One of the guys behind Creative Commons visited Tokyo in May and stated that copyright laws need to get with the times if they want to stay relevant says The Japan Times.

Creative Commons, who Lawrence Lessig helped develop, started a system that allowed creators more choice and control over how their creations were used. Lessig says that there needs to be more room for creative expression and experimentation if copyright laws want to keep up with the 21st century.

The developer and author was in Japan doing double duty as part of the art lecture series for the Mori Art museum and plugging his latest book ¨Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy.

Lessig also said that while audiences, for example fans of anime, re-edit videos then reload them on Youtube for an alternative view that often offers some sociological or cultural insight, the law is against the media´s evolution from one way traffic to 2 way communication.

¨... you can't go 10 minutes without triggering the application of copyright law,¨ he said.

"The legal establishment is in denial about this, saying, 'Well, you just have to make sure the law's running efficiently,' even though it's regulating wildly beyond what anybody ever expected it would regulate. I think the key is to get people to recognize the radical change and then avoid what to many kids seems the logical consequence of this, which is to scrap copyright law."

Thoughts?

ZiA