Free as in speech and beer

The rapid-fire, uncontrollable exchange of digital information — text files (including books), software, full-length feature films, pornography, video games — is quickly eroding copyright laws, licensing systems, distribution systems, pricing schemes and the other trappings of intellectual property management that our society has carefully tended for the last two centuries. Simultaneously, our ideas about ownership, authorship and the creative process are changing dramatically. But this “crisis” in the handling of intellectual property isn’t the whole story. Increasingly, people are coming to the conclusion that the death of intellectual property as we know it is a good and laudable turn of events, that software and other types of intellectual property should be free – free as in “speech,” free as in “beer,” and sometimes free as in speech and beer. In this groundbreaking exploration of how technology is transforming our core economic beliefs, poet, editor and cultural critic Darren Wershler-Henry draws together all of the elements of this fascinating story: the history, the philosophy and the present reality of data-sharing technology. A brilliant and provocative look at the current intellectual property debate, FREE as in speech and beer is essential reading for anyone driven by the power and potential of the Internet. “Between the two extremes of everything for free and everything for profit, Darren Wershler-Henry’s book provides a searching analysis and a balanced view of the real new economy. A richly rewarding read.” — Derrick de Kerckhove “The essential primer on the looming struggle between copyright and community, this book is as fun as free beer and as necessary as free speech.” — Hal Niedzviecki