Creative Commons

Otvorené zdroje vzdelávania sa stali témou dvoch novembrových podujatí na Slovensku – konferencie Ochrana duševného vlastníctva v podmienkach vysokých škôl, ktorá sa uskutočnila dňa 13.11.2012 na Žilinskej univerzite a odborného semináru Duševné vlastníctvo aktuálne – autorské pirátstvo a falšovanie výrokov dnes, ktorý sa uskutoční 22.11.2012 na Úrade priemyselného vlastníctva SR v Banskej Bystrici.

Es tut sich wieder was in Sachen Open Design: Heute abend um 19:30 stellt Magdalena Reiter in Berlin (Münzsalon, Münzstr. 23) ihre neue Broschüre “Open Design – Wirtschaften mit freien Produkten” vor.


Aus der Ankündigung von CREATE BERLIN:

Die Künstlerin und Industriedesignerin ist seit Anfang Oktober als erste Kreativ-Residenz aus Linz, Österreich im CREATE BERLIN Büro und stellt die Zwischenergebnisse ihrer Arbeit vor. Der Hintergrund von Open Design liegt in der Open Source Bewegung und beschäftigt sich mit den “Quellcodes” von realen Produkten, z. B. Bauplänen, Anleitungen oder Schnittmustern. In ihrem Booklet vereint Magdalena Reiter Interviews zu Creative Commons, alternativen Wirtschaftsmodellen und Erfahrungen von DesignerInnen, die selbst ihre Entwürfe als Gemeingut freigeben.

Als Ausgangsmaterial der als eine Art “Open-Design-Guide” gedachten Publikation dienten Interviews mit verschiedenen Akteuren. Sie wird anschließend sowohl elektronisch als auch gedruckt verfügbar sein.

(Foto oben © Katharina Meissner)

El libro Massius y Pressus recopila las viñetas que Siscu Soro publicó entre finales de los 60 y principios de los 70 en la revista Triunfo. El libro forma parte de la colección Tinta de Primavera, que subscribe la Carta para la innovación , la creatividad y el acceso al conocimiento y la declaración de Modelos sostenibles para la creatividad en la era digital del Free Culture Forum. Esta colección es fruto de la colaboración entre Pol·len edicions y Visualiza.
En esta reedición se puede encontrar un nuevo prólogo de Santiago Alba Rico además del prólogo de Manuel Vásquez Montalbán de 1971. Otra novedad de esta reedición es que se publica bajo la licencia de Reconocimiento-NoComercial-CompartirIgual. Además hay una decena de ilustraciones bajo la licencia de Reconocimiento-CompartirIgual para que puedan ser utilizadas en proyectos de cultura libre como la que acompaña este texto.
El libro se presentará durante esta semana en Barcelona y Pamplona. Podéis consultar el calendario de presentaciones.

Il 16 dicembre 2012 si terrà presso il locale Blah Blah di Torino, Via Po 21, una piccola festa per celebrare i dieci anni di Creative Commons.

In aggiunta all'esposizione delle foto vincitrici del concorso Wiki Loves Monument 2012 e al Dj set che diffonderà musica pubblicata con licenze CC, la serata ospiterà l'esibizione di artisti che hanno scelto diffondere le proprie opere con una licenza Creative Commons.

A breve seguirà un annuncio con maggiori dettagli sulla serata.

Ringraziamo fin da ora tutti quanti vorranno partecipare!

Il Gruppo di lavoro di Creative Commons Italia

leggi tutto

В Creative Commons сформирован новый Научно-консультативный совет (Science Advisory Board, SAB) для руководства научной программой и выработки общих стратегических целей и ориентиров. SAB привносит юридические, институциональные, а также тематически-ориентированные знания в процесс использования и обмена научными инструментами и данными.

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COMMUNIA International Association on the Public Domain is publishing a policy paper entitled Position on EC Horizon 2020 Open Access policy before the vote taking place at the European Parliament in November 2012. The policy paper is available as a PDF and reproduced below:

The work of Communia is based on a set of 14 policy recommendations which aim to support policies that enable a rich and accessible Public Domain. In light of these recommendations, Communia welcomes the development of a strong Open Access (OA) policy at the European level around the following main ideas:

• All publicly funded research outputs and educational resources must be made available as open access materials (aligned with the Budapest Open Access Initiative).

• Notwithstanding the need to support OA policies, access to copyright protected material for education and research purposes must be improved by strengthening existing exceptions and limitations to copyright, and broadening these exceptions to cover uses outside of formal educational and research institutions.

Social and Economic Meanings of Open Access

Open Access is defined by the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) as the free availability and unrestricted access of research results, without financial, legal or technical barriers. According to the revised BOAI recommendations, research results should be made available:

• Without payment by the reader,

• Without contractual, legal, or licensing restrictions on use or reuse other than integrity and attribution of the author,

• Without technical restrictions which might prevent indexing, mining, searching, filtering and any other automatic processing making research more useful and likely to be connected with related results for the advancement of research,

• When possible, as “libre OA” (which combines free access as well as liberal open licensing) – preferably under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license or equivalent.

OA is beneficial for the research community, for the economy and for society as a whole. Researchers need to be able to access research results without having to pay expensive subscription fees. They should be able to read and use what they need to be able to perform their work effectively and efficiently. Universities and funding agencies are not able to sustain the rising prices of an oligopolistic journal publishing industry. Even the most well-funded libraries (such as Harvard University and the University of Munich) have had to cancel journal subscriptions because they cannot afford to continue paying the subscription fees.

Academic research is mostly financed through public funding. The current system oftentimes results in the government essentially paying for the research several times: first, when the governmental entity awards research grants; second, when the government subsidizes the salaries of the academics who serve as peer-reviewers; third, when the government pays for libraries in research universities that subscribe to the journals. The public should receive a better return on the investments being made for the research, development, and publication of publicly funded scholarship. OA provides an economic and social return on investment through higher dissemination to citizens, taxpayers, and researchers from other countries and other disciplines, OA fosters interdisciplinary cross-fertilization and international impact.

Open Access quick facts

1. OA is always free (“gratis”) for the reader

At the very minimum, every Open Access model assumes that content is available for free of charge (gratis) to the reader.

2. Two publications models

The two OA publication models, just like the traditional conventional (non-OA) model (with financial, legal or technical barriers), are sustainable ways of not only making knowledge available, but also of conducting business activity. OA requirements can be fulfilled through various publishing models combined with various business models:

• Green OA designates the self-archival by researchers of their publications in institutional or disciplinary repositories, free of charge to the reader. Most non-OA publishers already authorize an author to deposit in a repository, sometimes after an embargo period. For more than 20 years the discipline of physics has seen high levels of green OA deposit and has not lead to subscription cancellation of non-OA journals.

• Gold OA designates publishers or journals which distribute their publications free of charge for the reader under a liberal open license (such as the Creative Commons Attribution license).

Various business models can be employed to cover the costs of Open Access publications:

• Public funding, institutional subsidies, advertising, donations: 100% of scientific publications, both OA and non-OA, already rely on external funding and volunteers authors, referees and editors.

• Paid additional services, such as user statistics or other formats.

• Publication or a submission fee by the author, like in many non-OA journals. However those fees can be waived, depending on the origin of the authors, and cannot be understood as the only model for OA.

Gold OA is compatible with market and cost recovery. Some OA publishers are commercial and profitable. Online OA may increase the sales for printed journals.

3. OA respects research policy and Intellectual Property

A well-written OA policy:

• Is consistent with the rules of copyright, and allows the rightsholder to leverage open licensing to communicate a set of rights to downstream users.

• Does not interfere with the academic freedom of the author to publish in the venue chosen by them.

• Does not preclude rightsholders from pursuing the exploitation (such as through a patent) of the findings within the research paper before publishing the results.

