Intellectual Property Wars, New Media, and the Activist Turn

Intellectual Property Wars, New Media, and the Activist Turn

Kembrew McLeod (Communication Studies, University of Iowa)
Tuesday, April 10, 2012 / 4:00 PM
McCune Conference Room, 6020 HSSB

This talk will focus on the tactics that have been used by hacktivists and other “copyfighters” to resist the expansion of intellectual property laws. Drawing from personal experience and interviews with other activists and engaged scholars, McLeod will provide a lively overview of the past two decades of intellectual property legislation and the pushback against them. Kembrew McLeod is an independent documentary filmmaker and an associate professor of communication studies at the University of Iowa.  His books and films focus on both popular music and the cultural impact of intellectual property law. He is the author of Freedom of Expression®: Resistance and Repression in the Age of Intellectual Property and co-author of Creative License: The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling.  His documentary films include Money For Nothing: Behind the Business of Pop Music, Freedom of Expression®, and Copyright Criminals.

Sponsored by the IHC’s Public Goods series.