The Rhetoric of Intellectual Property

The availability of digital recording technologies and distributed file sharing systems has forever changed the expectations of everyday users with regard to digital information. At the same time, however, U.S. copyright law has shown a decided trend toward more restrictions over what we are able to do online. As a result, a gap has emerged between the reality of copyright law and the social reality of our everyday activities. Through an analysis of the legal and public debate about copyright in a digital age, this book shows how the stories told by participants shape our cultural understanding of the role of the Internet in cultural production.