• Is aligned with the current peer-review process. Peer review takes place before any publication, while OA focuses on distribution. Scholarship destined to be released as OA undergo the same peer review as Non-OA articles.

• Is impartial with respect to quality. Both OA and Non-OA publications can be of varied quality, and there is nothing about OA that suggests it is of lower quality; all articles should be judged on their merits.

• Operates in tandem with accepted academic integrity and ethics: OA articles are not more likely to contain plagiarism than Non-OA scholarship.

• Can increase the impact of a researcher’s work. The researcher may be able to receive more citations because articles in OA are more likely to be cited than non-OA papers. OA is beneficial for the career of all researchers as readers and as authors.

4. OA to data is indispensable

• In addition to OA to articles, OA to the data associated with the articles is important so that other researchers can confirm and reproduce the results.

• OA to data is compatible with both green and gold OA models: repositories and journals can host data in content management systems linked with publications. OA and non-OA journals are requiring the deposit of underlying data and code in order to assess submissions’ validity and quality.

COMMUNIA Recommendations

Communia Association calls the Members of the European Parliament to establish a clear OA policy:

1. OA mandate for all publicly-funded research output

All publicly-funded research outputs (including published articles, preprints or drafts prior to peer-review, books, scientific data, databases, archival records, software source code, conference presentations, audiovisual and teaching material, etc.) must be made available without financial, legal, contractual or technical restriction to access, use and reuse, as aligned with the Budapest Open Access Initiative, as soon as possible.

An OA mandate should require:

• Publications to be released under conditions compatible with a Creative Commons Attribution license.

• Data to be released in the public domain or using a tool such as the CC0 Public Domain Dedication.

• When publications and related data could not be released under those conditions, they should be made available at the latest at the moment of publication or immediately afterwards. An embargo of 6 months counting from the date of publication is acceptable.

A mechanism of incentives, control and sanctions should be devised and enforced for entities who do not comply with the policy.

2. Eliminate sui generis rights on databases

The 1996 Database directive, which imposes additional restriction to the use of data contained in databases, has not demonstrated any benefit and should be annulled.

3. Prevent unfair publishing agreements

Publishing agreements precluding authors to archive their research output in OA repositories or banning authors who are bound by an institutional OA mandate should be prohibited.

2012年11月上旬，为期两天的CC亚太区域会议暨CC印尼项目启动仪式在印尼首都雅加达举行。受知识共享总部（Creative Commons HQ）和知识共享印尼项目（CC Indonesia）的邀请，知识共享中国大陆项目委派项目成员朱捍东、刘萍两位代表出席了此次会议。

2012 CC亚太区域会议主会场

另外本届会议还有来自台湾、香港、韩国、马来西亚、菲律宾、越南、新西兰和澳大利亚等司法管辖区在内的近30位CC亚太国际社群代表参会。两天的会议中，代表们以严谨客观而又生动有趣的方式，分享继2011年CC波兰全球峰会之后，各自在CC项目推广上的最新进展。其中如何推动政府使用CC协议、怎样加强CC协议在推动东南亚地区“开放教育资源”（OER）运动以及更好地进行“区域间CC团队合作”等议题引发了与会代表的热烈讨论。

亚太区域各CC项目参会代表合影

知识共享中国大陆项目参会代表不仅与CC亚太社区代表交流了项目团队建设和3.0版中国大陆CC协议本地化进展，还应邀在“CC and OER ”和“CC for Creatives”两个环节同众多本地CC热心人士分享了来自中国大陆的精彩推广活动。相关发言不仅博得了CC总部区域协调员的赞许，也为其他CC东南亚司法管辖区的类似推广计划提供了借鉴。

CC韩国项目负责人Joy在介绍他们的团队成员

知识共享中国大陆项目代表刘萍在发言

在“CC and OER”分享环节，知识共享中国大陆项目介绍了积极推动相关政府部门及机构采用CC协议发布相关教育资源的努力。其中2012年3月CC中国大陆与新浪教育频道联合发起的“新浪微访谈——知识共享开放教育与公开课”引发了与会者的现场讨论。利用网络平台的资源优势，向在线受众推广CC理念的操作模式获得了CC总部区域协调员Jessica Coates女士的赞许，她表示：“知识共享中国大陆项目在OER推广中的种种努力，不仅值得亚太区域其他司法管辖区代表的学习，更为CC的全球推广注入了新的活力。网络的迅速普及，不但有利于该地区缩小教育资源不平衡的劣势，更在很大程度上成为传统校园教育的有力补充。知识共享中国大陆项目团队的每一次经验分享，都给大家带来宝贵经验和更多惊喜。今年夏天刚刚接替CC亚太区域协调员职位的Jane Hornibrook女士已经是第二次同中国大陆项目代表进行面对面的交流。她除了对项目组的推广经验表示钦佩，更提出愿意在任期内为加强亚太区域OER国际合作共享力量。

事实上，近年来如何通过推广CC合法分享理念、CC协议的使用帮助中国大陆民众获取更多OER资源，一直是知识共享中国大陆项目的重要议题。各类网络公开课、社交媒体均成为知识共享中国大陆项目推广OER的合作伙伴。相关“线上”和“线下”活动的举办，不仅从实践层面加深了公众对CC协议的理解，也为更多期望通过CC协议同公众分享教育资源的学术团体、机构和网络媒体构建了通俗易懂的实践案例。

“CC for Creatives”环节现场

“CC for Creatives”环节受到众多与会者的追捧，导致原会议室爆满而临时转移到主会场举行。中国大陆项目在CC艺术推广方面成绩斐然。第二届“观看中国”CC摄影展、平遥摄影大展、2012创客嘉年华等CC推广活动吸引了与会者，尤其是印尼本地观众的眼球。他们不仅对知识共享中国大陆项目新颖的活动形式、严谨的推广理念和开放的合作姿态表示赞许，也对具体推广活动提出了相关问题。国内网络图片作品分享平台（图虫网、Lofter）的案例更是激起了现场艺术创作者的关注。

签到台上展示着知识共享中国大陆项目带去现场分享的CC宣传纪念品

通过近年来在亚太会议及全球峰会的相关分享，知识共享中国大陆项目在CC项目推广中的相关经验受到了CC总部及区域代表的赞扬和肯定。作为CC国际社群不可或缺的组成部分，知识共享中国大陆项目将一如既往，尽一己之力，推动CC协议在中国大陆的发展。以期让更多的草根创作者、教育工作者和相关社群加入CC阵营，为普通民众带来更多采用“部分权利保留”的CC协议作品。同时，我们欢迎并鼓励更多组织机构同知识共享中国大陆项目进行相关合作。

文/刘萍  图/朱捍东

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Los días 20 y 21 de noviembre, los líderes Creative Commons de toda Latinoamérica, expertos en cultura libre, desarrolladores y artistas se reunirán para intercambiar ideas, construir colaborativamente, presentar casos de éxito e identificar nichos de oportunidad en torno a los contenidos abiertos y el derecho de autor en el entorno digital.

El evento se llevará a cabo en las instalaciones del Hotel Royal Pedregal en la Ciudad de México, D.F. El acceso será, obviamente, abierto y gratuito, con previa inscripción.

Por Colombia, participarán Maritza Sánchez, líder pública de CC Colombia y Carolina Botero, Co-líder regional de América Latina. Estaremos pendientes de sus comentarios y reflexiones tras el encuentro.

La programación está disponible en la página de Creative Commons México.

Foto original de ColoresMari.

