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COPYRIGHT'S HIGHWAY

FROM GUTENBERG TO THE CELESTIAL JUKEBOX

Despite the zingy subtitle, this is a rather bland, diffuse history of copyright law's response to developing technology. Goldstein (Law/Stanford Univ.) rarely strays from the pedagogue's lectern as he surveys 300 years of copyright law in Europe and the US. He introduces the law by focusing on a recent front-page case: the suit by Acuff-Rose, a music publisher, against the rap group 2 Live Crew for making use of Roy Orbison's song ``Oh, Pretty Woman'' without the publisher's permission. Goldstein explains the Supreme Court's holding that 2 Live Crew's parody of the song constituted a ``fair use'' of the original by ``transforming'' it for artistic reasons. Even digitally sampling the original version without permission did not violate copyright laws as long as the sampling contributed to the artistic effect. This case provides a useful starting point for a discussion of how technological innovations such as sampling and film colorization have challenged the integrity of works of art, raising issues of ownership and remuneration. But Goldstein soon bogs down in a protracted analysis of a lawsuit by a medical publishing house against the government for photocopying scholarly articles without payment or permission. This case—Williams & Wilkins v. The United States—is significant, but it's difficult to imagine the general reader sustaining interest in its tortuous litigation or in the cranky negotiations that led to the Berne Convention's enactment of international copyright standards. Goldstein is more successful at quick takes on big cases like Sony v. Universal, in which the Supreme Court held that home videotaping did not infringe the copyrights of film studios, and Apple v. Microsoft, in which a federal judge held that copyright law did not extend to the ``look and feel'' of the Macintosh graphical user interface. Better for its discussion of cutting-edge high-tech legal issues than for its cumbersome forays into history.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1995

ISBN: 0-8090-5381-0

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Hill and Wang/Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1994

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NUTCRACKER

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.

Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955

ISBN: 0670717797

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955

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