Information society or cash nexus? A study of the United States as a copyright haven

This article looks at a particular context in which information developments can be isolated and studied in relation to economic and social factors: the history of the United States as a copyright haven from 1790 to the Chace Act of 1891. The study is undertaken with a triple intention. First, it has an empirical focus upon the history of the United States as a copyright haven. Secondly, it indicates analogies between the United States' historical practice and the exploitation of United States' intellectual property, without observing copyright, to late 20th century China. Thirdly, the study of the United States as a copyright haven is used to examine the contrast between the idea of a transition to an information society and economic determinism. In the concept of a post‐industrial or information society, there has been a stress on the autonomy of information and on the role of theoretical knowledge as a director of social change. In contrast, economic determinism would emphasize the economic basis of social activity. From an information society perspective, copyright practices would be expected to develop autonomously; for economic determinism, copyright should reflect changes in the economic base. In conclusion, it is suggested that legislation governing intellectual property is strongly constrained by the possibilities offered by its historical context; that the empirical evidence examined indicates that economic factors are more primary motivating forces than information; and that information policies and activities tend to be determined rather than autonomous or primary variables. A central claim associated with the information society concept has, then, to be rejected but the concept itself need not be discarded. The idea of the informatization of life is proposed as a productive adaptation.