Fellow APG members:
First of all, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanza, or
Blessed Solstice (though that has passed), etc. In other words,
Season's Greetings.
Of all the wonderful I gifts I was blessed to receive this holiday
season, one was quite unique and one that some of you may not be
aware of. It is a book sent by a cousin/client of mine who always
sends me on the most amazing journeys. The book?
"The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind" by William
Neal Reynolds, Professor of Law at Duke University. He nom-de-plume
is James Boyle. It is a very readable primer going straight to the
cut of today's "public domain" laws, copyright laws, patent law (did
you know someone patented the peanut butter and jelly sandwich?) and
what he sees as some alarming trends in this area. His hope is that
by making what is always called simply too "arcane" and "technical"
that the average person need not bother to understand it, that the
average person not only CAN understand it, but WILL understand. He
very much wants the every-burgeoning body politic on the internet --
and this particularly applies to we genealogists -- to get up to
speed on the real issues facing the "information age."
No, I have not read the book yet, but sometimes you can judge a book
by its cover and reading the introduction. It looks to be an
enjoyable read not bogged down in jargon. In fact, you will learn
quite a bit jargon explained in plain English.
I hope you are all having, or have had, or will have, a most
enjoyable season of family and friendship.
Craig Kilby
Lancaster, VA
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