Lawrence Lessig: The BBC's lessons for America

The very idea of giving up perfect control over how and whether content is re-used is treason among insiders. But as the BBC understands, it does not live in Disney World. And in the course of its internal review an obvious question has become increasingly pressing: if the BBC could make its archive available cheaply, what reason is there for keeping it from the people who have already paid for it? Moreover, such access would increase the BBC’s chances of selling content commercially and make it more likely that the technology to cultivate this content (computers) will be more eagerly bought. — Lawrence Lessig
—Lawrence Lessig: The BBC’s lessons for America (Financial Times)

Reflection on the BBC’s decision to open its entire archive up to the public. This makes sense, because the British public has already paid for the content through high taxes and licenses for television sets. But it is the exact opposite of what Hollywood wants to do.