Infringement Nation : Copyright Reform and the Law/Norm Gap

Journal article

15 pages

By tracing the liability that a hypothetical law professor named "John" unwittingly incurs for his quotidian activities over the course of a single day, Infringement Nation highlights three key trends. First, copyright law is increasingly relevant to the daily life of the average American. Second, this growing pertinence has precipitated a heightened public consciousness over copyright issues. Finally, these two facts have magnified the vast disparity between copyright law and copyright norms. We are, in short, a nation of copyright infringers. In the twenty-first century, the average American violates copyright law with spectacular gusto on a daily basis without batting an eyelid. As surveillance technology grows more sophisticated, thereby allowing acts of infringement increasingly to come under the detection and enforcement power of copyright holders, we will be forced to confront the law/norm gap. In response, we have already begun to reexamine our norms. It is also incumbent upon us to reexamine the vitality of our copyright regime - a regime that presently threatens to make criminals of us all.

Published in : Utah Law Review, vol. 2007, p. 537, 2007

[Los Angeles, California] : Southwestern Law School, 2007.

English