Davis Guggenheim

Corey Doctorow

Jennifer Jenkins

“Bound By Law presents a unique experience for anyone even slightly interested in the modern applications of copyright and trademark law. Though it is only 72 pages long and reads as easily as a cartoon strip, it conveys complex, nebulous intellectual property principals in an effective and straightforward way. By providing readers with real-life examples of disputes and concepts in action, Bound By Law easily appeals to those with no formal legal education. By presenting its material in such a novel and humorous way, however, it will also appeal to seasoned attorneys. Bound By Law makes for a pleasant diversion for readers of all levels of legal expertise.” — Devon Sparrow, Journal of High Technology Law

“[T]his book succeeds in its aim of presenting an important argument to a wider audience who might not be eager to read the ‘gray lawyerly prose’ of law review articles (70)—and manages to be accessible without oversimplifying the complex issues it raises. It is strongly recommended to anyone interested in either the legal issues of documentary making or the wider issues of law and the ownership of knowledge and culture. . . .” — TJ McIntyre, Scope

“By following the collision of documentary filmmaking and intellectual property law, Bound By Law? navigates the twists and turns of how copyright and fair use affect art and culture. . . . Although unusual, the comic book format may be the exact recipe for introducing copyright law to students and other perplexed individuals who worry about how creativity will flourish in a world where every snippet and fragment is owned and controlled.” — John F. Barber, Leonardo

“By using the comic book form, [the editors] hope to bring the problem to the attention of citizens and policy makers and enrich public debate on the subject. Sometimes funny, sometimes clever, the comic makes a very complex issue simple. Highly recommended. General readers, all undergraduate students, and professionals.” — P.J. Galie, Choice

“If you're an artist, or if you're simply interested, you can't really do without this book. . . . I'd be surprised if the lawyerly creators ever came out on the wrong side of litigation. The ‘firm’ of Aoki, Boyle & Jenkins have such a skill with the sentence, as well as an intuitive understanding of visual metaphor and artistic sequence, that it's a good comic even if you'd rather eat your own hands than read about copyright law.” — The Informant

“The comic format works. . . . Particularly delightful is the cramming full of almost every panel with easily recognisable copyrighted cultural references such as an image of Mickey Mouse, a reference to Woodstock or McDonalds, myriad cartoon and film figures and literary characters, all used without fees under the fair use protections to make the point. This is a tale of danger and hope for creative types. — Andrew F., M/C Reviews

“Bound By Law presents a unique experience for anyone even slightly interested in the modern applications of copyright and trademark law. Though it is only 72 pages long and reads as easily as a cartoon strip, it conveys complex, nebulous intellectual property principals in an effective and straightforward way. By providing readers with real-life examples of disputes and concepts in action, Bound By Law easily appeals to those with no formal legal education. By presenting its material in such a novel and humorous way, however, it will also appeal to seasoned attorneys. Bound By Law makes for a pleasant diversion for readers of all levels of legal expertise.” —Devon Sparrow, Journal of High Technology Law

“[T]his book succeeds in its aim of presenting an important argument to a wider audience who might not be eager to read the ‘gray lawyerly prose’ of law review articles (70)—and manages to be accessible without oversimplifying the complex issues it raises. It is strongly recommended to anyone interested in either the legal issues of documentary making or the wider issues of law and the ownership of knowledge and culture. . . .” —TJ McIntyre, Scope

“By following the collision of documentary filmmaking and intellectual property law, Bound By Law? navigates the twists and turns of how copyright and fair use affect art and culture. . . . Although unusual, the comic book format may be the exact recipe for introducing copyright law to students and other perplexed individuals who worry about how creativity will flourish in a world where every snippet and fragment is owned and controlled.” —John F. Barber, Leonardo

“By using the comic book form, [the editors] hope to bring the problem to the attention of citizens and policy makers and enrich public debate on the subject. Sometimes funny, sometimes clever, the comic makes a very complex issue simple. Highly recommended. General readers, all undergraduate students, and professionals.” —P.J. Galie, Choice

“If you're an artist, or if you're simply interested, you can't really do without this book. . . . I'd be surprised if the lawyerly creators ever came out on the wrong side of litigation. The ‘firm’ of Aoki, Boyle & Jenkins have such a skill with the sentence, as well as an intuitive understanding of visual metaphor and artistic sequence, that it's a good comic even if you'd rather eat your own hands than read about copyright law.” —The Informant

“The comic format works. . . . Particularly delightful is the cramming full of almost every panel with easily recognisable copyrighted cultural references such as an image of Mickey Mouse, a reference to Woodstock or McDonalds, myriad cartoon and film figures and literary characters, all used without fees under the fair use protections to make the point. This is a tale of danger and hope for creative types. —Andrew F., M/C Reviews

“A knockout comic book about fair use and filmmaking. Bound by Law? riffs expertly on classic comic styles, from the Crypt Keeper to Mad Magazine, superheroes to Understanding Comics, and lays out a sparkling, witty, moving and informative story about how the eroded public domain has made documentary filmmaking into a minefield.” — Cory Doctorow, co-editor of the blog BoingBoing.net

“An indispensable guide for the perplexed (ain’t we all!) in this postmodern information age.” — Art Spiegelman, Pulitzer Prize–winning comic book artist

“This wonderful, funny, and clever comic makes a very complex issue simple. . . . I keep a copy in my desk.” — Davis Guggenheim, Oscar-winning director of the documentary, An Inconvenient Truth

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