Copyright: The Surprising History (English)

Google Tech Talks
August 15, 2006

Karl Fogel

...Copyright is derived from a 16th-century English censorship law, later turned into a monopoly right to subsidize distribution. This history is somewhat at odds with the modern conception of copyright, and an understanding of it is increasingly important today, as the economics of distribution are changing radically...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhBpI13dxkI