There’s one quote that I think pretty much sums up the argument of Lessig’s video and it’s this: “The architecture of copyright law and the architecture of digital technologies, as they interact have produced the presumption that these activities are illegal. Because if copyright laws at its core regulate something called copies, then the digital world, the one fact we can’t escape is that every single use of culture produces a copy, and therefore every single-use requires permission, and therefore without permission you are a trespasser.” I love this quote because it’s essentially saying these copyright laws halt innovation! 

Technology reproduces and innovates itself based on past mistakes and past innovations; it is constantly making copies and reproducing copies in different ways. That is how success and innovation is created, and as Lessig argues, this is the culture. Similar to the planes who were trespassers back then flying over other people’s land, planes or any other aircraft can’t function without flying over other people’s land, that’s their purpose, like technology. Therefore the functions and opportunities that technology is meant to produce, what makes it a tool of creativity and a tool of speech for our generation and many more to come, are being limited by this age of prohibition. 

I do agree there needs to be some sort of artist choice on how their work is available because the presumption that these activities are always illegal  (sometimes people are just flat out stealing other people’s work) is “dangerous” to our generation and the very function of technology. A solution like this allows us to continue being creative and produce innovations because as Lessig says, it gives us “the opportunity to develop creativity and that competition can teach one lesson to the other.” What a great TED talk!