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Copyright and the Shape of Digital Culture Tarleton Gillespie published June 1, 2007 by The MIT Press
Buy the book:
comments from colleagues:
"Gillespie has boldly attempted a broad and deep analysis of copyright that integrates cultural, historical, legal, social, political, and technological perspectives--and he succeeds. This is an unusual, excellent, vitally important, and urgently needed book."
"Wired Shut is an important book, essential for those who care about the future of digital technologies and information flows. The societal implications of digital rights management technologies have never been explored this deeply or comprehensively. DRM technologies are neither technological nor economic imperatives, and Gillespie shows that their social costs are avoidable. Bravo!"
"Tarleton Gillespie has produced a lucid and essential corrective to the techno-fundamentalism afflicting our discussions of culture, economics, and policy. Wired Shut is instantly one of the most important books about copyright and technology available."
"The book is not a screed against content owners, or a manifesto in favor of information wanting to be free, but rather a look by a non-lawyer at the way technology is being used by content owners to influence the design to technology. The greatest strength of the book is its demonstration of what it takes to marshal the various forces necessary to achieve that control: agreement among a diverse group of usually competitive content owners, the consumer electronics industry, standards groups, distributors, and Congress to name a few, as well as what it takes to beat back opposing forces. These issues tend to be treated in a cardboard fashion in other discussions, and it is a signal achievement of Professor Gillespie that he demonstrates the intensive effort it takes to accomplish such control."
high praise, dubiously excerpted from longer reviews:
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"Gillespie is a heavyweight contender whose analysis deserves close scrutiny. Engaging to the laymen and with a command of detail deserving the attentions of scholars, Wired Shut moves the author up to rival even Lessig as our champion copyfighter."
"Through resisting the simple classification of DRM as a technological 'thing' and contextualizing it instead as a complicated series of social, legal, political and industrial negotiations over consumer agency, Gillespie has crafted an important work that underscores the embeddedness of technology within all levels of cultural discourse."
"Readers of the books will come away both a firm understanding of critiques related to DRM, but also with a much richer understanding of the structure of, and challenges to, the described industries important to attempts to create DRM. Burkart and McCourt focus entirely on the music industry, while Gillespie's work explores the music, movie, and digital television industries in addition to the industries' relationships with hardware vendors and regulators. Both books are a pleasure to read."
"Wired Shut brings a perspective and depth of analysis to the digital copyright debate that is all too often absent in the media or in Washington, and Gillespie poses provocative questions that anyone interested in this field would be wise to consider."
"If you're new to the issue, Wired Shut can serve as an adequate, if sometimes unwieldy, overview. Where Gillespie can add to the debate is in his case studies."
"These are all very complex issues. The best explanation, however, that I have seen of both the legal and technological histories of the problem is Wired Shut. All consumers and producers of digital materials should read it."
"Gillespie says the debate must be expanded beyond narrow legal parameters. His book accomplishes this goal in plain language, which makes it accessible to non-specialists, hut the book also contains substantial discussion of more academic concerns, which makes it essential reading for students and scholars of new media and communications."
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"Wired Shut is not only a book you should read; it is one that you should share (by sending a lawfully purchased copy to your representatives) before Congress revisits broadcast flag legislation. Gillespie does an exceptional job of placing DRM in a broader context that enhances his readersÕ understanding and apprehension of DRM trusted systems."
"While Gillespie is not the first to claim that the future looks less than bright for the free flow of ideas and non-commodified culture, what he contributes is a sophisticated accounting of several key developments and the ways in which these developments have impacted our ability to use digital cultural products."
"He has created a unique space empowering us to become active and aware of issues that will vitally affect and determine our collective future."
"A timely book with an important message."
"Gillespie documents this digital battle with excellent discussion of the key issues and extensive source references."
blog posts about the book: 7.6.08: Media Download Queue -> Coevolving Innovations: "Tarleton Gillespie, ÒWired Shut: Copyright and the Shape of Digital CultureÓ, MIT Press Podcast, 2007/11" 1.25.08: Back in the Saddle: Startup 5.0: "IFPI to ISPs: you Need to Become Congtent Cops, or Else" 1.8.08: Neural.it: "Tarleton Gillespie - Wired Shut: Copyright and the Shape of Digital Culture" 10.28.07: Managing Rights Management: "Wired Shut: Copyright and the Shape of Digital Culture" 12.4.07: Library Technology Issues: "Wired Shut: Copyright and the Shape of Digital Culture, by Tarleton Gillespie" 9.23.07: Question Technology: "Book Notes" 9.13.07: DigitalKoans: "Wired Shut: Copyright and the Shape of Digital Culture" 8.27.07: The Patry Copyright Blog (William Patry): "Tarleton Gillespie's Wired Shut" 7.17.07: TroySchneider.com (Troy Schneider): "When Does Imitation Become the Sincerest Form of Rip-Off?" 6.21.07: Reading Information Studies (Greg Downey): "The limits of the trusted system?" 6.21.07: Lex Ferenda (Daithí Mac): "Wired Shut: Tarleton Gillespie" 6.15.07: Differences & repetitions (Ted Striphas): "Summer reading" 5.29.07: Reading Information Studies (Kristin Eschenfelder): "Summer 2007 schedule is here" 5.22.07: Art, Science, and Tech.Interactions: "New and recent titles in STS. The MIT Press" 5.11.07: Shake Up the World (MK): "My Summer Reading List" 2.16.07: Sivacracy (Siva Vaidhyanthan): "Another great tech/law blog (and an even better book)"
syllabi using portions of Wired Shut: Methods of Inquiry [Fall 2008], Philip Howard, University of Washington Technology and Society [Fall 2008], Phaedra Daipha, Rutgers Advanced Topics in Intellectual Property and Technology Regulation [Fall 2007], Wendy Seltzer, Harvard Law Impacts of Technology [Fall 2007], Gabriella Coleman, NYU
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