Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

["Christian Stalberg" <cpsr_rtp AT internet-lab.com>]

"Intellectual Property Creep: How the Current Regime Hinders Creativity,
Innovation, and Scholarship"

Presentation by
Gigi Sohn
President and founder of
Public Knowledge

Tuesday, 13 April 2004 at 5:00 pm
Sitterson Hall 011
Refreshments served at 4:30 pm in the lower lobby

Will I be able to record my favorite digital television shows on my VCR? Can
I make back-up copies of my DVDs? Why is there a patent on "one-click
shopping"? Why does Mickey Mouse get more protection than some crime
victims? What ever happened to music sampling?

Gigi Sohn, president of the Washington, DC-based public interest advocacy
group Public Knowledge (www.publicknowledge.org), will answer these
questions and more. During the past decade, large media companies have used
their influence with lawmakers to strengthen copyright, patent, and
trademark laws beyond what the framers of the Constitution intended.
Intellectual property laws are supposed to encourage creativity and
innovation so that the public can benefit. But now they are simply being
used to lock down information and preserve old business models. Gigi will
talk about the past, present, and future of citizens' rights to information
and ideas in the digital age, and how you can help to protect them.

Sponsored by Public Knowledge and the Research Triangle Chapter of CPSR
(Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility).
Hosted by the Department of Computer Science, UNC at Chapel Hill