"Marc Helprin's Digital Barbarism: A Writer's Manifesto argued vehemently last year that when it comes to ownership, intellectual property should be treated like all other property, like a business or a piece of real estate. But his argument came across as little more than an ill-tempered yawp. Now here is MacArthur Fellow Hyde with a different take. Drawing on the writings and lives of the Founding Fathers—above all Benjamin Franklin—Hyde argues convincingly that intellectual property is radically different from real property. Patents and copyrights are a privilege, not a right, and for public, not private, benefit: they recompense inventors and authors for their labor by awarding a "stinted" monopoly (one with conditions), but afterward the fruit of their labors becomes part of the "cultural commons"—open to all. Hyde presents horror stories about current practices: a DNA sequence patented before a use is even found for it, King's "dream" speech not available in the public domain, heirs prohibiting scholars from using a writer's letters when they disagree with the scholar's take on the subject. VERDICT Cogently argued, Common is a compelling take on an important subject for a democracy like ours." (LJ Reviews) Check Our Catalog
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