oppression through copyright

The article we read this week is called Copyright" from The Future of Ideas by Lawrence Lessig. I’m not really sure how I feel about this article.  I have always felt that these matters where more complicated than I see them to be.  For instance, I understand why an author wants to be the sole owner of the material he writes.  It makes sense that he/she would want to collect the royalties from sale of each individual copy of their works. I am sure that the lower classes of society will not be harmed because they are unable to afford a copy of Dan Browns Da Vinci code. These laws do in some small way remind me of a time when the Catholic Church oppressed an entire class of people by refusing to allow them to learn to read.  People have been aware of the power of the written word for years and years and years and these laws; although they are most likely not intended to do so, offer a tool to oppress the lower classes.  You could apply this school of thought to music also.  Musicians often express their views about political ideas or social situations in their music.  Napster and other music sharing sites have given people an avenue to explore music that they may have never touched otherwise.  I guess I am saying that while I see the point of the copyright laws, the activist in me says that the most horrific outcome of them is that they are a tool of oppression do to the laws ability to squash information there by squashing the people’s freedom to educate one self.