The Internet and digital technologies have shifted the default legal state of all digital culture from 'unregulated' to 'regulated by copyright,' because every use of digital content creates a copy and therefore triggers copyright law, whereas in physical space most uses (reading, giving away, reselling) do not require permission.
causalpending
Speaker
Lawrence LessigEvidence Quote
“Enter the Internet - a distributed, digital network where every use of a copyrighted work produces a copy... uses that before were presumptively unregulated are now presumptively regulated.”
Source
Free cultureCreated: 8/13/2026, 2:35:01 AM
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