Die Konrad Adenauer Stiftung hat die Plakatdatenbank des “Archivs für Christlich-Demokratische Politik” neu gelauncht. Sehr lobenswert ist, dass alle Plakate jetzt unter der Creative Commons BY-SA – Lizenz stehen und damit auch in der Wikipedia genutzt werden können. Das ist ein schönes Beispiel dafür, wie sich Archive ans digitale Zeitalter anpassen und ihre Bestände nutzbar machen können. Eine Pressemitteilung erklärt, um welche Plakate es sich handelt und was die Motivation dahinter ist:

Das Spektrum umfasst die ältesten und wertvollsten Plakate der Sammlung, d.h. Anordnungen und Proklamationen der Alliierten vom Ende des 1. Weltkrieges 1918, Plakate aus der Weimarer Republik und Exponate vom Ende des 2. Weltkrieges. Es folgen länderübergreifend Plakate aus der Gründungszeit von den ersten Kommunal- und Landtagswahlen ab 1946, die teilweise bis in die jüngste Vergangenheit hinein reichen. Ein besonderer Schwerpunkt liegt auf Plakaten aus Nordrhein-Westfalen. Die Bundestagswahlplakate, mehr als 4.500 an der Zahl, wurden komplettiert und aktualisiert. Zudem sind erstmals die Wandzeitungen der CDU von den Anfängen unter Ludwig Erhard 1964 bis zur neuesten Ausgabe zu sehen. Viele der hier aus dem Dunkel der Vergangenheit hervorgeholten Plakate dürften unbekannt oder in Vergessenheit geraten sein. Ihre Betrachtung und die Auseinandersetzung mit ihnen sollen nicht zuletzt ein neues Interesse an der Geschichte und Erforschung des politischen Plakates in Deutschland wecken und fördern.

Lobenswert ist auch, dass man eine Remix-fähige Lizenz gewählt hat. Wir würden uns freuen, wenn die anderen politischen Stiftungen diesem Beispiel folgen würden.

(Das Plakat stammt aus dem Jahre 1949, ein Urheber wird nicht genannt. Also CC-BY-SA CDU.)

Im Dezember wird Creative Commons zehn Jahre alt. In der Woche vom 7.12. -15.12. finden dazu weltweit Veranstaltungen rund um den Geburtstag statt. Auch wir wollen in Berlin feiern und laden am Samstag, den 8.12. ins Goldneun (Ex-HBC) nahe Alexanderplatz.

Geplant ist, in verschiedenen Kurzvorträgen und Kurzinterviews aus unterschiedlichsten Disziplinen Erfolgsgeschichten bei der Nutzung von Creative Commons Lizenzen zu erzählen. Und die vergangenen zehn Jahren samt Entstehungsgeschichte zu reflektieren. Anschließend wird bei Creative Commons lizenzierter Musik getanzt und gequatscht. Beginn ist 20 Uhr. Mehr zum umfangreichen Programm gibt es in einer Woche zu lesen.

Wir suchen noch Sponsoren!

Die Veranstaltung selbst wird ehrenamtlich durchgeführt, genau wie die gesamte Arbeit bei Creative Commons Deutschland ehrenamtlich organisiert ist. Zur Refinanzierung der Veranstaltung werden jedoch Sponsoren benötigt, um einige der Kosten decken zu können. Geplant ist, über einen Livestream in HD eine Teilnahme an die Veranstaltung auch Menschen außerhalb Berlins zu ermöglichen. Entstehende Videos der Kurzvorträge und Interviews sollen anschließend geschnitten und einzeln online gestellt werden. Als weitere Highlights planen wir eine große Torte und würden gerne auch Freigetränke unter den Gästen verteilen. Und wenn ausreichend Geld über Sponsoren reinkommt, wird der Eintritt kostenlos sein.

Sollten mehr Sponsorengelder eingehen als wir an dem Abend ausgeben können, werden wir das Geld dazu verwenden, notwendige Ausgaben für Creative Commons Deutschland in der Zukunft zu finanzieren, wie z.B. mehr gedruckte Materialien für die Öffentlichkeitsarbeit.

Was erhalten Sie als Sponsor?

Mit einem kleinen Beitrag zwischen 500 oder 1000 Euro können Sie den zentralen Event des Jahres 2012 rund um Creative Commons Lizenzen in Deutschland fördern und dabei sein. In allen Druckmaterialien werden Sie mit Ihrem Logo genannt, dazu natürlich in der Videodokumentation und auf unserer Webseite. Ab einer Fördersumme von 1000 Euro können Sie optional in einem kurzen Gast-Beitrag im Veranstaltungsprogramm in 3-5 Minuten erklären, warum Sie Creative Commons Lizenzen unterstützen und was Ihnen die Lizenzen in Ihrem Geschäft / als Privatperson bringen.

Erste Sponsoren sind der Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. und Zeit-Online.

Für weitere Fragen steht Ihnen Markus Beckedahl zur Verfügung: 030 – 92105986 oder mb ett newthinking_de.

Wer steht hinter Creative Commons Deutschland?

Creative Commons Deutschland ist die deutsche Repräsentanz von Creative Commons und wird dabei von der gemeinnützigen Europäischen EDV-Akademie des Rechts (EEAR) sowie der newthinking communications GmbH unterstützt. Creative Commons Deutschland ist im Übrigen vollkommen unabhängig von der Mutterorganisation in den USA.

Im Dezember wird Creative Commons zehn Jahre alt. In der Woche vom 7.12. -15.12. finden dazu weltweit Veranstaltungen rund um den Geburtstag statt. Auch wir wollen in Berlin feiern und laden am Samstag, den 8.12. ins Goldneun (Ex-HBC) nahe Alexanderplatz.

Geplant ist, in verschiedenen Kurzvorträgen und Kurzinterviews aus unterschiedlichsten Disziplinen Erfolgsgeschichten bei der Nutzung von Creative Commons Lizenzen zu erzählen. Und die vergangenen zehn Jahren samt Entstehungsgeschichte zu reflektieren. Anschließend wird bei Creative Commons lizenzierter Musik getanzt und gequatscht.

Wir suchen noch Sponsoren!

Die Veranstaltung selbst wird ehrenamtlich durchgeführt, genau wie die gesamte Arbeit bei Creative Commons Deutschland ehrenamtlich organisiert ist. Zur Refinanzierung der Veranstaltung werden jedoch Sponsoren benötigt, um einige der Kosten decken zu können. Geplant ist, über einen Livestream in HD eine Teilnahme an die Veranstaltung auch Menschen außerhalb Berlins zu ermöglichen. Entstehende Videos der Kurzvorträge und Interviews sollen anschließend geschnitten und einzeln online gestellt werden. Als weitere Highlights planen wir eine große Torte und würden gerne auch Freigetränke unter den Gästen verteilen.

Sollten mehr Sponsorengelder eingehen als wir an dem Abend ausgeben können, werden wir das Geld dazu verwenden, notwendige Ausgaben für Creative Commons Deutschland in der Zukunft zu finanzieren, wie z.B. mehr gedruckte Materialien für die Öffentlichkeitsarbeit.

Was erhalten Sie als Sponsor?

Mit einem kleinen Beitrag zwischen 500 oder 1000 Euro können Sie den zentralen Event des Jahres 2012 rund um Creative Commons Lizenzen in Deutschland fördern und dabei sein. In allen Druckmaterialien werden Sie mit Ihrem Logo genannt, dazu natürlich in der Videodokumentation und auf unserer Webseite. Ab einer Fördersumme von 1000 Euro können Sie optional in einem kurzen Gast-Beitrag im Veranstaltungsprogramm in 3-5 Minuten erklären, warum Sie Creative Commons Lizenzen unterstützen und was Ihnen die Lizenzen in Ihrem Geschäft / als Privatperson bringen.

Erste Sponsoren sind der Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. und Zeit-Online.

Für weitere Fragen steht Ihnen Markus Beckedahl zur Verfügung: 030 – 92105986 oder

Wer steht hinter Creative Commons Deutschland?

