Book Patrol is pleased to publish this review written by fellow bookseller Lynn Wienck of The Chisholm Trail Bookstore
DarkNet: Hollywood’s War Against the Digital Generation by J. D. Lasica is an analysis of the blur in copyright laws as they pertain to media and the intrusion and influence of World Wide Web. The author’s focus is principally on film; however, he leaps freely from movies to books and music and back again. Musicians, film makers, writers use a mix of many works, most of which are subject to copyright laws. The discussion covers what is black, white, gray, what is considered fair use, to what extent the copyright owners extend and enforce their rights. (Certain corporations, for example, take a very hard stance.)
There are new directions in “reasonableness” for intellectual property protection. Creative Commons the brain-child of Lawrence Lessig, in place since 2002, is an alternative to copyright as it exists, and permits noncommercial use of a work without the originator’s permission, although application in this respect, too, is a bit nebulous. J. D. Lasica explores this avenue and others and seems to take the stance that intent of use is of primary concern, as opposed to the legal rod applied in even, heavy-handed strokes to every situation. It’s astonishing how technically entwined we are, how mixed the mediums, and how much we borrow from film, music, literature, art, and transpose it every single day as a part of our culture. The distinction between public use, commercial, personal use, mix, distribution, modification is explored and explained at length in this book. As the author points out, “It may surprise you, but you would be infringing on a copyright if you posted half a dozen of your favorite Frost poems or Gershwin lyrics on your Web site. You cannot write a sequel to a Hemingway short story without permission from his heirs.” Jordan B. Pollack, notes that when we purchase a book, we buy, “the information or text; the object that carries the information, such as a hardcover or paperback; and the rights that accompany the purchase.” In short, reasonable use of the products of our culture may invoke violation of traditional copyright protection.
As the book world moves increasingly into the digital world, there will be more and more questions of this nature, and resulting litigation as to whose rights have been violated and to what extent. I find this book particularly timely, and what surprised me more than anything, is the care the author has taken in research, and the excellent writing and formulation of thought processes and consequences. You know, we are going to have more problems with digital and computer — legally, data storage, durability, encryption, and a fabulous merging of the arts — than we know or can imagine and the author explores that very thoroughly, too.