Since the early days of the Creative Commons movement, the annual CC Global Summit has been one of the most important vehicles for bringing people in our community together to share their work, ideas, and vision for the future of Open.
Unfortunately, given the current concerns around the global spread of COVID-19 (and in the wake of scores of major conferences being canceled around the world), we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s in-person Summit.
This is obviously an unfortunate and disappointing outcome, but we feel strongly that it is the right call. The health and safety of our global community are of paramount importance.
If you registered for the Summit, you will of course be reimbursed any fees you paid. We will be in touch with you shortly with details.
We are considering ways to keep the energy and collaboration of the Global Summit alive in 2020. We’re excited to engage with the CC community on thinking through what this might look like.
In the meantime, thank you for all the hard work and enthusiasm you bring to this community. We look forward to seeing you in-person once again at Creative Commons Global Summit 2021.
The Smithsonian—the world’s largest museum and research institution—announced yesterday Smithsonian Open Access, an initiative that removes copyright restrictions from 2.8 million digital collection 2D and 3D images and nearly two centuries of data.
This major initiative uses CC0—Creative Commons’ public domain dedication tool—to make millions of images and data freely available to the public.
“Our goal for Smithsonian Open Access is to make the nation’s collection available to people around the world for any purpose…,” explained Effie Kapsalis, the senior digital program officer at the Smithsonian who led the strategy and implementation of Smithsonian Open Access for over a decade. “Over 100 staff members met every two weeks over the past year to create the specs and platforms,” wrote Kapsalis, “and I am extremely proud of the Smithsonian Open Access Values Statement that reflects our responsibilities as stewards of the nation’s collections, and that will be a guiding star as we move to future phases.”
A screenshot of the Smithsonian Open Access homepage, where you can download, share, and reuse millions of the Smithsonian’s images—right now, without asking.
Included in the collection are high-resolution images from all of the Smithsonian’s 19 museums, nine research centers, libraries, and archives (including from the National Zoo); from portraits of historic American figures to 3D scans of dinosaur skeletons. Research datasets and collections metadata are also included, which users can download and access through the Application Programming Interface (API) and GitHub data repository.
CC0 is once again being used to remove barriers to artistic and cultural artifacts.
We’re excited to see this initiative come to fruition as members of the Creative Commons team, including our Interim CEO / Director of Open Education Cable Green, General Counsel Diane Peters, and CC GLAM platform lead Evelin Heidel have worked with the Smithsonian for the past few years on its open access policy. Thanks also to all of the CC alum (Jane Park, Ryan Merkley and more) who worked with the Smithsonian in prior years.
“Today’s announcement matters because the Smithsonian is dedicating its works to the public domain using CC0, communicating to the world’s museums that digitizing and using the right legal tools can and should be done,” remarked Green at the Smithsonian Open Access launch event, “The Smithsonian is a leader in this space, and it is leading.”
Watch video from the Smithsonian Open Access launch event here.
In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be working to share all of the Smithsonian’s millions of newly released works through CC Search, our tool that allows openly licensed and public domain works to be discovered and used by everyone. Additionally, we are pleased to be working with the 3D content platform Sketchfab to make all of the Smithsonian’s 3D scans and models available for download and reuse through CC Search. This coincides with Sketchfab’s announcement that the platform has added formal support for CC0 so that any cultural institutions can now easily dedicate their 3D scans and models to the public domain.
This is an extraordinary time for open access and the public domain, as the Smithsonian joins a growing list of other major cultural institutions that recognize the importance of removing barriers and increasing accessibility to artistic and cultural artifacts.
Let us know how you reuse, remix, and reshare these resources from Smithsonian Open Access by tagging us on Twitter @creativecommons and using the hashtag #SmithsonianOpenAccess!
We hope to encourage more cultural institutions to embrace open access initiatives by offering support, training, and education activities. This is a core aspect of our partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation in the OpenGLAM space. We’re currently preparing a Declaration on Open Access for Cultural Heritage that we expect will help cultural institutions understand how open access to cultural heritage is key to achieving knowledge equity.
If you are affiliated with a GLAM institution and would like guidance on using CC0, or any of our CC licenses, please email us at info@creativecommons.org We’re here to help!
Public domain advocates celebrated on January 1: for the second year in a row, published works newly entered the public domain in the United States due to copyright expiration.
