Last week the European Commission announced it has adopted CC BY 4.0 and CC0 to share published documents, including photos, videos, reports, peer-reviewed studies, and data. The Commission joins other public institutions around the world that use standard, legally interoperable tools like Creative Commons licenses and public domain tools to share a wide range of content they produce. The decision to use CC aims to increase the legal interoperability and ease of reuse of its own materials.

In addition to the use of CC BY, the Commission will also adopt the CC0 Public Domain Dedication to publish works directly in the global public domain, particularly for “raw data resulting from instrument readings, bibliographic data and other metadata.”

The European Commission joins governments such as New Zealand and the Netherlands in using CC licenses and CC0 to share digital resources it creates. Intergovernmental organisations, philanthropic charities, and funding policies already require CC licenses to be applied to the digital outputs of grant funds — to promote reuse of materials in the public good with minimal restrictions.

The decision to require reuse of Commission documents under CC BY and CC0 was determined alongside a study on available reuse implementing instruments and licensing considerations. Until now the Commission had been relying on “reuse notices” (a simple copyright notice with link to the reuse decision) that would accompany covered materials, but this practice produced “unnecessary administrative burdens for reusers and the Commission services alike.”

In 2014 the Commission released a recommendation on using Creative Commons licenses such as CC BY and CC0 Public Domain Dedication in the context of Member States sharing public sector information.

The study mentioned above evaluates various options for the Commission to consider for its own documents, including the “reuse notice”, CC licenses, the Open Data Commons licenses, and a potential bespoke Commission licence. Its authors determined that CC BY 4.0 is the license best aligned with the Commission’s principles for reuse. According to the report, CC BY 4.0 is:

• Universal: it is conceived to be applicable to all documents (at the choice of the licensor);
• Unrestricted: generally speaking, the only condition is attribution;
• Simple: there is no need for an application and it is user-friendly;
• Cost-free: the text of CC-BY does not require payment of fees;
• Non-discriminatory: terms of CC-BY are open to all potential actors in the market; [and]
• Transparent: the text of the licence is publicly available, accompanied by supporting documents, guidelines and other material in multiple languages.

The study notes that not all of the CC licenses and CC0 have been translated into the two dozen official EU languages; there are 10 remaining translations for CC 4.0 (some in progress) and 12 for CC0. We are working with the Commission and the CC EU network to complete the remaining translations.  

Amid the disappointment with the vote in the Parliament on the copyright Directive last week, which leans toward a more restricted, less open web, it is heartening to see the Commission make progress on supporting reuse of the digital materials it creates and shares. We also look forward to upcoming vote this week on the recast of the Public Sector Information (PSI) Directive. This vote could increase the availability of PSI by bringing new types of publicly funded data into the scope of the directive, and provide improved guidance on open licensing, acceptable formats, and rules on charging.  

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Academic, producer, and open culture enthusiast, Rute Correia is a Lisbon-based doctoral candidate who produces the White Market Podcast, which focuses on free culture and CC music. As both a student of radio and producer herself, she is deeply connected to the Netlabel and CC music communities, utilizing her significant talents to showcase free music, culture, and Creative Commons through community radio and open source.

Rute will be joining us at the Creative Commons Global Summit in Lisbon from May 7-9 to talk about her exciting new project, the Open Music Network. Find out more about the Summit, and don’t forget to register soon!

How did you become involved with and interested in open culture and music production? How would you encourage others to get involved?
It all started about 12 years ago. I joined Radio Zero, a student radio station in Lisbon, and they had a very open source-oriented ethos. That’s where I first found out about Creative Commons and, luckily, at that time there were lots of independent music labels in Portugal releasing music under CC. One thing led to another and I ended up doing a show only dedicated to music that was freely (as in beers!) available. It was the precursor of White Market Podcast, my show about CC-licensed music and open culture. What I find really exciting about open music is that there’s so much to discover and everything is accessible. Cultural industries tend to remain heavily closed, reinforcing the idea that culture is a privilege, but CC licenses challenge that and allow you to share your stuff with whoever you want. If you like music, I’d say the best way to start is to dive into larger pools of free music, like Starfrosch, Dogmazic, ccMixter, and Auboutdufil.

