The Big Steal uncovers the unusual confluence of ideological views and business interests behind the dilution of legal protections for inventors and artists under U.S. patent and copyright law. Concurrent with the rise of the digital economy, policymakers significantly weakened legal protections against the unauthorized use of technological inventions and creative works. Through an evidence-based analysis informed by the economics and politics of digital markets, Jonathan Barnett shows that this policy shift has advantaged digital intermediaries at the expense of the innovators and artists that drive the knowledge economy