CounterpointStimulating debate with the British Council

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The growing popularity of cultural commons thinking sets new and provocative challenges for traditional copyright law. Changes are occurring in politics, the economy and law, but first and foremost in the domain of culture. In 2006 Counterpoint decided to publish “Unbounded Freedom” to stimulate, inform and advance all sides of this debate, and to explore copyright alternatives more suited to the rapidly changing global circumstances of our digital age.

Rosemary Bechler argues that we must look at the history of traditional copyright law in order to understand the current debates about ownership and availability. In doing so, it not only elucidates the development of intellectual property law, but also reveals a unique glimpse of existing principles and developing trends. Bechler argues that Creative Commons thinking enables cultural organisations to embark on mutual relationships of trust with huge new publics. Describing the transformative potential of new attitudes, she offers us a vision of the future in which “unbounded freedom” is not simply a romantic notion.