What is the role of radio in open source music production? Why is radio art important in the digital age?
Radio is the medium with the widest reach in the world – the International Telecommunication Union estimates that it reaches “95% of virtually every segment of the population” around the the world. As such, it is still a great tool for promoting music regardless of genre, and reaching out to newer audiences. But the connection can grow a lot deeper than that; for non-for-profit stations, open music can also be a valuable resource as it is shared with fewer restrictions than copyrighted music. For instance, stations using CC BY-SA songs can share that share the content they produce under the same license allowing their listeners to engage with their content beyond the broadcast schedule.

How do you “live open” in a closed source world? What open values do you bring to your work in academia and radio?
It can be hard sometimes. Sadly, I don’t think we’re at a stage where you can live fully “open”. We’re all limited by the reality around us: jobs, what friends and family do, etc. I try to keep things as open as possible: creating open processes and using free software is a good start in our daily lives. In academia, I try to follow guidelines regarding open science: using open formats and sharing data whenever possible. Beyond using and sharing only free content, I have tried to set up a collaborative workflow using Github to create content for White Market Podcast. It’s still a work in progress, though.

What are you going to be working on or presenting at the CC Summit?
Darksunn and I will be presenting the recently-formed Open Music Network – a non-profit organization focused on promotion, education and advocacy for the benefits of open music for both professional and personal use. The network links different actors in the open music community – such as platforms, labels, podcasts and radios shows, and even a venue.

What aspect of the CC Summit are you most excited about? What are you most looking forward to?
Just to take part in it is already crazy exciting for me! It’s going to be my first ever CC Summit and it’s a lovely coincidence that it’s taking place right at home. I look forward to welcoming other CC-lovers into Lisbon, as well as learning from their experiences with Creative Commons and in open culture.

The post The freedom to listen: Rute Correia on the power of community radio appeared first on Creative Commons.

Today in Strasbourg, the European Parliament voted 348-274 (with 36 abstentions) to approve the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. It retains Article 13, the harmful provision that will require nearly all for-profit web platforms to get a license for every user upload or otherwise install content filters and censor content, lest they be held liable for infringement. Article 11 also passed, which  would force news aggregators to pay publishers for linking to their stories.

There was a potential opportunity to vote on amendments that would have removed the most problematic provisions in the draft directive, particularly Articles 13 and 11, but the preliminary vote even to consider amendments fell short by five votes, thus pushing the Parliament to move ahead and simply approve the entire package.

MEP Julia Reda called the decision “a dark day for internet freedom.” We agree. There was a massive outpouring of protest against the dangers of Article 13 to competition, creativity, and freedom of expression. This included 5+ million petition signatures, a gigantic action of emails and calls to MEPs, 170,000 people demonstrating in the in the streets, large websites and communities going dark, warnings from academics, consumer groups, startups and businesses, internet luminaries, and the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. Even so, it was not enough to convince the European legislator to change course on this complex and damaging provision that will turn the web upside down.    

Creative Commons CEO Ryan Merkley responded to the vote:

Despite an incredible show of public opposition to the directive, and an abundance of evidence that the proposals will favour large rights holders, damage online communities, slow or even stop innovation, and entrench established big tech players, the European legislature has decided to approve it. Regardless of this outcome, we’ll continue to work with Member States wherever we can to ensure the implementations of this directive minimize the negative impact we anticipate for the commons, and on users who want to share creativity and knowledge online.

We’re disappointed with the decision to push through Article 13 and 11, but the directive is not a total wash. There are some productive changes that will improve the situation of the commons, libraries & cultural heritage, and research sectors. For example, the directive includes a provision to ensure that digital reproductions of public domain works don’t get a separate copyright and will also be in the public domain. It includes text to improve the ability for cultural heritage institutions to preserve works and to make available copyrighted works from their collections that are no longer commercially available. And the directive slightly improves the copyright exception on text and data mining (TDM) by making mandatory an earlier optional provision that would expand the possibilities for those wishing to conduct TDM.

The final outcome of the European copyright directive reflects a disturbing path toward increasing control of the web to benefit only powerful rights holders at the expense of the rights of users and the public interest. It has been — and will continue to be — up to us all to fight for an open internet that sustains new creativity and upholds freedom of expression in the digital environment.

The post A Dark Day for the Web: EU Parliament Approves Damaging Copyright Rules appeared first on Creative Commons.

