fun of Barbie
·      The Hells Angels stop production of Hollywood movies by charging misappropriation of images
·      Major League Baseball announces it can stop any human being from even describing a baseball game
·      Starbucks convinces customers that they don't have the right to take photos in coffee shops
·      Electronic book and music distributors are stripping away the entire idea of ownership
·      Universities spend millions of dollars each year requesting permission to reproduce public domain works by long dead authors.

Mazzone shows how growing abuse of intellectual property law has been abetted by confusion, unclear legal standards, outmoded law and economic bullying--and he illustrates the pervasive cost of these abuses.  Finally, he introduces specific measures by which we can cure these problems.

Erudite, surprising and accessible, Copyfraud and Other Abuses of Intellectual Property Law is a breakthrough title that will change forever how we look at creativity, law and commerce.  


ISBN: 9780804760065