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Berkman Briefings

Berkman Briefings is a reading series sponsored by the Berkman Center that provides background information about major questions related to Internet policy, technology, and law. more >

Berkman Briefings is a reading series sponsored by the Berkman Center that provides background information about major questions related to Internet policy, technology, and law.

From January through August, 2004, snapshot looks into issues related to the future of Internet development and the work of Berkman Center researchers and affiliates were released.

Berkman Briefing: WSIS – Conference Hype or Lasting Change?

In terms of size alone, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was a stunning achievement: 11,000 official participants representing 176 nations convened in Geneva for four days to discuss the future of information and communication technologies (ICTs). More than fifty heads of state and 970 press people attended, making it a benchmark in Internet history. But now that the diplomats have returned home and trade-show representatives have repacked their wares, it is time to consider whether WSIS was simply an exercise in summit formalities or an event that left a lasting impact on future of the Internet.

authored by mary bridges, published on 23 jan 2004

Berkman Briefing: Rip, Mix, and Burn - Lessig's Case for Building a Free Culture

In a low-lit auditorium at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Stanford Law Professor Lawrence Lessig leaned against the podium and clicked a remote control. Above him, a video with Peanuts cartoons filled the screen—Linus sawed on a cello as a familiar chord progression began. My baby don’t mess around/ Because she loves me so/ And this I know for sure… The audience shifted uncomfortably. OutKast? Was he really playing OutKast in the middle of a speech at Radcliffe? The characters danced in syncopation with the overlaid music, and by the time the Hey Ya! chorus started, disbelief had given way to laughter. The cartoon was brilliant, bizarre, creative, and funny. And illegal, Lessig added. Under the current copyright regime, digital parodies like the OutKast-Peanuts hybrid are considered piracy. In his speech, On Rebuilding a Free Culture, Lessig criticized this conception of copyright because it denies the public access to creative works and stifles the creative potential the Internet.

authored by mary bridges, published on 18 feb 2004

Berkman Briefing: Free Software, the Gospel

If Eben Moglen's recent address at Harvard could be condensed to bumper-sticker format, it might read: Free Software, It isn't just source code—It’s a way of life. Moglen is a professor, a lawyer, and a programmer, but he spoke as a crusader for social justice in his lecture, "SCO and After SCO: The Future of Free Software," at Harvard Law School on February 23. His speech offered a counterpoint to a presentation by Darl McBride, the CEO of the Santa Clara Organization, as the two men stand on opposite sides of the well-publicized legal fight, SCO v. IBM.

authored by mary bridges, published on 6 feb 2004

Berkman Briefing: SCO vs. IBM - Questioning the Kernel

I went to see Darl McBride’s presentation, “Defending Intellectual Property in the Digital Age,” because I wanted to learn more about his company, SCO, and its challenge to open source software. I also went because I love protests.

authored by mary bridges, published on 5 feb 2004

Berkman Briefing: Averting the Internet Meltdown

The eye-catching conference title, Preventing the Internet Meltdown, brought a number of experts and Internet pioneers to Los Angeles recently to discuss the future of the Internet. The conference focused on one central question: is the Internet really on the verge of collapse from the weight of federal, international, and commercial regulation? Read the latest Berkman Briefing, Averting the Internet Meltdown to find out what the experts had to say.

authored by mary bridges, published on 12 aug 2004

Berkman Briefing: Interacting at Interactive - Social Networks at SXSW

"Social Networks" was the hot topic at this year's Texas-based Internet conference, SXSW Interactive. The conference brought together leaders and innovators in the field on online community building, including Joe Trippi, formerly of the Howard Dean campaign; Eli Pariser and Zack Exley, organizers for Moveon.org; Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist; and Jonathan Abrams, who created Friendster. What happens when you fill a convention hall with wired social networkers? A real-space convergence of online communities. Read the Berkman Briefing, Interacting at Interactive: Social Networks at SXSW to find out more.

authored by mary bridges, published on 28 mar 2004

Berkman Briefing: Diebold vs. The Bloggers

When the National Archives needed new vaults to protect the country’s most precious documents – the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights – it contracted with the market leader in security solutions to build a customized, high-security storage system.

authored by mary bridges, published on 4 oct 2004

Berkman Briefing: Inside the Courtroom - The Music Industry Takes on the Uploaders

The Berkman Briefing, Inside the Courtroom, gives a firsthand look at Wednesday's hearing in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts for one of the nearly 3000 lawsuits that the RIAA's has brought against individuals accused of illegal file-sharing -- Capitol Records v. Alaujan. Diane Cabell and John Palfrey of the Berkman Center attended the hearing to file an amicus brief on behalf of the court that outlines some of the the major legal issues raised in the lawsuits. Read the report, to find out how attorneys for the recording industry reacted and for a glimpse of how a trial in these cases might look.

authored by mary bridges, published on 27 may 2004

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