“This is a ‘good news’ story,” exclaimed Brewster Kahle (Founder and Digital Librarian, Internet Archive) at the start of the 1920s themed soiree, “Another year of the public domain!”
Celebrating another year of the public domain
“The Navigator,” 1924 film poster by Buster Keaton in the public domain
Indeed, there is a reason to celebrate. As we noted last year, January 2019 marked the first time works entered the public domain since the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act—which extended copyright terms “to the life of the author plus 70 years, and for works of corporate authorship to 120 years after creation or 95 years after publication, whichever end is earlier.”
The Copyright Term Extension Act ultimately halted the flow of published works into the public domain for 20 years. “The celebration of the public domain used to be a sad affair…,” remarked panelist Julia Reda (Fellow, Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society). However, as of 1 January 2019, works from 1923 became freely accessible and reusable by anyone, anywhere. This year, works from 1924 followed suit; from George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue to Buster Keaton’s The Navigator.
“We have to be constantly vigilant. Settled expectations can be disrupted, and thus need to be defended.” Michael Carroll
Despite the progress that’s been made since the re-opening of the public domain, Reda told attendees that they still have to create “strategies to limit the damage of long copyright terms.”
Echoing Reda’s concern that the public domain is still at risk, panelist Michael Carroll (Director, Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, American University Washington College of Law) warned, “We have to be constantly vigilant. Settled expectations can be disrupted, and thus need to be defended.”
Contributing to the public domain through art
Beyond providing an important discussion space for public domain advocates and researchers, we also wanted to highlight the work of artists who contribute to the public domain. Therefore, we were excited to showcase the creative works of six local artists: Darnell Gardner, David Amoroso, Laci Jordan, Naturel, Rikasso, and Tenbeete Solomon. These artists were asked to “remix” art in the public domain and invited to share their creative process during the event.
A remix of Diego Rivera’s 1924 piece, “Day of the Dead” by Trapbob.
For example, Tenbeete Solomon, aka Trapbob, remixed Diego Rivera’s 1924 piece,Day of the Dead. “I love the celebration of something that’s dark,” explained Solomon, “[I wanted to] bring the piece into the now, so I decided to make women the focal point.”
When asked what he would like to ask the artist of the original piece, Natural, who remixed Contrasts by Kandinsky Vasily, responded, “How would it feel to know your work is being shared with the world a second time?”
Too important to “protect”
As the event drew to a close, many attendees were left wondering what’s in store for the public domain. Although its future appears secure and stable for now, that can quickly change. Further, panelist Amanda Levendowski (Director, Intellectual Property and Information Policy Clinic, Georgetown University) pointed out that the public domain remains largely “white, wealthy, and Western.” With this in mind, perhaps it’s time to reframe and broaden the fight for the public domain as a global fight for “user rights” and “free speech.”
The public domain should be a treasure trove of humanity’s remixes; artifacts that are arguably too important to be “protected” by copyright because we all benefit when knowledge, culture, and history are made accessible and shareable.
“Everything we do is a remix,” Natural remarked, “we need cultural anchors to communicate.”
To watch and listen to all of the presentations and panels from the 2020 Public Domain Day celebration, access the webcast here. Thank you again to all of our collaborators for this event, as well as the participants and attendees. See you next year!
On 14 February 2020, Creative Commons (CC) submitted its comments on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)’s Issues Paper* as part of WIPO’s consultation process on artificial intelligence (AI) and intellectual property (IP) policy.
In this post, we briefly present our main arguments for a cautious approach to regulating AI through copyright or any new IP rights.
There is a lack of clarity and understanding around “artificial intelligence”
Technological developments in AI are fast-paced and raise complex policy, legal, and ethical issues that deserve global attention. However, AI needs to be properly understood before any copyright implications can be addressed. At this nascent stage of AI technology, there lacks consensus on how to define AI.
As discussed more fully in our submission, AI algorithms differ in the depth and breadth of input required to produce coherent output, and it’s not clear how to judge the originality of a work essentially composed of random snippets of thousands or millions of input works. There is also uncertainty about whether and to what extent AI is capable of producing content “autonomously” without any direct human involvement, and whether AI outputs should be protected by copyright. Clarity on these and other basic definitions in the “AI” space is a prerequisite to competent regulation in this arena.
At present, it is ill-advised to force the application of the copyright system—an antiquated system that has yet to adapt to the digital environment—onto AI.
