Everyone knows the story of the printing press and how its invention led to an explosion of human creativity and the rapid advancement of civilization. The modern day equivalent, the internet, is being strangled by copyright. I’ve ranted and ranted about this and I’m going to do it again. We have the potential at this moment in time to embrace another great leap forward – the sum of human knowledge can be at everyone’s fingertips. Except. Except that the western notion of copyright, less than a hundred years old, is stifling the ability of companies like Google to get this material online for us. I don’t know what the path out of this dilemma is. Of course publishers and authors need to be compensated for their work (though as longtime readers know, just like with music and video, I question the contributions publishers will have to the process of creation and distribution going forward). But if I had to choose between compensation and freedom of information, right this moment, I would choose freedom of information. The money flow will sort itself out – it always does – and the freedom of information will inexorably lead us to the info-nirvana I’m obsessed with.

End rant. The only thing I can think to suggest to folks, aside from making your representatives aware of these issues, is to give money to the EFF.