Digital Copyright

Acknowledgments

(from 2000 edition)

I began the research reflected in this book fifteen years ago, and many people have helped me to formulate and clarify my thinking. Jon Weinberg has helped more than anyone; he asked me all the difficult questions (even before he married me). I cannot imagine writing anything without his help. Jon has read every word in this book at least a dozen times, and offered perceptive suggestions each time.

James Boyle suggested the idea for the book, and kept urging me to write it. Jane Ginsburg is a longtime friend and collaborator who has had to struggle to find any sentence she agrees with in my recent work. Jane’s idea of the public good is very different from mine, for which I’m grateful. The opportunity to argue with someone who sincerely and without ulterior motive believes that we would all be better off if copyright protection were even stronger than it is now kept me honest. Pam Samuelson and I have worked together and in parallel on digital copyright issues for many years. Pam’s work and thinking has greatly influenced mine. It was Pam’s request for a paper that set me on the road leading to my proposal in chapter 12 for an alternative copyright system. Peter Jaszi’s inspiration to recruit foot soldiers in the copyright wars to join the Digital Future Coalition gave me both something constructive to do with my outrage and the opportunity to learn how lobbyists work their backstage magic. American University gave me a home for a year that enabled me to see the story unfold from the front row. Diane Zimmerman and Rochelle Dreyfuss encouraged me to think more deeply about consumers’ ideas of legal legitimacy. When I needed a particular succinct interpretive paradigm, Niva Elkin-Koren’s work supplied it.

Of the many other people who helped me with the book or influenced my thinking, I owe special thanks to Hal Abelson, Jane Friedman, Seth Greenstein, Larry Lessig, and Dani Zweig for giving me crucial pieces in the puzzle.