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In the past, copyright law was of interest only to legal scholars and Hollywood film types. Today, however, copyright law is on the front page of local newspapers, argued about in conversations at the water cooler, and discussed by teenagers looking to find free music on the Web. Intellectual property intimidates those who don't understand the underlying principles or those that don't speak the language of copyright law. Siva Vaidhyanathan's Copyrights and Copywrongs explains the history of American copyright law in prose that is surprisingly free of legal and academic terminology. Vaidhyanathan's book surveys the historical developments from the literary works of Mark Twain to the music sampling cases of Napster. The book highlights how copyright law has accommodated the changing ways in which information is disseminated across America. The book is well written and full of examples taken from popular culture that allow the reader to connect with the author and the underlying philosophy of copyright law.

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