Future Knowledge The Public Domain
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Dec 31, 2025 
James Boyle, a law professor and public domain advocate, and Molly Shaffer Van Houweling, a leading copyright scholar, delve into the crucial role of the public domain in fostering creativity. They discuss surprising examples like jazz and gene sequences, illustrating how intellectual property expansion stifles culture. The conversation touches on the risks posed by AI, the consequences of reduced public funding for science, and the need for a movement to protect shared knowledge. Their insights highlight why clarity around public domain is essential for artists and innovators.
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Public Domain Underpins Many Freedoms
- The public domain supports creative arts, science, cultural heritage, and economic freedom simultaneously.
- Expanding IP risks monopolizing genres and stifling future creators.
Betty Boop As A Public Domain Time Capsule
- James Boyle celebrates Betty Boop (1930) entering the public domain as a time capsule from 1930.
- He highlights the surreal Fleischer cartoons and the human lives behind the works.
1976 Shift Brought Everyday Culture Under IP
- The 1976 Copyright Act removed formalities and massively expanded what falls under copyright.
- That shift unexpectedly pulled most informal culture into a regime it wasn't designed for.