Creative Commons Deutschland ist die deutsche Repräsentanz von Creative Commons und wird dabei von der gemeinnützigen Europäischen EDV-Akademie des Rechts (EEAR) sowie der newthinking communications GmbH unterstützt. Creative Commons Deutschland ist im Übrigen vollkommen unabhängig von der Mutterorganisation in den USA.

Los días 20 y 21 de noviembre, los líderes de capítulo de toda Latinoamérica, expertos en cultura libre, desarrolladores y artistas se reunirán en ciudad de México para intercambiar ideas, presentar casos de éxito e identificar nichos de oportunidad en torno a los contenidos abiertos y el derecho de autor en el entorno digital. La info la puedes seguir en Creative Commons México.

A few weeks ago, CC received an interesting email from filmmaker Annie Berman. She told us about a CC-licensed documentary she’s been working on called The Faithful. The film explores issues of fandom and ritual, with Elvis Presley, Pope John Paul II, and and Princess Diana as its focal points.

As Annie was working the film, she contacted by Robert Sillerman — owner of the name, image, and likeness of Elvis Presley — for an interview. And suddenly, The Faithful was not only about the followers of iconic figures, but also about who owns their images.

THE FAITHFUL Teaser, as seen at REMIX NYC from Fish in the Hand Productions on Vimeo.

The film features an interview with CC founder Lawrence Lessig. In the clip below, Larry answers a pressing question: can Annie Berman make this film?

Excerpts from Lawrence Lessig Interview, THE FAITHFUL from Fish in the Hand Productions on Vimeo.

You can support the film on Kickstarter through the end of November. For more CC-licensed projects, visit our Kickstarter page.

Updated November 20: We incorrectly reported that Robert Sillerman initially contacted Annie Berman while she was working on the documentary. She contacted him.

Die Konrad Adenauer Stiftung hat die Plakatdatenbank des “Archivs für Christlich-Demokratische Politik” neu gelauncht. Sehr lobenswert ist, dass alle Plakate jetzt unter der Creative Commons BY-SA – Lizenz stehen und damit auch in der Wikipedia genutzt werden können. Das ist ein schönes Beispiel dafür, wie sich Archive ans digitale Zeitalter anpassen und ihre Bestände nutzbar machen können. Eine Pressemitteilung erklärt, um welche Plakate es sich handelt und was die Motivation dahinter ist:

Das Spektrum umfasst die ältesten und wertvollsten Plakate der Sammlung, d.h. Anordnungen und Proklamationen der Alliierten vom Ende des 1. Weltkrieges 1918, Plakate aus der Weimarer Republik und Exponate vom Ende des 2. Weltkrieges. Es folgen länderübergreifend Plakate aus der Gründungszeit von den ersten Kommunal- und Landtagswahlen ab 1946, die teilweise bis in die jüngste Vergangenheit hinein reichen. Ein besonderer Schwerpunkt liegt auf Plakaten aus Nordrhein-Westfalen. Die Bundestagswahlplakate, mehr als 4.500 an der Zahl, wurden komplettiert und aktualisiert. Zudem sind erstmals die Wandzeitungen der CDU von den Anfängen unter Ludwig Erhard 1964 bis zur neuesten Ausgabe zu sehen. Viele der hier aus dem Dunkel der Vergangenheit hervorgeholten Plakate dürften unbekannt oder in Vergessenheit geraten sein. Ihre Betrachtung und die Auseinandersetzung mit ihnen sollen nicht zuletzt ein neues Interesse an der Geschichte und Erforschung des politischen Plakates in Deutschland wecken und fördern.

Lobenswert ist auch, dass man eine Remix-fähige Lizenz gewählt hat. Das freut nicht nur Historiker.

(Das Plakat stammt aus dem Jahre 1949, ein Urheber wird nicht genannt. Also CC-BY-SA CDU.)

13-14 ноября 2012 года в Москве состоялась Международная конференция "IITE-2012. ИКТ в образовании: педагогика, образовательные ресурсы и обеспечение качества". Конференция организована Институтом ЮНЕСКО по информационным технологиям в образовании, Бюро ЮНЕСКО в Москве, Комиссией Российской Федерации по делам ЮНЕСКО, Государственным научно-исследовательским институтом информационных технологий и телекоммуникаций "Информика", Московским государственным университетом экономики, статистики и информатики (МЭСИ).

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1. Jeśli macie wolnej półtorej godziny polecamy wykład Evolution of Digital Curricula z kursu przyszłości edukacji na uniwersytecie Stanforda. W poniższym wykładzie można dowiedzieć się o tym jak otwarty dostęp i otwarte zasoby edukacyjne zmieniły i zmieniają programy nauczania oraz myślenie o podręcznikach i elastyczności procesu nauczania. 2.  500px serwis do publiakacji fotografii nastawiony na profesjonalne i wysokiej jakości zdjęcia udostępnił fotografom opcje [...]

Just spotted Pitch Feather’s first ever CC-licensed track (prior to this, they had four All Rights Reserved tracks on their SoundCloud page – soundcloud.com/pitchfeather)

They are a 3-person band from Singapore. From their SoundCloud write-up, seems CC would be just right up their alley wrt collaborations:

Pitch Feather is a musical endeavor by three good friends. With elements of indie, folk and rock, we explore and express the values of life through our songs.

We believe people have the power to take charge of their own lives and be free. With this spirit, we compose, record, produce and promote our own music all from our humble studio.

* N O T E *
We are searching for opportunities to collaborate with other music, literal and visual artists. Do drop us a message to say hi! :)

Filed under: CC-SG Adopters

Die kanadische Foto-Plattform 500px hat sich auf qualitativ besonders hochwertige Bilder spezialisiert. Fotos werden dort auf Basis eines Algorithmus promoted, der Views, Votes, Favoriten, Dislikes und anderes auswertet, um die Qualität eines Bildes einzuschätzen. Wie 500px heute in einer Pressemeldung bekannt gab, bietet die Plattform ab sofort auch eine Creative-Commons-Option, wie es sie beispielsweise bei Flickr schon lange gibt. Unter der sehr liberalen Creative Commons (CC) Namensnennung-Lizenz steht beispielsweise folgendes Foto des Eiffelturms bei Tag:

Ein Foto des Eiffelturms bei Nacht wird allerdings auch bei 500px nicht so schnell unter einer CC-Lizenz mit kommerzieller Nutzungsmöglichkeit zu finden sein, beansprucht doch dessen Betreibergesellschaft „SETE – illuminations Pierre Bideau“ das Urheberrecht für nächtliche Aufnahmen, in denen der bestrahlte Eiffelturm als Hauptobjekt zu sehen ist (vgl. “Fotofallen – Juristische Klippen bei der Veröffentlichung von Bildern im Web“).

 

This CDIP/10 second statement on Scenarios and Possible Options Concerning Recommendations 1c, 1f and 2a of the Scoping Study on Copyright and Related Rights and the Public Domain (CDIP/9/INF/2 Rev.) is following Communia’s previous statements delivered at:

- CDIP/10 commenting on Terms of Reference for a Comparative Study on Copyright Relinquishment (document CDIP/10/14),

- CDIP/9 on the Scenarios and Possible Options Concerning Recommendations 1c, 1f and 2a of the Scoping Study on Copyright and Related Rights and the Public Domain by the Secretariat (document CDIP/9/INF/2) and

- CDIP/8 supporting the Scoping Study on Copyright and Related Rights and the Public Domain by Séverine Dusollier (document CDIP/7/INF/2).

Comments on the Scenarios and Possible Options Concerning Recommendations 1c, 1f and 2a of the Scoping Study on Copyright and Related Rights and the Public Domain

COMMUNIA International International Association on the Public Domain welcomes the document prepared by the WIPO Secretariat for the tenth session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) entitled Scenarios and Possible Options Concerning Recommendations 1c, 1f and 2a of the Scoping Study on Copyright and Related Rights and the Public Domain (CDIP/9/INF/2 Rev.).

