If the law imposed the death penalty for parking tickets, we'd not only have fewer parking tickets, we'd also have much less driving.

The danger in media concentration comes not from the concentration, but instead from the feudalism that this concentration, tied to the change in copyright, produces.

The war against illegal file-sharing is like the church's age-old war against masturbation. It's a war you just can't win.

Creation always involves building upon something else. There is no art that doesn't reuse. And there will be less art if every reuse is taxed by the appropriator.

Before the monopoly should be permitted, there must be reason to believe it will do some good - for society, and not just for monopoly holders.

Monopoly controls have been the exception in free societies; they have been the rule in closed societies.

We are on the cusp of this time where I can say, "I speak as a citizen of the world" without others saying, "God, what a nut."

If the Internet teaches us anything, it is that great value comes from leaving core resources in a commons, where they're free for people to build upon as they see fit.

A culture without property, or in which creators can't get paid, is anarchy, not freedom.

Of all the creative work produced by humans anywhere, a tiny fraction has continuing commercial value. For that tiny fraction, the copyright is a crucially important legal device.

Technology means you can now do amazing things easily; but you couldn't easily do them legally.

Imperfections & failure are as much a blessing as our talents & success. Together we must dare to be ourselves so that we may live beyond our wildest dreams

I was moving among two groups... who had almost ceased to communicate at all, who in intellectual, moral, and psychological climate had so little in common that... one might have crossed the ocean.

You cannot save every fallen bird," said Woolsey. "One will do," said Magnus.

I want to get so famous that I don't have to wake up in the morning. It'll probably never happen.

In the middle of Beaches there's a scene from the "Laverne & Shirley" TV show so they see some history of my work in each film.

The great would have none great and the little all little.

War,--the trade of barbarians!

I guess you need days off, but I just didn't want them.

All that occurs within the walls of the temple is uplifting and enobling.

It's the same each time with progress. First they ignore you, then they say you're mad, then dangerous, then there's a pause and then you can't find anyone who disagrees with you.