The end of ownership : personal property in the digital economy / Aaron Perzanowski and Jason Schultz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Perzanowski, Aaron, author.

Schultz, Jason M., author.

Series:

Information society series

The information society series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Personal property.

Internet--Law and legislation.

Internet.

Electronic commerce--Law and legislation.

Electronic commerce.

Intellectual property.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (249 pages).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, MA : The MIT Press, [2016]

System Details:

text file

Summary:

An argument for retaining the notion of personal property in the products we "buy" in the digital marketplace.

"If you buy a book at the bookstore, you own it. You can take it home, scribble in the margins, put in on the shelf, lend it to a friend, sell it at a garage sale. But is the same thing true for the ebooks or other digital goods you buy? Retailers and copyright holders argue that you don't own those purchases, you merely license them. That means your ebook vendor can delete the book from your device without warning or explanation -- as Amazon deleted Orwell's 1984 from the Kindles of surprised readers several years ago. These readers thought they owned their copies of 1984. Until, it turned out, they didn't. In The End of Ownership, Aaron Perzanowski and Jason Schultz explore how notions of ownership have shifted in the digital marketplace, and make an argument for the benefits of personal property. Of course, ebooks, cloud storage, streaming, and other digital goods offer users convenience and flexibility. But, Perzanowski and Schultz warn, consumers should be aware of the tradeoffs involving user constraints, permanence, and privacy. The rights of private property are clear, but few people manage to read their end user agreements. Perzanowski and Schultz argue that introducing aspects of private property and ownership into the digital marketplace would offer both legal and economic benefits. But, most important, it would affirm our sense of self-direction and autonomy. If we own our purchases, we are free to make whatever lawful use of them we please. Technology need not constrain our freedom; it can also empower us."

Contents:

1 Introduction 1

2 Property and the Exhaustion Principle 15

3 Copies, Clouds, and Streams 35

4 Ownership and the Fine Print 57

5 The "Buy Now" Lie 83

6 The Promise and Perils of Digital Libraries 103

7 DRM and the Secret War inside Your Devices 121

8 The Internet of Things You Don't Own 139

9 Patents and the Ordinary Pursuits of Life 155

10 Ownership's Uncertain Future 169.

Notes:

OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.

ISBN:

9780262335959

0262335956

9780262335966

0262335964

OCLC:

962063778

Access Restriction:

Open Access Unrestricted online access