COMMUNIA would like to submit proposals to allow CDIP to build upon the reflection suggested by the Scoping Study on the Public Domain drafted by Professor Dusollier (CDIP/7/INF/2. Hereafter: the Study).

First, COMMUNIA suggests that the Committee expand its consideration to other recommendations from the Study, as all of them are extremely valuable and need to be further examined, especially:

- Recommendation 1.e on “orphan works”;

- Recommendation 2.b encouraging legal deposit;

- Recommendation 2.c on the role of libraries.

These recommendations are complementary to recommendation 1f of the Study aiming at identifying what should belong to the Public Domain.

Second, COMMUNIA urges WIPO delegations to select concrete actions that could be developed by CDIP to provide assistance to Member States. On the basis of the recommendations proposed by the Scoping Study, we have the following comments:

- On recommendation 1f on the development of technical or informational tools to identify the contents of the Public Domain:

Registration tools that enable the identification and location of  rights holders are of crucial importance in the context of mass digitization and use of cultural resources, as shown shown by the “orphan works” phenomenon. The development and promotion of these tools need to be encouraged. WIPO has already started to investigate the need for these mechanisms, as demonstrated by the Survey of Private Copyright Documentation Systems and Practices, coordinated by the NEXA Research Centre (available at  http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/2011/wipo_cr_doc_ge_11/pdf/survey_private_crdocystems.pdf)). The development of such works and rights registries under the auspices of WIPO (similar to the ongoing Global Repertoire Database initiative for musical works) should be further considered. How these registries shall be governed under a comprehensive policy providing for a balance between private and public interests – and how they could be put in place within the Berne Convention framework – require ongoing dedicated discussions. These discussions should also address the role of collecting societies in the administration of common information technology infrastructures allowing such databases to be effective on a trans-national level.

Useful Public Domain legal tools can leverage metadata to help promote the discovery and identification of materials in the Public Domain. For instance, the Creative Commons’ CC0 Public Domain Dedication license and the Public Domain Mark allow identifying works with machine-readable metadata of copyright licensing terms and related information, so that content can be exposed to Internet search engines. By leveraging this metadata, search engines can discern and communicate to end users what is available for reuse, and under which conditions.

- On recommendation 2a and the role of cultural heritage institutions:

Following the input from the UNESCO International Conference on Memory of the World in the Digital Age: Digitization and Preservation, which took place in September 2012 in Vancouver, COMMUNIA suggests that CDIP develop guidelines for memory institutions that curate works already in the Public Domain in order to help them to release digital reproductions of Public Domain works (as well as related notices and metadata they are producing to accompany these works). Oftentimes, museums and libraries add contractual restrictions (terms of use) to access and use of Public Domain works they host on their websites. These practices should end. According to  COMMUNIA policy recommendation #5, “Digital reproductions of works that are in the Public Domain must also belong to the Public Domain. The use of works in the public domain should not be limited by any means, either legal or technical.”

Third, COMMUNIA proposes to bring substantive legal proposals from the Scoping Study to SCCR negotiations for the definition of a Public Domain positive agenda. Having a clear definition of the Public Domain in an international legal instrument and outlining the legal means to prevent the re-enclosure of works in the Public Domain should be considered as agenda items in future SCCR discussions.

In this purpose, COMMUNIA has several recommendations:

1. Defining a positive status for the Public Domain

The Public Domain deserves a positive recognition to better identify works and uses which are available for creators and users to build upon. It is time for copyright policymakers to consider the Public Domain as something more than a mere “non IP protected” zone. Such an evolution in describing the Public Domain would be consistent with the history of “Intellectual Property”, which used to consider the Public Domain as the rule and copyright as the exception, as a temporary and limited monopoly of exploitation.

This positive status shall be reached by:

1.1. Integrating a definition of the Public Domain within copyright law instruments.

1.2. Preserving the Public Domain from private appropriation.

Beyond a positive definition, the Public Domain should be preserved from private appropriation and closures through legal, contractual or technical barriers. Works that are in the Public Domain in analogue form should stay in the Public Domain once they have been digitized.

2. Recognizing the validity of voluntary dedication to the Public Domain

Dedicating a work to the Public Domain should be considered as a legitimate way to exercise one’s exclusive right and as compatible with moral rights. The legal enforceability of voluntary dedications should be evenly recognized in all jurisdictions.

3. Facilitating the identification of the contents of the Public Domain

It is difficult to assess whether a work is in the Public Domain, notably because of the complexity and the lack of harmonized copyright rules pertaining to the duration of protection. There is a need for certainty for users to clearly identify what is in the Public Domain. Beyond registration and Rights Management Information tools, legal security is required in order to assess the status of a work or any subject-matter eligible for copyright or copyright-related protection.

This shall be implemented through:

3.1. Simplified and harmonized copyright duration and territoriality rules

Establishing a harmonized framework with regard to copyright scope and duration would permit an easier identification of Public Domain works across the world.

3.2. Rights Information Measures

The role of Rights Management Information (RMI) should be recognized in the identification of the contents of the Public Domain.

3.3. Registration tools

The relevance of registration tools to help identify and locate rights holders and Public Domain contents has to be acknowledged and further analyzed.

Creative Commons has formed a new Science Advisory Board (SAB) to guide its science program and to provide overall strategic vision and focus. The SAB brings legal, institutional as well as domain-specific knowledge in the use and sharing of scientific tools and data. Our SAB is made up of eminent scholars and practitioners from different disciplines and four continents who have volunteered to provide us both the domain expertise as well as regional perspective to help create a truly globally responsive program. We are grateful to Gilberto Camara, Michael Carroll, Robert Chen, Juncai Ma, Peter Murray-Rust, Mackenzie Smith, and John Wilbanks for their time and insight.

Creative Commons works with scientists and institutions, providing education and outreach on the right technologies and licenses to maximize legal interoperability of scientific data and tools. Since most science is both cross-discipline and cross-border, legal interoperability of data and tools facilitates collaboration, enables reproducibility and verifiability, and makes it possible to extract a higher return on investment in publicly funded scientific programs through reuse of information.

Read the full press release. (PDF)

This morning, photo-sharing platform 500px announced that it now offers Creative Commons licensing options. 500px has become a hub for talented photographers in recent years, and it’s great to see it join the ranks of CC-enabled platforms.

From the press release:

“While our platform still defaults to full copyright protection as it always has, we want to give our photographers as much flexibility as possible to spread their work and build their profiles and businesses,” says Oleg Gutsol, CEO, 500px. “Our move to offer Creative Commons licensing is another way we’re providing additional services and value to meet the needs of our growing community.”

With tens of millions of high quality professional photos potentially now available through Creative Commons, 500px is planning for the increased traffic from bloggers, publishers and media outlets that have been clamoring to get at the content for several years.

“We’ve built content searching by keywords and applicable license right into the functionality,” says Gutsol. “Our hope is that this targeted searching makes it seamless for people to find the content they’re looking for.”

With this rollout, 500px joins the ranks of other prominent rich media communities such as Vimeo, SoundCloud and YouTube who already have Creative Commons in place.

“500px is a great addition to the family of CC-compatible media platforms,” Creative Commons CEO Cathy Casserly said. “500px caters to a talented and intelligent community of photographers, just the sort of users we’re always excited to see licensing their work under CC. I’ll be curious to see how creative people everywhere reuse and remix the work of 500px photographers.”

La revista Nature es la publicación científica multidisciplinaria más citada en la actualidad. Por lo mismo, es extremadamente selectiva y para cualquier científico, tener un artículo en Nature constituye un enorme logro. La revista fue creada en 1869 y como toda institución centenaria, no es dada a introducir cambios radicales en su forma de trabajo.

