Lessig talks copyright, flames rumours of Congressional run

Stanford Daily has a nice writeup of a talk by Lawrence Lessig where he advocates the rather reasonable view that problems with copyright law should be tackled by Congress, not the Courts. Professor Lessig is probably best known for his advocacy of the "Free Culture" movement, and as lead consel in Eldred v. Ashcroft, otherwise known as the "Mickey Mouse" case. In his last lecture on "Free Culture, Copyright, and the Future of Ideas," given to a packed house at Stanford's Memorial Auditorium, the Professor reflects on his experience in the Court system and shares his realization that many problems with IP law today are political, not constitutional. Money quote:

“Since Brown v. Board of Education, liberals tend to think that all important problems must be solved by the courts,” Lessig said. “But the problem isn’t Constitutional ? it’s political, and it can only be solved by gaining the understanding of ordinary people.”

Lessig goes on to advocate the support of Congressional candidates who make three vows:

"that they will abolish earmarks, refuse contributions from lobbyists and political action committees and support publicly financed campaigns. "

Not bad ideas if you can get candidates who will go for it...but if you can't beat 'em, join em? Robert Scoble thinks the Professor himself is going to run for Congress.