The information society; four puzzles; the public and private realms; information economics; intellectual property and the liberal state; copyright and the invention of authorship; blackmail; insider trading and the romantic entrepreneur; spleens; stereotyping information and searching for an author; the international political economy of authorship; private censors, transgenic slavery, and electronic indenture; proposals and objections.
[James Boyle] has written an eloquent, provocative, and highly
readable book on the fundamental question for the information age.
Who owns the end result of intellectual creation? And, more
importantly, should anyone really be allowed to own it?...[This is
an] impressive work...Professor Boyle has articulated an incisive
view of intellectual property that deserves our respect and
attention.--Richard A. Spinello "Ethics and Information Technology
"
[S]timulating and entertaining...Boyle's thesis is that liberal
political theory conjures up a historically contingent and
culturally specific vision of scientists, authors, and producers of
technology as romantic authors (inventors and creators, founts of
original genius, in the image of God) to resolve such tensions and
solve such problems [of property rights in information]...[He
offers] insightful and very sharp analyses.--Deryck Beyleveld
"Journal of Law and Society "
Boyle's jazzily written book is an unusual hybrid for a law
professor. It aims both to formulate a 'critical social theory of
the information society' and to galvanize opposition to pending
proposals which would expand intellectual-property protection in
the U.S. and internationally.--Margaret Jane Radin "Washington Post
Book World "
If Boyle does succeed in...reframing the debate about intellectual
property rights, it won't be just because his prose is lucid...nor
because his cause is just...Rather, it will be because the key new
phenomena he describes...so disrupt traditional roles that many
people will find themselves on an unaccustomed side of the
intellectual property debate and, so, will want to rethink the
conventional wisdom. Those who find themselves in that position
will be able to turn to "Shamans, Software, and Spleens" for a
crash course on where the conceptual bodies are buried.--David R.
Johnson "Legal Times "
In this masterly book, James Boyle takes one of the mind-twisting
subjects of our times--the treatment of information--and turns it
into enjoyable and informative reading. The ownership and
commoditization of knowledge, biogenetic resources, and human
genetic materials are increasingly the focus of international
debate. Boyle's discussion of these issues reflects a remarkable
understanding of intellectual, cultural, and scientific property
rights, and provides astute insights into the nature of innovation,
creativity, and knowledge in the information age.--Darrell Addison
Posey "Oxford Centre for the Environment, Ethics and Society "
James Boyle's unusually adventurous "Shamans, Software and
Spleens."..examines the ideological and practical issues raised by
the figure of the author in contemporary law and legal
theory...Boyle's programme is two-fold. First, he offers a social
theory of the information society as it depends on the figure of
the author and the fiction of originality...Second, he offers a
delicately phrased argument for leftward mitigation of intellectual
property rights. On both fronts, Boyle succeeds admirably,
demonstrating the logical contradictions of the author-centered
regime and building a strong ethical and practical case for changes
in the laws governing our information society...Boyle develops a
terrifically engaging discussion of various problems in legal
theory such as blackmail, insider trading, and the ownership of
one's genetic code...It is the great merit of Boyle's work that he
engages the debate on so many fronts, opening the conceptual breach
of authorship neither to close it perem
Mr. Boyle, a professor of law at American University in Washington,
argues that neither economics nor political theory tells us how
much to privatize intellectual creation...Many high-sounding legal
explanations, he demonstrates, are based on ad hoc, and often
unarticulated, guesses about costs and benefits. Only solid facts
can tell us, for example, whether the Internet on balance supresses
intellectual creation by facilitating piracy or promotes creation
by facilitating legitimate distribution.--Peter Huber "New York
Times Book Review "
Readers who make the effort to follow Mr. Boyle's careful reasoning
will come away rewarded. This is a valuable contribution to a
debate that can only grow more heated as time goes on...If toll
booths begin to spring up all over the information highway and only
people riding in limos can pony up the tariff to proceed ahead,
this book will be able to tell you why it happened.--Leslie Alan
Horvitz "Washington Times "
The information age is upon us, and James Boyle has written an
entertaining book designed to expose us to its foibles..."Shamans,
Software & Spleens" provides us with a lively and engaging tour of
the many puzzles and paradoxes that fill the law of intellectual
property, both old and new.--Richard A. Epstein "Economic Affairs
"
In "Shamans, Software, and Spleens," James Boyle guides the reader
through a number of thought-provoking instances [of] conflicts that
arise between profit and originality; what is legally correct but
ethically questionable; and the long debated controversies on fair
and unfair use of information...[He] has devoted a large portion of
the book to real life examples that assist the reader in
understanding the various ways we know think about information. It
deals with the tensions within our current patterns of thought and
the unintended consequences that might occur as we
rely--consciously or not--on those patterns to create the legal and
institutional frameworks of an information society.
