“If you would understand anything,” said Aristotle, “observe its beginning and its development.” Understanding the historical relationship between copyright and the First Amendment is especially relevant today, with free speech concerns raised over pending rogue sites legislation — the PROTECT IP Act in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House — and domain name seizures — the Second Circuit will be hearing arguments about whether… [read post]

 The ”long” progressive era, to apply to Novak’s periodization a convention popularized by historian Rebecca Edwards, witnessed the creation of the “modern democratic state” (235), an achievement that—as Novak declares, in a characteristically exuberant rhetorical flourish—was “arguably” the “most significant legal-political development of the twentieth century” (2). [read post]