El costo de una subscripción institucional a Nature varía según el tamaño de la institución entre 5.500 y 16.500 euros anuales, lo cual resulta prohibitivo para muchas universidades y centros de investigación. Sin una subscripción, leer un artículo individual publicado en Nature cuesta 25 euros por artículo.

Estos precios no son exclusivos de esta revista. Muchas otras publicaciones científicas aplican tarifas similares. Dado que el trabajo editorial es en gran parte realizado por otros científicos que no reciben una compensación por ello (el proceso de “revisión por pares” o “peer review“), las editoriales solían justificar estos precios sobre la base del costo de impresión y distribución de ejemplares físicos. Con Internet, la situación cambia radicalmente y 25 euros por descargar un PDF no es tan claro que sea un precio razonable.

Por ello, desde hace unos años que existe el movimiento de Acceso Abierto (Open Access) que exige que las publicaciones científicas, especialmente aquellas producto de investigaciones realizadas con fondos públicos, estén disponibles para libre descarga.

Quienes promueven el Acceso Abierto le piden a las editoriales, primero, que permitan a los autores publicar un borrador de su trabajo en su propio sitio web personal o en el sitio web de su institución. Esto se llama Acceso Abierto “verde”. El siguiente paso es el Acceso Abierto “dorado” (gold), en que la misma editorial ofrece para el artículo sin cobrar nada. En la mayoría de los casos, actualmente este tipo de Acceso Abierto va asociado a una compensación por parte del mismo autor, que éste transfiere a la institución que lo financia — últimamente, muchos fondos de financiamiento a la investigación científica permiten reembolsar los costos de publicación bajo un ítem de diseminación del trabajo realizado.

Volviendo a Nature, la revista permite a los autores publicar borradores de su propio trabajo en la web (Acceso Abierto “verde”), y a partir de esta semana, permite también Acceso Abierto “dorado” bajo licencia Creative Commons. Estas son muy buenas noticias para estudiantes, investigadores, y para el público en general. Leer y citar lo que otros han escrito es parte central del trabajo científico; el acceso a estos trabajos es fundamental para el progreso de la ciencia y para que la sociedad en su conjunto pueda disfrutar de los beneficios de este progreso.

Los dejamos con un vídeo (con subtítulos en castellano) sobre el movimiento de Acceso Abierto:

Via: Wikimedia.

2012知识中国年度人物北京揭晓

2012年10月27日，2012知识中国年度人物评选活动在北京举行。活动揭晓了2012知识中国十大年度人物，十大知识传播事件。另外为表彰那些正在身体力行、将公益与知识传播相结合的人物，特别增设“年度特别奖”和“年度知识传播大使”奖项。

“知识中国”是由互动百科网站发起的一项大型知识类评选活动。活动旨在表彰那些在知识传播、知识创新、知识传承领域做出巨大贡献的人物，以促进全社会形成尊重知识、尊重人才的共识和氛围，通过社会各界力量共同推进知识的跨文化传播与交流。

此次当选2012知识中国年度人物的分别是：用科学支撑中国理性社会建设的科学大家饶毅;被誉为“气象先生”的气候知识传播者宋英杰;关注中国教育改 革、传统文化继承和改造等问题的著名学者杨东平;用大众化的表现形式向人们展示深奥天文知识的天文学家李元;致力保障食品安全营养技术研究的食品专家罗云 波;把知识的种子撒播到乡间土壤的“80后最美女校长”李灵;热心于古生物大众科普工作的古生物学家徐星;坚持20年无偿研究汉字演化历史的“汉字叔叔” 理查德·西尔斯;轻松诙谐的电视科普知识传播者张腾岳以及为百姓谋“性福”的厅官张枫。

入选2012年度十大知识传播事件的有：“舌尖上的中国”、“钓鱼岛、领海基线”、“字母词、汉字叔叔”、“从猪蹄厅长到任督二脉”、“明胶牵连出毒胶囊”、“黄金大米”、“控烟协会抵制烟草院士”、“活熊取胆”、“老年痴呆症更名”、“智能手机”等热点事件。

此外，年度特别奖分别颁给了以净化网络环境、保护未成年人身心健康为宗旨的“妈妈评审团”，热衷公益的著名歌星孙楠。知名演员童蕾获得知识传播大使称号。

互动百科网站CEO潘海东表示，依托强大的用户基础与丰厚的内容积淀，遵循公正、严格的评选标准和流程，互动百科已成功举办三届知识中国评选活动。今后，互动百科将视知识中国活动为责任与使命，把知识中国打造成为“知识领域的诺贝尔”品牌。

本文转自互动百科：http://zhishi.baike.com/article-891325.html

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In a paper released in conjunction with a panel discussion, the Brookings Institution identifies promising policy ideas to encourage entrepreneurship and innovative growth in the technology industry.

“We need to improve knowledge transmission through faster adoption of digital textbooks, more widespread use of creative commons licenses for instructional materials developed with taxpayer dollars, and policy changes that speed education innovation.”

“In an era of limited resources, educators must figure out how to do more with fewer financial resources. One action that would improve school efficiency and financing is to have educational resources developed with taxpayer dollars be licensed under a creative commons license that would improve accessibility to instructional materials. Budget circumstances require schools to get more efficient, boost productivity, and make do with fewer financial resources. While this poses obvious problems for school districts, it also creates the possibility of making changes in business operations that are innovative and transformational.”

“Throughout each of these initiatives, we should have metrics assessing education innovation implementation and impact. We should determine how fast we are transitioning from paper to digital textbooks, leverage the use of creative commons licenses, and enforce changes in education policy and accreditation that encourage more innovative approaches to learning and achievement.”

The report also endorses FRPAA legislation that would “mandate public dissemination of federally funded research within six months of publication (for agencies with extramural funding exceeding $100 million).”

To Free Music Archiveπερήφανα εγκαινιάζει τον video remix διαγωνισμό “Sound for the Moving Image: The Past Re-imagined As The Future» Οι διοργανωτές καλούν καλλιτέχνες από όλο τον κόσμο να μιξάρουν video από την εξαιρετική συλλογή Prelinger Archives Collectionμε μουσική από το Free Music Archiveκαι να δημιουργήσουν καινούριο υλικό για το παγκόσμιο κοινό (commons) Στόχος είναι ανάδειξη των δυνατοτήτων που προσφέρουν τα ανοιχτά ψηφιακά αρχεία και η ανοικτή αδειοδότηση.

Το Free Music Archive ή αλλιώς FMA είναι μια διαδραστική βιβλιοθήκη νόμιμων ακουστικών αρχείων υψηλής ποιότητας τα οποία είναι διαθέσιμα για κατέβασμα. Υπεύθυνοι για το FMA είναι ο ο διάσημος αμερικάνικος ραδιοφωνικός σταθμός WFMU! Τα mp3 που θα συναντήσετε στο FMA έχουν διατεθεί από τους δημιουργούς με την σφραγίδα “some rights reserved” αφήνοντας στο παρελθόν τους παραδοσιακούς νόμους πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας που σύμφωνα με τους υπεύθυνους του Free Music Archive δεν ταιριάζουν με την ψηφιακή εποχή. Οι διάφορες χρήσεις για τις οποίες διατίθεται το περιεχόμενο του FMA καθορίζονται ξεκάθαρα από τους ίδιους τους δημιουργούς και είναι διαθέσιμες στα FAQτου ιστότοπου.

