On 3/20/13, the Register of Copyrights announced to Congress: "Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the state of our copyright law. The law is showing the strain of its age & requires your attention. Authors dont have effective protections, good faith businesses dont have clear roadmaps, courts dont have sufficient direction, & consumers & other private citizens are frustrated. The issues are numerous, complex, & interrelated, & they affect every part of the copyright ecosystem, including the public. Congress should approach the issues comprehensively over the next few years as part of a more general revision of the statute. A comprehensive effort would offer an occasion to step back & consider issues both large & small, as well as whether & how they relate to the equities of the statute as a whole. This Subcommittee has an opportunity to do what its done before, to put forth a forward-thinking framework for the benefit of both culture & commerce alike."

jnazario announced Harvard Law School's (HLS) free MOOC on copyright to HN.

Based on this free HLS CopyrightX MOOC & the Copyright Register's 3/20 testimony, I see now as the best time in the last 50 years for people who are deeply affected by copyright to begin to work together on reforming that law.

Kirby Ferguson's closing words: "The common good is a meme that was overwhelmed by intellectual property. It needs to spread again. If the meme prospers, our laws, our norms, our society, they all transform. That's social evolution & it's not up to governments or corporations or lawyers… it's up to us."

There is a SE (eg. StackOverflow) community proposal called CopyrightX that could be a very effective means of democratically implementing copyright reform to put the common good back at the forefront of copyright law.

Any thoughts you all might have on ways to raise awareness?

http://copyrightx.org