Lawrence Lessig facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Lawrence Lessig
Lessig in 2024
Born	Lester Lawrence Lessig III (1961-06-03) June 3, 1961 (age 64) Rapid City, South Dakota, U.S.
Education	University of Pennsylvania (BA, BS) Trinity College, Cambridge (MA) Yale University (JD)
Known for	founding Creative Commons and Equal Citizens
Title	Director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University (2009–2015)
Political party	Democratic
Movement	Free-culture movement electoral reform movement
Spouse(s)	Bettina Neuefeind (m. 1999)
Children	3

Lester Lawrence "Larry" Lessig III (born June 3, 1961) is an American legal expert and political activist. He teaches law at Harvard Law School. He used to lead the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. Lessig is famous for starting Creative Commons and Equal Citizens. He even ran for president in 2016, seeking the Democratic Party's nomination.

Lawrence Lessig: A Digital Rights Champion

Early Life and Education

Lawrence Lessig was born on June 3, 1961, in Rapid City, South Dakota. His father, Lester Lawrence "Jack" Lessig II, was an engineer. His mother, Patricia "Pat" West Lessig, was a real estate agent. He grew up in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Lessig went to the University of Pennsylvania. He earned two degrees in 1983, one in economics and one in management. He then studied philosophy at Trinity College, Cambridge, in England. He received his master's degree there in 1986. After that, he returned to the United States to study law. He attended University of Chicago Law School for a year. Then he transferred to Yale Law School, where he earned his law degree in 1989.

Legal Career and Teaching

After law school, Lessig worked for important judges. He was a law clerk for Judge Richard Posner from 1989 to 1990. Then he worked for Justice Antonin Scalia at the Supreme Court of the United States from 1990 to 1991.

Lessig began teaching law at the University of Chicago Law School in 1991. He helped the country of Georgia write its constitution. From 1997 to 2000, he taught at Harvard Law School. Later, he joined Stanford Law School. There, he started the Stanford Center for Internet and Society. In 2009, Lessig returned to Harvard. He became a professor and director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics.

Views on Copyright and Digital Rights

Lessig believes there should be fewer legal rules on copyright and trademark. He thinks this helps technology grow. In 2001, he started Creative Commons. This group helps people share their creative works legally. It lets others build upon and use these works.

Lessig also supports the Free Software Foundation. He is a board member of groups like Public Knowledge and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. These groups work to protect digital rights.

Political Activism and Reform

Lessig is also a strong political activist. He wants to change how government works. He believes in reforming how political campaigns are funded. In 2014, he started Mayday PAC. This group aimed to elect people to Congress who would support campaign finance reform. He is also a co-founder of Rootstrikers.

In 2015, Lessig explored running for president of the United States. He promised to run if he could raise $1 million. After reaching his goal, he announced his candidacy on September 6, 2015. His main goal was to reform campaign finance and elections. He said he would serve as president only to pass these reforms. He ended his campaign in November 2015. This was because he couldn't get into the televised debates.

Political Background and Influences

Lessig speaking with Harvard internet law professor Jonathan Zittrain

Lessig has been politically liberal since studying in Cambridge in the 1980s. Before that, he held more conservative views. He was active in Teenage Republicans and wanted a business career. His time at Cambridge changed his ideas. He also traveled in Eastern Europe, which sparked his interest in their law and politics.

Lessig is careful about government involvement. But he supports some rules, calling himself a "constitutionalist." He believes in protecting fair use rights, especially online.

Internet and Computer Activism

Lessig with fellow Creative Commons board member Joi Ito

"Code is Law"

In computer science, "code" means computer program text. In law, "code" means written laws. In his 1999 book, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, Lessig explored how both types of "code" can control society. This led to his famous idea: "Code is law." He updated this book in 2006 as Code: Version 2.0.

Remix Culture

Lessig has supported "remix culture" since the early 2000s. This means using existing creative works to make new ones. In his 2008 book, Remix, he says this is a good cultural practice. He sees it as different from piracy. Remix culture involves creativity and sharing.

Lessig believes strict U.S. copyright law makes remixing difficult. He suggests using more flexible licenses, like Creative Commons licenses. This would help people share and create while still following rules.

Free Culture Movement

Aaron Swartz and Lessig in 2002 at the launch party for Creative Commons

Lessig was elected to the Free Software Foundation board in 2004. He proposed the idea of "free culture." He supports free and open-source software and open spectrum. He believes that software patents threaten free software and innovation.

In 2006, Lessig spoke at the Wikimania conference about free culture ethics. He argues that digital tools allow new kinds of amateur creativity. Lessig is also a critic of extending copyright terms.

Net Neutrality

Lessig and Jimmy Wales at the iCommons iSummit07 in Dubrovnik

Lessig has always supported net neutrality. This means all internet traffic should be treated equally. He testified to the U.S. Senate in 2006. He argued that internet providers should not charge different prices for different content. He believes the internet helps innovation. If large companies could pay for faster service, newer companies might suffer.

Legislative Reform Ideas

Lessig believes copyright laws need changes. He has suggested limiting copyright terms for professionals to five years. After that, a process could allow renewals for up to 75 years. This would make creative works available more quickly.

Lessig also thinks that privatizing public services, like British Telecommunications in the UK, is not always best for the internet. He believes that if government doesn't protect values like liberty, other interests will take over. He emphasizes that "we should govern ourselves."

Important Legal Cases

Lessig has been involved in several key legal battles.

