--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the only way a library can offer an…" description: "\"If the only way a library can offer an Internet exhibit about the New Deal is to hire a lawyer to clear the rights to every image and sound, then the c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/lawrence-lessig-3201_clear_if-the-only-way-a-library-can-offer-an-i_314527.png" --- # If the only way a library can offer an Internet exhibit… ![“If the only way a library can offer an Internet exhibit about the New Deal is to hire a lawyer to clear the rights to every image and sound, then the copyright system is burdening creativity in a way that has never been seen before because there are no formalities.” quote by Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/lawrence-lessig-3201_clear_if-the-only-way-a-library-can-offer-an-i_314527.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/lawrence-lessig-3201_clear_if-the-only-way-a-library-can-offer-an-i_314527.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/lawrence-lessig-3201_clear_if-the-only-way-a-library-can-offer-an-i_314527.png) > “If the only way a library can offer an Internet exhibit about the New Deal is to hire a lawyer to clear the rights to every image and sound, then the copyright system is burdening creativity in a way that has never been seen before because there are no formalities.” [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Copyright formalities hinder digital creativity and public access to cultural works **In simple terms:** Legal hurdles block creative use of media Key Takeaway Advocate for copyright reform Themes law creativity access Mood concerned critical Type policy advocacy When to use this quote - library exhibitions - online archives - educational content Key Concepts intellectual property public domain digital rights Questions to Reflect On - What balance should exist between creators' rights and public access? - How can libraries navigate complex rights? A Different Perspective Reforming copyright may reduce protection for creators ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Burdening Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burdening-creativity-2977650/) [Clear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear/) [Copyright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copyright/) [Copyright Burdening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copyright-burdening-2977649/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Internet Exhibit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet-exhibit-2977653/) [Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyer/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [New deal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-deal/) [Offers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offers/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Rights Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights-image-2977652/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Sound Copyright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound-copyright-2977651/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Since FDR's New Deal, corporations and wealthy families have been non-stop finding new ways to get tax breaks, deregulation and entitlements from the government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-mckay/since-fdr-s-new-deal-corporations-and-wealthy-families-have-been-non/) [Adam McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-mckay/) > [The New Deal repudiation of democracy has left the Republican Party alone the guardian of the Ark of the Covenant with its charter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/the-new-deal-repudiation-of-democracy-has-left-the-republican-party/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [The comparatively greater prosperity of the United States is an outcome of the fact that the New Deal did not come in 1900 or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-comparatively-greater-prosperity-of-the-united-states-is-an/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [I believe in the Green New Deal. Fundamentally, what we recognize is that we don't have to choose between protecting our planet and growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-castro/i-believe-in-the-green-new-deal-fundamentally-what-we-recognize-is/) [Julian Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-castro/) > [By laying the groundwork for a system centered on home ownership rather than the public housing popular in Europe, the New Deal made possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-alter/by-laying-the-groundwork-for-a-system-centered-on-home-ownership/) [Jonathan Alter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-alter/) > [“Start with the first half of Phillips’ statement, the claim that economic issues favored the Democrats when government programs “taxed the few for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/start-with-the-first-half-of-phillips-statement-the-claim-that/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [To me, what's really important about the Green New Deal isn't, like, one of the elements of it: it's the concept. It's the concept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-buttigieg/to-me-what-s-really-important-about-the-green-new-deal-isn-t-like-one/) [Pete Buttigieg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-buttigieg/) > [The aim of New Deals is to exterminate the class of creditors and thrust all men into that of debtors. It is like trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-aim-of-new-deals-is-to-exterminate-the-class-of-creditors-and/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [ The crisis \[the Great Depression\] discovered a great man in Franklin Roosevelt...None too soon he has carried America forward to the second stage of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/the-crisis-the-great-depression-discovered-a-great-man-in-franklin/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [The conservative idea is not that government has no role. You might have argued that in the thirties when conservatives opposed the New Deal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-conservative-idea-is-not-that-government-has-no-role-you-might/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [All of these charges by McCarthy were a way of getting the Democrats out of power. The Democrats had controlled the government for 20…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oshinsky/all-of-these-charges-by-mccarthy-were-a-way-of-getting-the-democrats/) [David Oshinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oshinsky/) > [You can't go do the Green New Deal. It's a set of aspirations that don't really bring us to sensible action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-gaetz/you-can-t-go-do-the-green-new-deal-it-s-a-set-of-aspirations-that-don/) [Matt Gaetz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-gaetz/) > [“This was a key condition the racists put before FDR. They said they would not support FDR’s New Deal programs unless FDR supported their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/this-was-a-key-condition-the-racists-put-before-fdr-they-said-they/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [“...This is the arena in which a spiritualized disobedience means most. It doesn't mean a second New Deal, another massive bureaucratic attack on our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-white/this-is-the-arena-in-which-a-spiritualized-disobedience-means-most-it/) [Curtis White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-white/) > [ Well, before the New Deal...\[The Emancipation Proclamation\] would be a good start. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/well-before-the-new-deal-the-emancipation-proclamation-would-be-a/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) ## More by Lawrence Lessig > [It's fine to talk about politics with people you agree with. But it is rude to argue about politics with people you disagree with.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/it-s-fine-to-talk-about-politics-with-people-you-agree-with-but-it-is/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [As I've indicated, most books go out of print within one year. The same is true of music and film. Commercial culture is sharklike.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/as-i-ve-indicated-most-books-go-out-of-print-within-one-year-the-same/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [I think the reality is that copyright law has for a very long time been a tiny little part of American jurisprudence, far removed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/i-think-the-reality-is-that-copyright-law-has-for-a-very-long-time/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [Code plus law is combining to reduce rights consumers used to have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/code-plus-law-is-combining-to-reduce-rights-consumers-used-to-have/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [Overregulation corrupts citizens and weakens the rule of law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/overregulation-corrupts-citizens-and-weakens-the-rule-of-law/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [Power runs with ideas that only the crazy would draw into doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/power-runs-with-ideas-that-only-the-crazy-would-draw-into-doubt/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [Remember the refrain: We always build on the past; the past always tries to stop us. Freedom is about stopping the past, but we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/remember-the-refrain-we-always-build-on-the-past-the-past-always/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [Politics is that rare sport where the amateur contest is actually more interesting than the professional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/politics-is-that-rare-sport-where-the-amateur-contest-is-actually/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [But, like all metaphoric wars, the copyright wars are not actual conflicts of survival. Or at least, they are not conflicts for survival of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/but-like-all-metaphoric-wars-the-copyright-wars-are-not-actual/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [Some blame the drug companies. I don't. They are corporations. Their managers are ordered by law to make money for the corporation. They push…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/some-blame-the-drug-companies-i-don-t-they-are-corporations-their/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [By the time Apple's Macintosh operating system finally falls into the public domain, there will be no machine that could possibly run it. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/by-the-time-apple-s-macintosh-operating-system-finally-falls-into-the/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [As more and more citizens express what they think, and defend it in writing, that will change the way people understand public issues. 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I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. 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