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James Boyle (legal scholar)

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For other people named James Boyle, see James Boyle (disambiguation).

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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