Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig (and friends)

From IT Conversations:

AKMA asked, "Anyone feel like recording a chapter of Lawrence Lessig's new book?"

Joi Ito then said, "What a great idea!" In less than 24 hours, this idea mushroomed into a significant collaboration by a team of bloggers and others to record and publish all of Free Culture.

Scott Matthews has also compiled a convenient archive of the collected audioblogs reflecting the entire book.

Doug Kaye reads Chapter 1: Creators, a fascinating look at public domain and the culture of "rip, mix and burn" that existed in the 1920's when Walt Disney created "Steamboat Willie", the proto-mouse that became Mickey. The chapter then describes the Japanese practice of re-interpreting established works of art, a practice that sustains the entire Manga comics industry.

From Lessig's bio:

Lawrence Lessig is a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and founder of the school's Center for Internet and Society. Prior to joining the Stanford faculty, he was the Berkman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Lessig was also a fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, and a Professor at the University of Chicago Law School. He clerked for Judge Richard Posner on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Antonin Scalia on the United States Supreme Court.

Public Knowledge is a Washington DC based advocacy group working to defend your rights in the emerging digital culture.