What Would an Evidence-Based Copyright Law Look Like?

Contributor(s): William Patry | Copyright laws are declared to be the underpinnings of creativity, innovation, the knowledge economy, and everything short of curing the sick and feeding the poor. Can copyright laws do all these wonderful things, or are they, in Ian Hargreaves' words, the result of lobbynomics? William Patry is senior copyright counsel at Google Inc. He has written far too much about copyright law, including his new book How to Fix Copyright Law and so now spends his time playing bass clarinet.