Copyright is centered on human creativity
Human creativity is the bedrock of copyright. We ought to maintain the expectation that direct human, authorial involvement exists as a pre-condition to determining whether a work is worthy of copyright protection. Outputs from a mechanical process with no direct human involvement should not constitute works protected by copyright absent further examination and understanding of how the many different types of AI operate, generate output, and how closely humans are generally involved in the process. Simply put, it is premature to conclude that all AI applications should be considered “creators.”
AI-generated outputs should not as a default be considered original works. Courts the world over have affirmed that originality is a reflection of the intellectual, creative choices made by the author. The originality bar may be low, but it does exist and must be respected.
Regarding the use of copyright material as inputs in AI applications, Creative Commons’ FAQs clarify how the CC licenses work in the context of openly licensed content that is used to train AI tools.
New rights would be inappropriate
Copyright is not designed to handle any and all policy issues adjacent to the creation and use of IP. To wit, press publisher rights and the ongoing debate over broadcasting rights demonstrate the danger of overstretching copyright to regulate peripheral issues. Using copyright to govern AI is unwise and contradictory to copyright’s primordial function of offering an enabling environment for human creativity to flourish. Issues such as ethics, privacy, and personality rights, among many others, are valid concerns, but they should be addressed and debated in their respective policy arena, not within the framework of copyright.
Using copyright to govern AI is unwise and contradictory to copyright’s primordial function of offering an enabling environment for human creativity to flourish.
For the same reasons, we strongly urge against the temptation to create new sui generis (specific, tailor-made) rights established for AI-generated content. Incentives and rewards in recognition of the investment made and the innovation brought about by the organizations and individuals involved in the development of AI can be found in other areas, including patents, trade secret laws, and laws protecting against unfair competition.
We suggest proper safeguards if copyright or new rights apply to AI
Assuming WIPO members are keen to rely on copyright or new sui generis rights to regulate AI and protect AI-generated content despite our concerns, this should be done conservatively and with restraint. Members should set a high bar for the creation of such new rights, consider a much lesser term of protection than that provided to the original works created by human creators, and ensure that robust exceptions and limitations are in place to uphold users’ rights, safeguard the public interest, and ensure a vibrant public domain.
Next steps
Creative Commons looks forward to the next version of the WIPO Issues Paper and will continue to take part in WIPO’s discussion process on AI and IP.
To learn more about CC’s work with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), check out this Wiki page.
*The WIPO consultation aims to gather submissions to identify important issues related to AI and IP, which will form the basis of structured discussions in the future. For example, the consultation seeks answers to questions such as:
Should AI-generated outputs be protected by copyright?
Should there be specific exceptions to allow the use of copyrighted material by AI applications?
Over the past few months, we have added four new staff members to our team: Network Manager Julia Brungs; Development Manager M Chakraborty; Data Engineer Brent Moran; and Open Policy Manager Brigitte Vézina.
Learn more about our newest staff members below!
Julia Brungs (Photo by Victoria Heath, CC BY)
Julia Brungs, Network Manager
Prior to joining CC, Julia led the cultural heritage work at IFLA and coordinated EU projects for Europeana. She is passionate about open culture and bringing people together.
Julia lives in Finland and she loves Finnish libraries, saunas, and nature.
Image credit: “Proserpine (1874) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828-1882, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
M Chakraborty, Development Manager
M supports CC’s global fundraising efforts and strategy. She has a background in international development, gender justice, and human rights spaces. When not fundraising, she tries to learn new languages or travel.
M is currently based in California.
Brent Moran (Photo by Victoria Heath, CC BY)
Brent Moran, Data Engineer
Brent believes that the internet is one of the most powerful tools available for collaboration on, and sharing of, creative output. He hopes that his work at CC removes barriers to the free flow of content on the internet.
Brent lives on the western edge of Germany with his fiancée.
Brigitte Vézina (Photo by Victoria Heath, CC BY)
Brigitte Vézina, Open Policy Manager
Before joining CC, Brigitte worked as a legal officer at WIPO and then ran her own consultancy on copyright matters. She gets a kick out of tackling the fuzzy legal and policy issues that stand in the way of access, use, re-use, and the remix of culture and knowledge.
She lives in the Netherlands with her husband and two kids.
Please join us in welcoming the newest members of our team!
As a non-profit organization, we need you to help us keep the lights on, support our staff, and complete our mission. Please become a CC supporter today!
The Smithsonian—the world’s largest museum and research institution—