Llegó el momento decisivo para el proyecto de directiva sobre derechos de autor en el mercado único digital de la Unión Europea. Las dramáticas consecuencias negativas que traerían los filtros de carga de contenidos serían desastrosas para la visión que Creative Commons tiene como organización y comunidad global. La inclusión del Artículo 13 hace que la directiva sea imposible de apoyar tal como está.

El mes pasado, el Parlamento, el Consejo y la Comisión europeos completaron sus negociaciones y llegaron a un acuerdo final sobre el texto de la directiva de derechos de autor. Poco después, los embajadores de los Estados miembros de la UE y la comisión de asuntos jurídicos del Parlamento le dieron luz verde, lo que ahora lleva a una votación final en la sesión plenaria del Parlamento programada para el 26 de marzo.

La semana próxima, los 751 eurodiputados votarán entre adoptar la directiva de derechos de autor o descartarla para volver a empezar de cero.

Los filtros de contenidos modificarán la forma en que funciona la web

Desde una perspectiva de derechos de autor, el Artículo 13 da vuelta el modo en que funciona la web. Obligará a casi todas las plataformas web con fines de lucro que permiten la carga de contenidos generados por los usuarios a que obtengan una licencia para todas las cargas de los usuarios o instalen filtros de derechos de autor y censuren contenidos. Si las plataformas no cumplen, podrían ser legalmente responsables ante demandas por perjuicios masivos por infracción de derechos de autor. El resultado lógico es que esto dañará las plataformas existentes y evitará la creación y el florecimiento de servicios nuevos e innovadores en Europa porque esos nuevos actores no tienen el dinero, la capacidad ni la experiencia para llevar a cabo acuerdos de licenciamiento, o para construir (o contratar) las tecnologías de filtrado necesarias. Por el contrario, las corporaciones ya establecidas se consolidarán aún más y se volverán más dominantes, ya que los servicios como YouTube tienen una ventaja en ambos frentes. No podemos respaldar un ecosistema de derechos de autor que afianzará el amplio poder de mercado de los actores tradicionales y que, al mismo tiempo, creará obstáculos innecesarios para nuevas plataformas y servicios que estimulen la creatividad y el intercambio.

Esta inversión del régimen de responsabilidad, que en los hechos obliga a que sean implementados filtros de contenidos, tiene otra consecuencia desconcertante: los derechos de los usuarios son echados por tierra, porque las tecnologías de filtrado no pueden distinguir cuándo una obra se está subiendo de manera ilícita y cuándo se está utilizando legalmente bajo una excepción a los derechos de autor. Un sistema de este tipo casi seguramente restringirá la libertad de expresión, ya que las plataformas evitarán cualquier riesgo bloqueando el contenido, independientemente de si el uso está protegido por excepciones a los derechos de autor, como por ejemplo las excepciones que habilitan la crítica, la cita y la parodia.

El camino hasta aquí

En los últimos años, Creative Commons ha estado trabajando para respaldar cambios a los derechos de autor en Europa, con el objetivo de favorecer los bienes comunes y el interés público. Hemos hecho esto como parte de la Asociación Communia, en conjunto con organizaciones de la sociedad civil, grupos de investigación, activistas por los derechos de los usuarios y defensores de la web abierta. CC envió comentarios a la consulta inicial de la Comisión Europea, realizó un documento conjunto de análisis y recomendaciones elaborado por nuestra red en Europa, abogó por proteger la investigación científica y brindó recomendaciones de votación sobre muchas disposiciones de la directiva de derechos de autor.

Communia y otras organizaciones no gubernamentales europeas han apoyado cambios positivos en aspectos clave de la reforma que beneficiarían la investigación, la educación y el bien público. En particular, han trabajado para mejorar las excepciones para la minería de datos y de textos, así como las excepciones para la educación, y han propuesto cambios para apoyar el dominio público y para mejorar la capacidad de las instituciones que preservan el patrimonio cultural para poner a disposición los contenidos en línea. Son dignos de celebración los esfuerzos incansables de las organizaciones e individuos que han tomado la iniciativa para defender los bienes comunes y para mejorar varias partes de la directiva con el objetivo de respaldar los derechos de los usuarios. Su investigación detallada, sus aportes de redacción y su activismo han contribuido en gran medida para mejorar muchas partes poco conocidas pero enormemente importantes de la directiva.

