July 31, 2026
License to Thrill
Better to Beg Forgiveness
A permission fight turns messy as commenters argue whether asking first is smart or doomed
TLDR: Doctorow argues that in messy copyright disputes, asking permission first can backfire, especially when “fair use” depends on context. Commenters turned it into a mini-brawl over legal caution, Wikipedia history, and the painfully familiar belief that lawyers exist mainly to say no.
Cory Doctorow’s latest Pluralistic post dives into a surprisingly spicy question: when it comes to copyright and Creative Commons, is it actually safer to just do the thing instead of asking for permission first? His big point is that the law is messy, especially around “fair use,” and that asking in advance can sometimes create problems you didn’t need. But the real fireworks were in the comments, where readers instantly split into camps of “that’s practical reality” versus “that sounds reckless, actually.”
One group basically nodded along and said, yes, ordinary people barely understand this stuff, so of course they ask to cover themselves. Another camp came in with the internet’s favorite energy: well, actually. One reader called out a line claiming Wikipedia wouldn’t exist without Creative Commons, saying that’s “extremely dubious” because Wikipedia lived under another license first. Ouch. Then came the language-police subplot, with one commenter getting hung up on Doctorow’s repeated use of “paper over,” wondering if he meant “review” or “cover up.” In true comment-section fashion, even the phrasing got a courtroom cross-examination.
And then there was the most relatable hot take of all: never ask legal for permission. One commenter said lawyers always say no—unless a big boss asks—at which point the rules suddenly become flexible. It’s darkly funny, deeply cynical, and honestly the line that probably had half the thread whispering, “...he’s not wrong.”
Key Points
- •Cory Doctorow says he supported Creative Commons from its inception and was present with Lisa Rein, Matt Haughey, and Aaron Swartz during the creation of its first website.
- •The article says Doctorow’s novel *Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom* was the first professionally published text released under a Creative Commons license.
- •The post explains that early Creative Commons debates focused on how its licenses interacted with copyright law’s limitations and exceptions.
- •Doctorow states that copyright does not provide absolute control over all uses of a work and highlights fair use as a major exception in American law.
- •The article describes fair use as highly fact-dependent and introduces the four-factor test used by judges when evaluating fair use claims.