Copyrighting the President Wired 12(8), August, 2004.
Laurence Lessig raises a very interesting point here. Basically, copyright can have a negative affect on political discourse, especially given our 21st century reality of media consolidation and concentration. Read on!
The US president owns neither his words nor his image – at least not when he speaks in public on important matters. Anyone is free to use what he says, and the way he says it, to criticize or to praise. The president, in this sense, is “free.” But what happens when the commander in chief uses private venues to deliver public messages, holding fewer press conferences and making more talk-show appearances? Who controls his words and images then?
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