# articles

feed_id: http://creativecommons.org/?p=46487
title: Message to our community about the Paris and Beirut attacks
uri: Message-to-our-community-about-the-Paris-and-Beirut-attacks
url: http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46487
content:
<p>It&#8217;s been a very frightening evening and a sombre morning. We are all worried for our friends around the world who are at risk. Last night we saw the attacks in Paris in Beirut, but we also know that this kind of violence is sometimes a daily reality in countries around the world not so fortunate to even merit coverage by the mainstream media. That&#8217;s not meant to diminish the horror of what happened yesterday, but to acknowledge that we have friends everywhere who are at risk, and who may need our help.</p>
<p>As news of the Paris attacks was breaking, CC was publishing a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46471">post</a> to bring attention to new rumours that our friend Bassel may have been sentenced to death in Syria, and to invite him to become a CC fellow &#8212; which only highlights for me that the world is a dangerous place, even for those who only wish to do good things.</p>
<p>Last night, as Parisians fled the attacks, the hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/porteouverte">#PorteOuverte</a> was being used for those who didn&#8217;t feel safe to go home. Strangers took each other in. Even in the face of evil and fear, people helped. The desire to take care of each other is so much more powerful than the urge to harm.</p>
<p>To all of you, take care of each other. My hope is that we will respond to hatred with love, and combat fear with openness.</p>
<p>Ryan Merkley<br />
CEO, Creative Commons</p>


feed_id: http://creativecommons.org/?p=46455
title: Trans-Pacific Partnership Would Harm User Rights and the Commons
uri: Trans-Pacific-Partnership-Would-Harm-User-Rights-and-the-Commons
url: http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46455
content:
<p>The final text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was <a href="http://www.mfat.govt.nz/Treaties-and-International-Law/01-Treaties-for-which-NZ-is-Depositary/0-Trans-Pacific-Partnership-Text.php">released</a> earlier this month. The gigantic agreement contains sweeping provisions regarding environmental regulation, pharmaceutical procurement, intellectual property, labor standards, food safety, and many other things. If adopted, it would be the most sweeping expansion of international restrictions on copyright in over two decades. Over the last five years, the TPP has been developed and negotiated in secret. With the text now locked down, participating governments will decide whether to ratify it.</p>
<p>The TPP is a direct threat to the public interest and the commons. It downplays the importance of the public domain and exceptions and limitations, increases the term of copyright protection, and demands harsh infringement penalties.</p>
<p><strong>The TPP must be rejected.</strong></p>
<p>In our initial <strong><a href="https://creativecommons.org/campaigns/trans-pacific-partnership-would-harm-user-rights-and-the-commons">analysis</a></strong>, we examine several issues that would be detrimental to the public domain, creativity and sharing, and user rights in the digital age.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>20-year copyright term extension is unnecessary and unwarranted</strong>: The agreement requires member nations to increase their term of copyright protection to life of the authors plus 70 years. Six of the twelve participating countries will have to increase their copyright terms 20 years past the baseline required by existing international treaties.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>The mention of the public domain is lip service, at best</strong>: Text has been removed which more actively supported the public domain as a key policy objective.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Enforcement provisions are mandatory, while exceptions and limitations are optional</strong>: Instead of securing mandatory limitations and exceptions for uses of copyrighted works under TPP, all of the provisions that recognize the rights of the public are voluntary, whereas almost everything that benefits rightsholders is binding.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Potentially drastic infringement penalties, even for non-commercial sharing</strong>: The agreement allows for infringement penalties that are disproportionate to harm, providing for the possibility of imprisonment and excessive monetary fines for lesser infringements.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Criminal penalties for circumventing digital rights management on works</strong>: The agreement adopts a mechanism that would prohibit the circumvention of technological protection measures (DRM) on works, and treats this type of violation as a separate offense regardless of any copyright infringing activity on the underlying content.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Investor-state dispute settlement mechanism may be leveraged for intellectual property claims</strong>: Copyrighted materials can be subject to the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, meaning that a private company could bring a lawsuit against a TPP country if that country adopts a law that the company claims would harm its right to exploit its copyright interest.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><a href="https://creativecommons.org/campaigns/trans-pacific-partnership-would-harm-user-rights-and-the-commons">Statement from Creative Commons on copyright-related aspects of the TPP</a></strong></p>


feed_id: http://creativecommons.org/?p=46507
title: Free Music Archive launches 2015 fundraising drive
uri: Free-Music-Archive-launches-2015-fundraising-drive
url: http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46507
content:
<p><a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/donate"><img src="media/8e876358.fma-logo-notext.png" data-original-source="http://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/fma-logo-notext.png" alt="fma-logo-notext" width="218" height="94" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-46514" /></a></p>
<p>The <a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/">Free Music Archive</a>, a long-running Creative Commons music platform, is running its <a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/donate">first-ever fundraising drive</a>. It will run from mid-November until mid-December 2015, and is offering donors shirts and stickers at various pledge levels. The Free Music Archive has existed for many years and has provided millions of users with curated, &#8216;some rights reserved&#8217; audio tracks. Artists are recognizing the value of a progressive approach to distribution and licensing in the digital era, and the Free Music Archive seeks to promote their work with intent to support artists, and those who want to experience the Commons as it continues to grow. </p>
<p>The Free Music Archive began with a generous grant, and has been grant-supported in the past. This fundraising campaign is designed to engage its various communities: users, contributors, curators, artists, media producers, and more. The website has not seen significant changes since its launch, and is in need of upgrades to make it easier to use.</p>
<p>Specifically, FMA plans to make its in-page player more like other ubiquitous audio players, including scrub bars, waveform displays and volume control; to enhance search and allow users to browse by artists and albums, not just tracks; to support a wider variety of audio formats (the site currently only accepts MP3 files); and to release a new version of the FMA API for its dev community. </p>
<p>The money raised in this campaign will be used in hiring the Free Music Archive’s part-time developer on for a full-time year of work, in which time FMA will roll out these improvements. To donate, please visit <a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/donate">www.freemusicarchive.org/donate</a>. </p>


