Common as Air by Lewis Hyde (2010). Quote: “Simply put, my project has been to enlarge the set of stories that might usefully guide our thinking about the ownership of art and ideas.” (p. 214)
Short for
m: This is not a legal treatise on copyright law. It is a thoughtful and well researched historically grounded overview of the negative impact that over-zealously guarding intellectual property rights has on society as a whole. Hyde not only confronts the ramifications of draconian copyright law on the obvious targets of literature and music, but also science, cultural heritage, and technology. I rank this as a must read for anyone dealing with fair use/copyright law in this challenging digital age.
Long form: I came to Common as Air via fandom, unsurprisingly. The Organization for Transformative Works mentioned it on their blog (and I am a member, of course) when the book was released last year. If I’m not mistaken I was just getting ready to start grad school so I put it on my “to read…someday” list.
But one long day while doing my practicum internship at Goldstein Library, the book popped up on the “recent arrivals” shelf so I nabbed it.
The book is of obvious interest to fanfic writers like me because Hyde is addressing not just the legalities of copyright and fair use issues, but the whole philosophical underpinnings of “intellectual property” from a historical perspective no less. Which is also why it should be of interest to pretty much everyone, everywhere, honestly.
Hyde goes way back to the Greek res publicae to excavate the origins of the commons, that concept which is so familiar and yet so ephemeral to the modern citizen. He explores the idea of what a commons was, why it changed over the course of over 2000 years, and how it is applied today. This history lesson is not simply an academic exercise—it grounds Hyde’s argument with a solid philosophical underpinning and allows for his modern interpretation of how the commons concept applies and is, in fact, critical to the just enforcement of copyright laws.
Hyde does not shy from damning our society’s obsession with corporate profit at the cost of cultural and scientific advancement, which frankly I found to be a breath of fresh air simply because of how well researched and reasoned his argument is.
One thing fandom has taught me, deep in the ridiculed depths of slash fanfic, is the utterly unbelievably boundless creativity displayed by those who are playing with other peoples’ toys. Even some of the most adolescent mary-sue fics contain unique and intriguing plot ideas, while some of the best prose I’ve ever read anywhere is born out of tired or outlandish tropes.
All of those delights come straight out of flagrant copyright infringement. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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