A Free Society and Intellectual Property - Gretchen

I was very intrigued by the discussion we had last class about what it means to be a part of a free society and what exactly it takes for a society to be characterized as "free." The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of a free society is one in which people are treated equally, regardless of race, gender or sexuality; where people can benefit from the fruits of their labor and have freedom of expression. But as we delved into this discussion in class, I was exposed to new ideas about what it means to be "free," and the concept that in order to be free, we must be prohibited from doing certain things. To someone else, a "free society" might be one where people can do whatever they want, whenever they want, and in this process, they could be taking away others freedom. Thus, a free society must include some sort of order and authority to allow it to be truly free. Though this seems like an oxymoron - regulating people and holding them back in order for them to be free - it really makes sense when you think of it in terms of intellectual property. In a society without law and order, someone could steal a man's original idea or concept and use it as their own, thus taking the freedom of expression and individuality away from someone else. Lessig states in Remix that "a free culture supports and protects creators and innovators," and this is ensured by the laws of intellectual property. Just becasue there are laws of intellectual property does not mean that you cannot learn from and use (with permission) the thoughts of another. For example, as I write this blog, the laws of intellectual property allow me to refer to the words of Lessig as long as it is approprioately quoted.