In this talk, Professor Litman challenges the conventional paradigm of copyright statutory interpretation, under which unlicensed uses of copyrighted works are deemed infringing unless excused.That rubric was never accurate, she argues, and relying on it has distorted our thinking.In particular, it has encouraged us to give short shrift to the core importance in the copyright scheme of reading, listening, viewing, watching, playing and using copyrighted works. For most of its history, copyright law was designed to maximize the opportunities for non-exploitative enjoyment of copyrighted works in order to encourage reading, listening, watching and their cousins. Litman terms the freedom to engage in those activities "copyright liberties", and argues that they are both deeply embedded in copyright's design and crucial to its promotion of the Progress of Science.
Recorded on March 30, 2007 Duke University, School of Law.
Jessica Litman, (University of Michigan Law School), speaker.