Τα Prelinger Archives ιδρύθηκαν το 1983 από τον Rick Prelinger στην Νέα Υόρκη. Πρόκειται για μια συλλογή που μεγαλώνει συνεχώς εδώ και 30 χρόνια με έργα όπως διαφημίσεις, εκπαιδευτικό υλικό και ερασιτεχνικές ταινίες. Το 2002 η συλλογή εξαγοράστηκε από τη Βιβλιοθήκη το Κονγκρέσου (Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division) και αριθμεί επιπλέον περίπου 5000 ψηφιοποιημένες ταινίες. Στόχος της κίνησης αυτής παραμένει η συλλογή, διατήρηση και εύκολη πρόσβαση σε ταινίες ιστορικής σημασίας που αλλιώς θα είχαν χαθεί για πάντα. Στη συλλογή επίσης μπορεί να βρει κανείς ταινίες από εκατοντάδες αμερικάνικες εταιρίες, μη κερδοσκοπικούς οργανισμούς, κοινότητες, καλλιτεχνικές ομάδες και εκπαιδευτικά ιδρύματα. Διαθέσιμες φωτογραφίες και τίτλους των ταινιών μπορεί κανείς να βρει και στο Getty Images!

Στις 29 Νοεμβρίου θα γίνει δωρεάν δημόσια προβολή της νικητήριας ταινίας. Πληροφορίες εδώ

Περισσότερες πληροφορίες για το πως να λάβετε μέρος στο διαγωνισμό μπορείτε να βρείτε εδώ http://videoremix.freemusicarchive.org/faq/

 

2012年台灣資訊社會研究學會年會暨論文研討會已於11/10圓滿落幕。本次年會台灣創用CC計畫籌組「開放資料之議題」專題，包含「著作權使用」與「開放政府資料」兩大主題，以下是各子題的摘要內容，供大家參考。

13：20-14：30 「著作權使用」主題
主持人：莊庭瑞 中研院資訊所 暨 資創中心合聘 副研究員

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Il 16 dicembre 2012 si terrà presso il locale Blah Blah di Torino, Via Po 21, una piccola festa per celebrare i dieci anni di Creative Commons.

In aggiunta all'esposizione delle foto vincitrici del concorso Wiki Loves Monument 2012 e al Dj set che diffonderà musica pubblicata con licenze CC, la serata sarebbe l'occasione perfetta per ospitare l'esibizione di artisti - musicisti, videomaker, performer, ... - che abbiano scelto diffondere le proprie opere con una licenza Creative Commons.

Chiunque sia interessato è dunque caldamente invitato a candidarsi a partecipare, scrivendoci all'indirizzo info-ccit [at] creativecommons [dot] it (entro il 25 novembre 2012, per ragioni organizzative) ed inviando le seguenti indicazioni:

• nome dell'artista/gruppo (con numero di componenti);
• due righe di presentazione (breve bio, descrizione dell'esibizione);
• link a materiale rappresentativo (es. video e brani musicali);
• persona di riferimento e relativi contatti (mail e telefono);
• luogo di provenienza (per ragioni organizzative);
• strumentazione necessaria.

Naturalmente, saremo felici di coinvolgere quante più persone possibili, ma il gruppo di lavoro di Creative Commons Italia potrebbe dover fare delle scelte, considerando anche le capacità logistiche del locale e le risorse a disposizione. Infatti, compatibilmente con il limitatissimo budget di un evento auto-organizzato da un gruppo di volontari come questo, cercheremo volentieri di sostenere eventuali spese di viaggio e pernottamento degli artisti, per cui vi invitiamo a candidarvi anche qualora non foste di Torino o dintorni.

Grazie in anticipo a tutti quanti vorranno partecipare!

Il Gruppo di lavoro di Creative Commons Italia

leggi tutto

Till Kreutzer’s Ideen für eine zukünftige Regulierung kreativer Güter:

“Moderne Technologien machen es den Nutzern möglich, sehr viel mehr urheberrechtlich geschützte Güter zu kopieren und weiterzugeben, als dies noch vor 50 Jahren der Fall war. Das Urheberrecht kann die Rechteinhaber derzeit nicht effektiv schützen. Es müsste gründlich reformiert werden, um Kreativen zu ihrem Recht, das weniger durch Privatnutzer als vielmehr von Verwertern beschnitten wird, zu verhelfen.”

Den ganzen, sehr lesenswerten, Text gibt es im Wirtschaftsdienst vom Oktober 2012.

WIPO CDIP/10 – Geneva, November 12 to 16, 2012

This statement on the Terms of Reference for a Comparative Study on Copyright Relinquishment by the WIPO Secretariat (CDIP/10/14) is following Communia’s previous statements delivered at CDIP/8 and CDIP/9 supporting the Scoping Study on Copyright and Related Rights and the Public Domain by Séverine Dusollier (document CDIP/7/INF/2) and the Scenarios and Possible Options Concerning Recommendations 1c, 1f and 2a of the Scoping Study on Copyright and Related Rights and the Public Domain by the Secretariat (document CDIP/9/INF/2).

Comments on the Terms of Reference for a Comparative Study on Copyright Relinquishment

COMMUNIA International Association on the Public Domain welcomes the document produced by the WIPO Secretariat in preparation for the tenth session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) titled Terms of Reference for a Comparative Study on Copyright Relinquishment (CDIP/10/14).

We believe that this document is an encouraging sign for copyright international law-making to commit itself to considering crucial aspects of access to culture and knowledge in recognising the increasing importance of the Public Domain, on the basis of the WIPO Development Agenda Recommendation #16: “Consider the preservation of the public domain within WIPO’s normative processes and deepen the analysis of the implications and benefits of a rich and accessible public domain”.

A comparative study on the issue of copyright relinquishment will be very useful in order to assess the possibilities offered by voluntary contributions to the Public Domain. Beyond a legal academic study, concrete solutions are needed. We believe however that the language of the Terms of Reference (ToR) could be improved: using a precise vocabulary will ensure a positive mindset for the success of such a study.

Instead of characterizing the Public Domain as  “relinquishment” of rights, it would be preferable to use the term “dedication” to the Public Domain. Indeed, “dedication” to the Public Domain is a more positive expression than voluntary “relinquishment” of rights, similar to how a half-full rather than a half-empty glass reflects the positive value of contributing to a common pool of works that are accessible and reusable for all. Moreover, the reference made in the study by Professor Dusollier (Scoping Study on the Public Domain, CDIP/7/INF/2) about the “voluntary Public Domain” is cited by the ToR themselves.

The use of the term “cultural heritage” has been mentioned as problematic for some delegations and observers as it would create confusion. This concern should be addressed. The target of the study–copyright relinquishment (or dedication to the Public Domain) should be focused primarily on works and subject matters that are or were covered by copyright, neighbouring rights or sui generis related rights. The scope of the study does not and should not pertain to traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and folklore.

On the text of the ToR itself:

- On section II 1. and the objectives of the study

It would be useful to study not only the possible problems and complexities, but also discuss possible solutions. These ideas for solutions should be envisaged from the start, instead of waiting for conclusions in a third stage. Also, we need to identify what would be required to ensure the enforceability of Public Domain dedication tools. We hope that the study will not only raise relevant issues, but will also be action-oriented and propose concrete means to overcome identified problems and explain how dedication/relinquishment can be enabled by applicable law. The objectives of the study should be clear and work toward nimble, implementable solutions instead of waiting for long, drawn out conclusions.

The study should target the relinquishment of copyright / dedication to the Public Domain, as a purpose for a rich and accessible Public Domain to be integrated into the copyright legal framework.

- On section II 2. and the inalienability of moral rights

The Public Domain status of a work does not conflict with moral rights.

Moral rights still apply to works that are already in the Public Domain because copyright has expired at the regular end of the copyright protection term. Voluntary waivers of rights by their owners need not be addressed differently. If moral rights are respected upon the expiration of the copyright term, they are similarly respected when the rights holder voluntarily decides to dedicate his/her rights before the end of copyright protection.

The Public Domain should not be considered as a contradiction to moral rights. On the contrary, the act of dedicating a work to the Public Domain should be fully considered as a way to exercise one’s moral rights. This is why allowing rights holders to express their will in a free and informed manner is important.

