very informative on the subject of law, copyright, and collective nature of creativity. a must-read. you can also download a FREE copy from http://www.free-culture.cc/

Lessig rocks! RETICULUM REX rules!

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 a certain patent policy not because of ideals,but because it is the policy that makes them the most money. And it only makes them the most money because of a certain corruption within our political system—a corruption the drug companies are certainly not responsible for. The corruption is our own politicians’ failure of integrity.

These prices are not high because the ingredients of the drugs are expensive. These prices are high because the drugs are protected by patents.The drug companies that produced these life-saving mixes enjoy at least a twenty-year monopoly for their inventions.They use that monopoly power to extract the most they can from the market.That power is in turn used to keep the prices high.