Stealing Empire: P2P, Intellectual Property and Hip-Hop Subversion

Using the work of Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt as a starting point, this groundbreaking inquiry poses the question What possibilities for agency exist in the age of corporate globalization? Issues surrounding copyright via peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms such as Napster, free speech struggles, debates about access to information, and open-content licenses are examined. The broad ranging impact of global corporate monopolist tendencies on aspects of media culture and youth culture are discussed, and alternatives to proprietary models for the production of knowledge and culture, such as open-source software and Creative Commons licenses, are considered. Whether examining empire stealing through commoditization of countercultures, or the stealing empire activities of file-sharers and hip-hop activists, the dynamic tension among marketplace, community, and individual are presented for law, media, and cultural studies scholars.