COPYRIGHT, COPYLEFT AND THE CREATIVE ANTI-COMMONS

http://subsol.c3.hu/subsol_2/index.html

http://subsol.c3.hu/subsol_2/contributors0/nimustext.html

> A Genealogy of Authors’ Property Rights

The author has not always existed. The image of the author as a wellspring of originality, a genius guided by some secret compulsion to create works of art out of a spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, is an 18th century invention. This image continues to influence how people speak about the “great artists” of history, and it also trickles down to the more modest claims of the intellectual property regime that authors have original ideas that express their unique personality, and therefore have a natural right to own their works - or to sell their rights, if they should choose.....

ed. I thought this was a really interesting essay on the "author." We've been mulling over this in the course, "Markets, theory and collecting," but I think this conversation might find its way into other discussions. This is a good read for anyone who engages in appropriation or rails against traditional concepts of mastery and singularity. Oh whee.