Professor Boyle explores the transformation of law and society as
we move from an industry-based to a data- based economy. He is a
creative thinker who writes about intellectual property in the new
economy...Boyle discusses the reasons that law and social theory is
a useful lens through which to view the information society.
In Shamans, Software, and Spleens, James Boyle guides the reader
through a number of thought-provoking instances [of] conflicts that
arise between profit and originality; what is legally correct but
ethically questionable; and the long debated controversies on fair
and unfair use of information...[He] has devoted a large portion of
the book to real life examples that assist the reader in
understanding the various ways we know think about information. It
deals with the tensions within our current patterns of thought and
the unintended consequences that might occur as we
rely--consciously or not--on those patterns to create the legal and
institutional frameworks of an information society.
James Boyle's unusually adventurous Shamans, Software and Spleens
...examines the ideological and practical issues raised by the
figure of the author in contemporary law and legal theory...Boyle's
programme is two-fold. First, he offers a social theory of the
information society as it depends on the figure of the author and
the fiction of originality...Second, he offers a delicately phrased
argument for leftward mitigation of intellectual property rights.
On both fronts, Boyle succeeds admirably, demonstrating the logical
contradictions of the author-centered regime and building a strong
ethical and practical case for changes in the laws governing our
information society...Boyle develops a terrifically engaging
discussion of various problems in legal theory such as blackmail,
insider trading, and the ownership of one's genetic code...It is
the great merit of Boyle's work that he engages the debate on so
many fronts, opening the conceptual breach of authorship neither to
close it peremptorily nor to overcome it illusively, but to show
how its very paradoxes provide the conceptual basis for the laws of
property that govern our intellectual exchange.
ÝJames Boyle¨ has written an eloquent, provocative, and highly
readable book on the fundamental question for the information age.
Who owns the end result of intellectual creation? And, more
importantly, should anyone really be allowed to own it?...ÝThis is
an¨ impressive work...Professor Boyle has articulated an incisive
view of intellectual property that deserves our respect and
attention. -- Richard A. Spinello "Ethics and Information
Technology"
ÝS¨timulating and entertaining...Boyle's thesis is that liberal
political theory conjures up a historically contingent and
culturally specific vision of scientists, authors, and producers of
technology as romantic authors (inventors and creators, founts of
original genius, in the image of God) to resolve such tensions and
solve such problems Ýof property rights in information¨...ÝHe
offers¨ insightful and very sharp analyses. -- Deryck Beyleveld
"Journal of Law and Society"
Boyle does not use his title merely to grab the reader's attention.
He also uses it to signal that his work will not be yet another
dreary academic dissertation. Boyle delivers on the promise of his
title. His book proves an enjoyable read; and he also explores the
connection among shamans, software, and spleens...Boyle aims to
reconstruct the notion of authorship in order to facilitate more
balance in copyright policy. No one who reads Boyle's book can fail
to detect the pleasure he takes in a well-turned phrase. From this
alone, it should be apparent that Boyle does not oppose authors'
rights except to the extent that romantic notions about authorship
lead to inefficient or unjust legal outcomes.
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