Printcrime

Doctorow, Cory, 1971-Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 4.4K words
Chapters: 1

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Printcrime by Cory DoctorowAuthor: Doctorow, Cory, 1971-,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Apr 24, 2006

Editor's review

Printcrime is a short science-fiction story by Cory Doctorow. Though brief, it compresses the tension between digital copying and intellectual-property control into an extreme near-future scenario. The story begins with a father arrested for making an illegal printed item for his daughter, and from there asks what "crime" actually means: when the ability to manufacture physical objects falls into ordinary people's hands, how will law and capital respond? Doctorow has long focused on how technology reshapes power structures, and this piece continues his thinking on copyright, freedom, and regulation. The narrative moves fast and the premise is sharp, making it a good conversation starter for discussing the boundaries of property in the digital age. Because it is a short story, it is dense with information and leaves much unsaid; readers must fill in the world themselves from limited space. It therefore suits readers with some science-fiction experience who enjoy speculation more than those seeking a fully developed plot. It is best read as a thought experiment: if printing technology became utterly ubiquitous, what would be left of today's "legal" and "illegal"?

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers concerned with digital copyright and knowledge-sharing issues who want to understand the debate through fiction
Readers who enjoy short science fiction and concept-driven stories rather than long character arcs
Members of technology-ethics courses or book clubs looking for a text that can be read quickly and spark discussion
Readers interested in Doctorow's work who want to start with a short piece to get a feel for his style

Not a good fit for

Science-fiction readers expecting a full-length, fully built world and complex character arcs
People uninterested in copyright or technology regulation who just want light entertainment
Readers unaccustomed to the gaps in short fiction and who need the author to explain the premise clearly

Reading tips

Read it straight through first, without looking up background, to feel the conflict and pressure the story creates; then go back and sort out the logic of the premise.
After reading, compare it with real-world copyright disputes and cases of 3D-printing regulation, using the story as an outline for discussion.
If using it for a book club, focus on the question of who has the right to define crime, and have each person prepare a real-life example.
The English original is short; try reading it alongside a Chinese translation and notice how Doctorow uses everyday language to carry technical concepts.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

How long is this story, and how long does it take to read?

Printcrime is a short story, and the English original is very brief, usually readable in half an hour to an hour. It is better suited to rereading and discussion than to measuring reading time. Read it quickly the first time to grasp the conflict, then go back for the key information in the premise and dialogue.

Can readers who have never read science fiction follow it?

Mostly yes, because the story unfolds around a family scene and the technological premise is not complex. But the story leaves many gaps, and readers must fill in the world themselves; those unused to science fiction may find the plot jumpy. Reading a little about digital manufacturing and copyright control beforehand will make it much smoother.

Is this book suitable for discussing copyright issues?

It works well as a conversation starter but not as a systematic treatment of copyright law. It pushes the question of whether copying physical objects counts as a crime right in front of the reader through an extreme scenario, which effectively sparks discussion, but specific legal details and real cases still require additional material. Use it at the start of a discussion, not as the sole basis.

What should I note about the Project Gutenberg edition?

This edition is a public-domain ebook in English, available as a free electronic text. Note that it has no modern introduction or notes; cultural background or technical terms may need to be looked up. If reading English is difficult, compare it with a Chinese translation first, then return to the original to feel the rhythm of the language.

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About the author

Doctorow, Cory, 1971- Author

Cory Doctorow (1971– ) is a Canadian science fiction writer, journalist and internet activist known for young adult science fiction and writing on internet culture. Thirteen of his works are held in the collection, including Little Brother, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Makers, Eastern Standard Tribe, A Place So Foreign and Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town. His novels often centre on young people growing up and resisting digital surveillance and corporate power, with fast pacing and close engagement with real technological issues, combining entertainment with social critique; the nonfiction Ebooks: Neither E, Nor Books discusses digital publishing and copyright. Because public information is limited, his education, awards and specific biography are not detailed here, but his work has had a notable influence on English-language young adult science fiction and writing about internet culture.