This Man vs. Mickey Mouse

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Lessig, whom Levy dubs the “Elvis of cyberlaw,” is no stranger to controversy in cyberspace. Called in by the federal judge hearing the landmark Microsoft anti-trust case to unravel its technical detail back in 1997, Lessig presented such a threat to the software giant that its lawyers pressured a Federal Appeals Court—successfully, it turned out—to have him removed from the case, claiming he had a bias against the company.

If Lessig does have a bias, it is against the gradual—and in some cases, precipitous (just ask Napster)—narrowing of the public domain on the Internet. And his advocacy extends far beyond the Supreme Court. He is the chair of Creative Commons (www.creativecommons.org), a project designed to build a giant collection of works from the public domain. He also formed the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford University, a law clinic and think tank that studies—and often litigates—issues of civil rights and digital technology. His book The Future of Ideas (Random House, 2001) is considered by some to be the last word on intellectual property.

But for now, at least, Mickey occupies his thoughts. And though he is not optimistic about the Supreme Court siding with him and millions of Net-freedom fighters around the world (two lower courts have already ruled against him), Lessig remains convinced that the fight will go on—if for no other reason than the stakes are too high to give in.

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