Presented triennially to a scholar selected to explore the implications of research on issues of politics in a global society.

Award Committee:  Samuel L. Popkin, Chair, University of California, W. Lance Bennett, University of Washington, Devesh Kapur, University of Pennsylvania

Recipient:  Lawrence Lessig, Stanford University Law School

Citation: As a scholar and activist, Professor Lessig has addressed one of the most critical public policy issues in the area of technological change and new media: how to update intellectual property laws without stifling creativity and innovation. His books include Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity, and The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World, and Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace (since revised as Code 2.0).

Lessig is known worldwide as a leader in the effort to prevent corporate interests from defining and controlling intellectual property rights at the expense of the common good. Wired magazine calls him “the Elvis of cyberlaw” and The New York Times says “nobody has done more than Lawrence Lessig to help people understand the ways technology affects the laws governing intellectual property.” In 2002, he was named one of the “Scientific American 50,”—leaders honored for their contributions to understanding the world, making innovations available and shaping the policies guiding how society uses technology.

Professor Lessig is currently enlarging his research focus; whereas he had previous explored the ways in which money shapes intellectual property law, he is now moving to a broader focus on the role of money in politics generally.