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James Boyle (legal scholar)

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James Boyle
Boyle in 2008
Born1959 (age 65)
Scotland
NationalityScottish
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
Education
Occupation(s)Legal academic and author
EmployerDuke University School of Law
Known forCreative Commons
Notable work
  • Shamans, Software and Spleens
  • Bound by Law?
  • The Public Domain
  • Theft: A History of Music
TitleWilliam Neal Reynolds Professor of Law
AwardsDuke Bar Association Distinguished Teaching Award
Website

James Boyle (born 1959[1]) is a Scottish intellectual property scholar. He is the William Neal Reynolds Professor of Law and co-founder of the Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke University School of Law in Durham, North Carolina.[2] He is most prominently known for advocating looser copyright policies in the United States and worldwide.

Teaching and activism

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Boyle graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1980 and subsequently studied at Harvard Law School.[1] He joined Duke University School of Law in July 2000.[3] He had previously taught at American University, Yale, Harvard, and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

In 2002, he was one of the founding board members of Creative Commons,[4] and held the position of Chairman of the Board in 2009, after which he stepped down.[5][3] He also co-founded Science Commons, which aims to expand the Creative Commons mission into the realm of scientific and technical data, and ccLearn, a division of Creative Commons aimed at facilitating access to open education resources.[6]

In 2006, he earned the Duke Bar Association Distinguished Teaching Award.[3]

The courses he teaches include "Intellectual Property", "The Constitution in Cyberspace", "Law and Literature", "Jurisprudence", and "Torts".[3]

Written works

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He is the author of Shamans, Software and Spleens: Law and Construction of the Information Society[7] as well as a novel published under a Creative Commons license, The Shakespeare Chronicles.[8][9]

In his work on intellectual property, The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind (2008), Boyle argues that the current system of copyright protections fails to fulfill the original intent of copyright: rewarding and encouraging creativity.[10] It was also published under a non-commercial CC BY-NC-SA Creative Commons license.[11]

Boyle also contributes a column to the Financial Times New Technology Policy Forum.

In 2011, Boyle was one of five experts consulted for the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property and Growth, a comprehensive analysis of the United Kingdom's intellectual property system that made suggestions for data-driven reform of the system.[12]

Selected publications

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  • Shamans, Software and Spleens: Law and Construction of the Information Society, Harvard University Press 1997, ISBN 978-0-674-80522-4
  • The Public Domain (ed), Winter/Spring 2003 edition of Law and Contemporary Problems (vol 66, ##1–2), Duke University School of Law
  • Bound by Law? Tales from the Public Domain , Duke University Center for the Study of the Public Domain 2006, ISBN 978-0-9741553-1-9
  • Cultural Environmentalism @ 10 (ed, with Lawrence Lessig), Spring 2007 edition of Law and Contemporary Problems (vol 70, #2), Duke University School of Law
    • Cultural Environmentalism and Beyond
  • The Shakespeare Chronicles: A Novel, Lulu Press 2006, ISBN 978-1-4303-0768-6
  • Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind, Yale University Press 2008, ISBN 978-0-300-13740-8
  • Theft: A History of Music, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 2017, ISBN 978-1535543675

References

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  1. ^ a b "Law School Profile: DUKE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW". martindale.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  2. ^ "People". Center for the Study of the Public Domain. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d Biography at Duke University School of Law
  4. ^ Amy Harmon (13 May 2002). "A New Direction for Intellectual Property". N.Y.Times. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
  5. ^ Linksvayer, Mike (1 April 2009). "Esther Wojcicki Becomes Creative Commons Board Chair". Creative Commons. Archived from the original on 4 April 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
  6. ^ Biography on Boyle's official website. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  7. ^ Boyle, James (1997), Shamans, Software and Spleens: Law and Construction of the Information Society, Harvard University Press
  8. ^ Boyle, James (2007), The Shakespeare Chronicles, Lulu Press
  9. ^ "Inspired by his defense of the Bard in court, Professor James Boyle pens a literary thriller". Duke University School of Law. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  10. ^ Aaron Stronge (13 May 2002). "Review: The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind" (PDF). Journal of High Technology Law, Suffolk University Law School. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
  11. ^ Boyle, James (2008), The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind, Yale University Press
  12. ^ "(When) Is Copyright Reform Possible? Lessons from the Hargreaves Review" by James Boyle (2015)
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