Kembrew McLeod To Give Talk On Intellectual Property Law
Kembrew McLeod, a well-known critic of intellectual property law, will be the speaker at Muhlenberg College’s Freedom Matters series on October 25 at 7 p.m. in Miller Forum, Moyer Hall.Wednesday, October 18, 2006 01:59 PM
His program, “Freedom of Expression®: Resistance and Repression in the Age of Intellectual Property,” is free and open to the public.
McLeod is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Iowa, as well as author of the award-winning 2005 book Freedom of Expression®: Overzealous Copyright Bozos and Other Enemies of Creativity. In his work, McLeod looks at the increasingly strict copyright, patent and trademark laws as a negative way in which the creative process is being harmed. As a method of making a statement, McLeod has been known to pull public pranks that exemplify his argument. For example, in 1998, he trademarked the highly recognized phrase “freedom of expression” in an attempt to display the negative ramifications of restricting the freedom of speech.
McLeod’s work with media showcases the ways in which law structures communication and inhibits free expression, as well as gives examples of instances when people have worked to overcome such intellectual constraints. By choosing our media-culled words wisely, we can convey a wide range of meanings and emotions, sometimes with only one monosyllabic utterance, like Homer’s famous exclamation, “Doh!”—from The Simpsons.
In his speech, McLeod will talk about the restraints created by limited free speech due to intellectual property rights, as well as offer reasons for why this should not and does not have to take place.
Freedom Matters is a year long series of programs, sponsored by the Muhlenberg College Center for Ethics, about the history, limits and controversial components of freedom.
For more information on the series, or to view the schedule of events for the fall semester, please visit: www.muhlenberg.edu/cultural/ethics.
Muhlenberg College gratefully acknowledges the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation’s support of the Center for Ethics.