From 1999 to 2002, he challenged the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. This law extended copyright terms. He represented the plaintiff in Eldred v. Ashcroft but lost the case at the Supreme Court.
In 2013, Lessig sued Liberation Music PTY Ltd. They had issued a takedown notice for one of his lectures on YouTube. The lecture used a song by the band Phoenix. Lessig argued this was a misuse of copyright law. In 2014, Liberation Music admitted wrongdoing and apologized.

Killswitch Film

In 2014, Lessig was featured in the film Killswitch. The film also included Aaron Swartz, Tim Wu, and Edward Snowden. Lessig talks about Swartz and Snowden, who were important internet activists. The film shows the strong connection between Lessig and Swartz. It explains how Swartz inspired Lessig to become more politically active.

In 2015, Killswitch was shown in Washington, D.C. Lessig spoke about protecting net neutrality and the free internet. Congressman Alan Grayson called the film "One of the most honest accounts of the battle to control the Internet."

The Electors Trust

In December 2016, Lessig and Laurence Tribe created The Electors Trust. This group offered free legal help to members of the United States Electoral College. It helped them consider voting against Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

Artificial Intelligence Views

Lessig supports a "right to warn" for former OpenAI employees. This would protect their right to tell the public about serious risks from AI. Lessig also offered to defend these whistleblowers for free.

In August 2024, Lessig co-wrote a letter supporting a California AI safety bill. This bill would require AI companies to check for risks before releasing powerful AI models. Lessig believes this bill is a crucial first step to manage AI risks.

Money in Politics Activism

Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff having a discussion with Lessig

In 2007, Lessig decided to focus on political corruption. This decision came after a talk with Aaron Swartz. Lessig uses his wiki (Lessig Wiki) to encourage people to report corruption. He criticizes the "revolving door" problem. This is when politicians become lobbyists after leaving office.

In 2008, a Facebook group encouraged Lessig to run for Congress. He explored the idea but decided not to run.

Rootstrikers

Lessig still wanted to change Congress and reduce corruption. He worked with Joe Trippi to start "Change Congress." This website aimed to help voters hold their representatives accountable. It also worked to reduce the influence of money in politics. Lessig is on the board of MAPLight.org. This group shows the connection between money and politics.

"Change Congress" later became "Fix Congress First." Finally, it was named Rootstrikers. Rootstrikers later joined with other groups like "Get Money Out" and Demand Progress.

Article V Convention

Lessig speaking before Change Congress and the Sunlight Foundation

In 2010, Lessig began working for a national Article V convention. This is a way to propose changes to the U.S. Constitution. He co-founded "Fix Congress First!" He believes that such a convention could help fix corruption. Lessig supports a constitutional amendment. This amendment would limit political donations from certain groups. He also supports public campaign financing.

New Hampshire Rebellion

The New Hampshire Rebellion is a walk to raise awareness about political corruption. It started in 2014 with a 185-mile march in New Hampshire. Lessig and others marched from Dixville Notch, New Hampshire to Nashua. This walk honored activist Doris "Granny D" Haddock and Aaron Swartz. The location was chosen because of New Hampshire's important role in presidential elections.

2016 Presidential Campaign

Lessig launched his presidential campaign on September 6, 2015. On August 11, 2015, he announced he was exploring a run for the Democratic Party's nomination. He promised to run if he raised $1 million by Labor Day 2015. His announcement was widely reported.

His campaign focused on one main issue: The Citizen Equality Act. This plan aimed to reform campaign finance. It also sought to curb gerrymandering and ensure voting access. Lessig initially said he would resign if this act became law. He would then let his vice president serve the rest of the term. Later, he changed his plan and adopted a full policy platform. However, the Citizen Equality Act remained his top goal.

Lessig made one campaign stop in Iowa. He ended his campaign on November 2, 2015. This was because he was not allowed to participate in the televised debates.

Electoral College Reform Efforts

In 2017, Lessig started a movement called Equal Votes. This movement challenges the "winner-take-all" system of the Electoral College. Lessig also represented electors in a Supreme Court case. The court decided that states can require electors to follow the state's popular vote.

Fourteenth Amendment, Section Three

In 2023, Lessig wrote an article for Slate. He suggested that the Electoral College should decide if Donald Trump engaged in insurrection. This relates to the U.S. Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment, Section Three. Lessig believed it was better for the Electoral College to make this decision.

Awards and Recognitions

In 2002, Lessig received an award from the Free Software Foundation. He also got the Scientific American 50 Award. This was for his arguments against copyright rules that could stop innovation. In 2006, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In 2011, Lessig was named to the Fastcase 50. This list honors legal innovators. He received honorary doctorates from universities in Sweden and Belgium. In 2014, Lessig won the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award. This was for co-founding Creative Commons and defending net neutrality.

Personal Life

Lessig is married to Bettina Neuefeind. She is from Germany and also worked at Harvard University. They married in 1999. They have three children named Willem, Coffy, and Tess.

Notable Legal Cases

Eldred v. Ashcroft (He represented Eric Eldred, but lost this case about copyright extension.)
United States v. Microsoft (He was a special advisor in this important case about Microsoft.)
Chiafalo v. Washington (He represented electors in this Supreme Court case.)

Films Featuring Lessig

RiP!: A Remix Manifesto (2008 documentary)
The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz (2014 documentary)
Killswitch (2015 documentary)
The Swamp (2020 documentary)
Meeting Snowden (2017 documentary where Lessig meets Edward Snowden)
Kim Dotcom: The Most Wanted Man Online (2021 documentary)
Lessig was also played by actor Christopher Lloyd in an episode of the TV show The West Wing.