The means of reproduction: How copying fuels creativity and sparks innovation.

Apr 18 2015

We stayed out of the international copyright system because we had a specific view of how a limited copyright system would aid in our development. At some point, we chucked that. Why? Because we developed a huge, domestic innovation industry that became very politically powerful.

Legal scholar Christopher Sprigman explores the upsides of copying – from increased innovation in technology and fashion, to kickstarting developing economies – and explains why America went from ignoring international copyrights to imposing them on the rest of the world.

Christopher is co-author (with Kal Raustiala) of The Knockoff Economy: How Imitation Sparks Innovation.