- On last paragraphs, point 2

The definition of the term “material”, “including creative industries, the online environment, with reference to collaborative creativity and user generated content, and in regard to materials prepared by not-for-profit and public institutions”, is too generic. In our sense, it would be more appropriate for the concerned “material” to encompass “copyrighted works but also data, databases and compilations subject to copyright-related protection, performances, phonograms and protected broadcasts.”

This clarification should also be extended to the first part of the legal study which should not only focus on copyright but also on other applicable related rights.

Creative Commons has been involved in discussions at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) over the last several years, and we’ve made interventions in support of the public domain, as well as other topics.

One issue in particular that is resurfacing at WIPO is a draft treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations, or “Broadcasting Treaty.” If passed, the Broadcasting Treaty would grant to broadcasters a separate, exclusive copyright-like right in the signals that they transmit, separate from any copyrights they or others may have in the content of the transmissions. Some advocates of the treaty support granting these rights to broadcasters for a minimum of 50 years (and others, for a minimum of 20). And, because these additional rights would add a layer of rights atop the underlying copyright in the works being broadcast, the Broadcasting Treaty would permit broadcasters to restrict access to works already licensed under a Creative Commons license, or in the public domain. This new set of rights would unnecessarily complicate the rights-negotiation process that Creative Commons has attempted to simplify.

The Broadcasting Treaty has been on and off WIPO’s agenda since at least 1996. This is not the first time that CC has voiced its concern about the potentially harmful effects of a Broadcasting Treaty. In 2006, we signed a letter of concern (PDF) with 37 other organizations representing a broad range of information technology, consumer electronics and telecommunications companies, library associations, and civil society organizations. The letter told WIPO that if a treaty is deemed necessary, it should be based on a “signal-based” approach, focusing specifically on protecting broadcasting signals from intentional misappropriation or theft. The statement called for the inclusion of a mandatory baseline set of limitations and exceptions in order to ensure that uses of broadcasted content that are lawful under copyright law are not inhibited by the treaty. And in general, the letter questioned the need for a Broadcasting Treaty in the first place, suggesting that current legal frameworks already provide the necessary enforcement mechanism for “signal piracy” (unauthorized use of a broadcast, prohibited by the broadcaster).

Why is a Broadcasting Treaty problematic for users of Creative Commons licenses?

A report (PDF) by Professor Patrícia Akester, commissioned by UNESCO, concluded that a Broadcasting Treaty could “prevent or restrict the flow of information with respect to materials which may not be protected by copyright, such as news of the day, or which are in the public domain, because their term of protection has expired or in relation to materials created by third parties who do not wish to prevent dissemination of the latter… . For example, a broadcast of a speech by a public official may be covered by the scope of the proposed Treaty, even though it may not be protected by copyright, and a broadcast of materials under a Creative Commons license may prevent users from fixing such materials.” Anyone who would want to use a broadcast would have been compelled to get permission from the broadcaster in addition to the copyright holder. This would negatively affect users of Creative Commons licenses. It would grant broadcasters an additional right above and beyond those rights granted to the copyright holder. So, even though CC licenses provide for a clear set of permissions in advance, broadcasters’ rights could trump those rights, requiring that a user get permission or pay a license fee to the broadcaster to use the broadcasted content. Most WIPO member nations have agreed to pursue the more limited signal-based approach, but it’s not clear whether this path would avoid interfering with the permissions granted from the Creative Commons licenses.

CC licenses forbid licensees from applying adding technological protection measures (DRM) to a work if doing so prohibits other users from exercising the rights granted under the license. A broadcast treaty that authorizes application of DRM to their signals — depending on its final scope — would very likely conflict with that prohibition. Moreover, the Treaty permits countries to enact far-reaching anti-circumvention laws that stop users from breaking DRM to use the broadcast content — inclusive of any CC-licensed content, which by the terms of the license is expressly permitted. This may put licensees in a situation of either not being able to exercise rights granted under copyright via the CC licenses, or risk violating law when they circumvent the technological protection measure to do so.

Adding additional intellectual property rights via a broadcast right is bad policy and yet another representation of the expanding rights grab from entities who are not the copyright holder. And said well by Public Knowledge, “Intellectual property rights should go to authors or inventors, not middlemen.” This statement represents the underlying utility of Creative Commons since its inception: CC licenses provide powerful yet easy-to-implement solutions in order to reduce the legal transaction costs associated with sharing content. In addition, the Broadcasting Treaty could give rise to a sort of re-enclosure of the public domain by granting rights to broadcasters even after a user has placed a work in the public domain using the CC0 Public Domain Dedication.

The creation of new “copyright-like” rights has been increasing over the last several years, to the detriment of creativity and innovation. The Broadcasting Treaty is a direct attack on the rights of creators to share their work as they see fit under the existing (and increasingly protectionist) copyright regime. As Mike Linksvayer wrote in 2010, “With a proliferation of rights, it is harder to know who has exclusive control over what, or whether multiple parties have exclusive control over different rights over a work. This phenomenon of too many property claims forms what is sometimes called an anticommons — overlapping exclusive claims can prevent anyone from using a work — the opposite (thus “anti”) of a commons, in which anyone may use a work under a clear, easily discernible set of rules.” Creative Commons licenses have been a successful mechanism for creators who want to share to communicate their intentions clearly in an environment that has been increasingly hostile toward them. The Broadcast Treaty is antithetical to these methods of sharing and collaboration, but perhaps most harmful to CC-licensed works and to the public domain.

Bottom line: A Broadcasting Treaty is not needed

Is there need for such a treaty? Public interest advocates point out that the additional rights granted to broadcasters via a Broadcasting Treaty are simply not necessary because broadcasters already have legal remedies available to them to combat signal theft. An often cited example is the famous case of the Canadian company iCraveTV. iCraveTV decided to broadcast via the Internet 17 US-based channels on the grounds that local laws allowed it to transmit wireless broadcast cable signals without paying. And, because these channels were received at the Canadian border, iCraveTV argued it was exempt from paying royalties. Broadcasters in the US sued iCraveTV alleging copyright infringement. iCraveTV quickly settled, and the site shuttered shortly thereafter.

Copyright law already grants a complex bundle of rights to authors, and most of the time broadcasters are either copyright holders or licensees of copyrights. Public Knowledge notes, “broadcast signal piracy is almost always also copyright infringement and already illegal.” Similarly, Knowledge Ecology International wonders why the Broadcasting Treaty is necessary: “[W]e have yet to hear a cogent explanation of the problem the treaty is supposed to solve, or how it will work. We have asked the US government and other countries to explain what piracy problem the broadcaster treaty is expected to solve that can’t be solved by enforcing existing copyright laws and related rights laws, and we are still waiting for an answer.”

Establishing a Broadcasting Treaty could in effect negate the permissions that users of Creative Commons licenses wish to communicate, and grant unwarranted rights to broadcasting organizations that have added little or no value to the underlying work being transmitted. The proposed benefit to society resulting from creation and enforcement of additional rights for broadcasters under a Broadcasting Treaty is unclear. If there is a dire need to create additional rights for broadcasting organizations, the data demonstrating this need should be presented and impartially evaluated. If there is no discernable reason backed up by data, then the treaty should be abandoned.

What are the next steps?

Right now WIPO has released a working document (PDF) on the draft treaty, to be discussed and negotiated at the upcoming WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) meeting taking place in Geneva 19-23 November. Creative Commons is considering developing an intervention for the meeting, as we have permission to attend and contribute to the WIPO proceedings alongside other NGOs. We urge WIPO to make these deliberations as transparent as possible so that the public knows about the discussions. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has already raised concerns that WIPO is pushing for a treaty to be signed quickly. And they also released a statement (PDF) during the July SCCR meeting. WIPO should carefully consider the implications to the public interest and properly address the recommendations from civil society organizations.