Lawrence Lessig for Congress?
Lawrence Lessig, patron saint of all those downtrodden by the RIAA, told CNET today that he’s contemplating a run in the upcoming special election to fill the seat left vacant by the passing of Congressman Tom Lantos. There’s only five days left for candidates to file for the special election — all paperwork is due by February 25. Jackie Speier, a former California state senator seems to be the main competition, at the moment.
Why is it so interesting, especially to business owners, if Lessig runs? Lessig’s position on intellectual property law (essentially that the current laws are too tough) could make everybody from Disney’s corporate officers to the inventor working in his garage scramble to prevent him from changing laws in Congress, while other proponents of free culture would be stepping up to give Lessig as much support as possible. While Lessig is only one man, his presence in Congress could signal the beginning of a major shift in copyright law. Just think of it — how many millions of dollars would Disney lose if Mickey Mouse actually slipped into the public domain?
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Check out what others are saying about this post...[...] Last week, we discussed the nascent Lessig for Congress campaign. Today, Lawrence Lessig announced that he would not complete the campaign, instead choosing to focus on a long-term strategy to improve Congress. His withdrawal speech is honestly one of the classiest I have seen in a long time. [...]