Qué puedes hacer ahora

En CC creemos que nuestra visión de acceso universal a la investigación y a la educación, así como de plena participación en la cultura, solo se logrará cuando tengamos políticas de derechos de autor que realmente promuevan la creatividad y protejan los derechos de los usuarios en la era digital. Con el Artículo 13, no es exagerado decir que ocurrirá un cambio fundamental en la forma en que las personas pueden usar Internet y compartir contenidos en línea. A pesar de las pequeñas mejoras en otros aspectos del paquete de reforma de los derechos de autor, en el balance general una directiva que contiene el Artículo 13 hará más daño que beneficio.

Si estás en Europa, ve a https://saveyourinternet.eu/act/ para informarles a tus diputados del Parlamento Europeo que no apoyas una reforma de los derechos de autor que afecta la forma en que creamos y compartimos cultura en la web. Si el Artículo 13 no se puede eliminar, los legisladores deberían rechazar la reforma completa y comenzar de nuevo.

The post Los europeos deberían decirle al Parlamento que vote NO a los filtros de derechos de autor appeared first on Creative Commons.

It’s the end of the line for the EU’s proposed Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. The dramatic negative effects of upload filters would be disastrous to the vision Creative Commons cares about as an organisation and global community. The continued inclusion of Article 13 makes the directive impossible to support as-is.

Last month the Parliament, Council, and Commission completed their trilogue negotiations and reached a final compromise on the copyright directive text. Soon thereafter the EU Member State Ambassadors and the Parliament’s legal affairs committee gave a green light, now leading to a final vote in the plenary session of the Parliament scheduled for March 26.

Next week all 751 MEPs will get a chance vote on whether to adopt the copyright directive, or send it back to the drawing board.

Upload filters will turn the web upside down

From a copyright perspective, Article 13 turns how the web works on its head. It will require nearly all for-profit web platforms that permit user generated content uploads to either get a license for all user uploads or otherwise install copyright filters and censor content. If the platforms don’t comply, they could become liable for massive copyright infringement damages. The logical outcome is that this will harm existing platforms and prevent the creation and flourishing of new and innovative services in Europe because those new players don’t have the money, pull, or expertise to conclude licensing deals or build (or pay for) the necessary filtering technologies. Instead, the established companies will simply become more entrenched and dominant, as services like YouTube have a headstart on both of these fronts. We cannot support a copyright ecosystem that will simply entrench the extensive market power of incumbent players and, at the same time, create unnecessary roadblocks for new platforms and services that stimulate creativity and sharing.

This reversal of the liability regime that all but ensures upload filters will need to be implemented has another disconcerting consequence: user rights are thrown out the window because filtering technologies can’t possibly know when a work is infringing and when a work is being legally used under an exception to copyright. Such a system will almost surely curtail freedom of expression, as platforms will mitigate any risk by simply blocking content regardless of whether the use is sanctioned under the exceptions to copyright, such as for criticism, quotation, and parody.

The road to here

Over the last several years, Creative Commons has been working to support copyright changes in Europe that champion the commons and the public interest. We’ve done this as part of the Communia Association, civil society organisations, research groups, user rights activists, and open web advocates. CC submitted comments to the initial consultation from the Commission, made a joint analysis and suggestions for improvement with our network in Europe, advocated to protect scientific research, and offered voting recommendations on many provisions within the sweeping copyright directive.

Communia and other NGOs on the ground in Europe have supported positive changes to key aspects of the reform that would benefit research, education, and the public good, particularly working to improve the exceptions for text and data mining and education, as well changes to support the public domain and improve the ability of cultural heritage institutions to make content available online. The tireless efforts of organisations and individuals who stepped up to defend the commons and improve various parts of the directive that supports robust user rights should be celebrated. Their detailed research, writing, and advocacy has done so much to improve many parts not-so-well covered yet incredibly important pieces of the directive.

What you can do now

CC believes that our vision of universal access to research and education and full participation in culture will only be achieved when we all have copyright policies that truly promote creativity and protect users rights in the digital age. With Article 13, it’s no exaggeration to say that it’ll fundamentally change the way people are able to use the internet and share online. Even with some of the minor improvements to other aspects of the copyright reform package, on balance a directive that contains Article 13 will do more harm than good.

If you’re in Europe go to https://saveyourinternet.eu/act/ to tell your MEPs you don’t support a copyright reform that turns how we create and share on the web upside down. If Article 13 can’t be removed, then policymakers should reject the reform outright and begin again.

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