feed_id: http://creativecommons.org/?p=46519
title: Towards a Collaborative, Coordinated Strategy for OER Implementation
uri: Towards-a-Collaborative-Coordinated-Strategy-for-OER-Implementation
url: http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46519
content:
<p><img class="alignleft wp-image-46523" src="media/94f8c2d1.noun_160223_cc.png" data-original-source="http://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/noun_160223_cc.png" alt="Game Plan" width="324" height="324" /><small></small></p>
<p><small><a href="https://thenounproject.com/search/?q=strategy&amp;i=160223">Game Plan</a>. By <span class="designer" data-reactid=".3.2:$row=10.$hero.0.$hero=1meta=1160223.$hero=1160223=1meta=1info.0.1"><a href="https://thenounproject.com/robarmes" data-reactid=".3.2:$row=10.$hero.0.$hero=1meta=1160223.$hero=1160223=1meta=1info.0.1.1">Rob Armes</a></span>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/">CC BY 3.0</a></small></p>
<p>Today, the OER community releases the <a href="http://oerstrategy.org">Foundations for OER Strategy Development</a>. This document provides a concise analysis of where the global OER movement currently stands: what the common threads are, where the greatest opportunities and challenges lie, and how we can more effectively work together as a community. Ideas for this document came from across the OER community, following a 6-month drafting and feedback process. The document can be found at <a href="http://oerstrategy.org">http://oerstrategy.org</a></p>
<p>This document reflects the state of the OER movement through the eyes of its practitioners: what we need as a movement, what we agree on, areas where we differ, and opportunities for advancing OER globally. The <a href="http://www.capetowndeclaration.org/read-the-declaration">Cape Town</a> and <a href="http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/33089">Paris Declarations</a> set the vision for the OER movement, including the value statements that form the basis for our work. We see the <em>Foundations for OER Strategy Development</em> as forming the basis for future actions and commitments.</p>
<p>Our next step is to make the commitments for actions that will continue the momentum.</p>
<p><strong>Make a commitment to advance OER:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Read the <a href="http://www.oerstrategy.org/home/read-the-doc/">document</a>.</li>
<li>What actions will you take? Consider:</li>
</ol>
<p style="padding-left: 60px;">&#8211; How will you address the opportunities and challenges outlined?<br />
&#8211; What do you see as the greatest opportunity and what ideas do you have to address it?<br />
&#8211; How can your organization work effectively with others to address this?<br />
&#8211; What roles are you best suited to take?</p>
<ol start="3">
<li>Make your commitment public.</li>
</ol>
<p style="padding-left: 60px;">&#8211; Tweet your commitment using the hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/oerstrategy?src=hash">#oerstrategy</a>.<br />
&#8211; Follow the conversation &#8230; we’ll also capture the tweets at <a href="http://oerstrategy.org">oerstrategy.org</a></p>
<ol start="4">
<li>Get to work and keep us updated.</li>
</ol>
<p style="padding-left: 60px;">&#8211; Tweet your updates using <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/oerstrategy?src=hash">#oerstrategy</a>.<br />
&#8211; Let’s track our collective progress and build an even stronger global OER community.</p>
<p>Thank you for helping to build the open future of education!</p>
<p><em>Foundations for OER Strategy Development drafting committee: Cable Green, Nicole Allen, Mary Lou Forward, Alek Tarkowski, Delia Browne.<br />
</em></p>


feed_id: http://creativecommons.org/?p=46595
title: Children’s Investment Fund Foundation adopts open licensing policy
uri: Children-s-Investment-Fund-Foundation-adopts-open-licensing-policy
url: http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46595
content:
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-46596 size-full" src="media/cce348f6.ciff_logo.png" data-original-source="http://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ciff_logo.png" style="padding:10px" alt="ciff_logo" width="600" height="144" /></p>
<p>The <a href="https://ciff.org/">Children’s Investment Fund Foundation</a> (CIFF) is a UK-based charity that “seeks to transform the lives of poor and vulnerable children in developing countries.” Yesterday the foundation <a href="https://ciff.org/news/new-transparency-policy/">announced</a> its first <a href="media/26927f66.CIFF_TransparencyPolicy.pdf" data-original-source="https://ciff.org/documents/96/CIFF_TransparencyPolicy.pdf">Transparency Policy</a>, which requires its grantees and consultants to widely disseminate resources they create under the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license</a> (CC BY).</p>
<blockquote><p>We aim to make as much content as possible freely available through open licensing, such as a Creative Commons license. This includes development work, research and data funded by CIFF. For instance, CIFF-funded peer-reviewed research articles which would have gone behind a publication&#8217;s pay-wall will now be freely available.</p></blockquote>
<p>In addition to requiring open licensing for grant-funded materials like presentations and reports, CIFF has taken a progressive approach to data sharing.</p>
<blockquote><p>CIFF believes that providing access to research plans and research data permits healthy scrutiny of evidence, reduces duplication of effort, and enables secondary uses of data, which improves efficiency of resourcing.</p></blockquote>
<p>The foundation “expects that all data created using grant funds should be released into the public domain” using the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0 Public Domain Dedication</a>. </p>
<p>Like other foundations, CIFF realizes that there may be cases where exceptions to the default open license may be warranted.</p>
<p>The organization has also developed an <a href="media/f0b7169e.CIFF_TransparencyPolicy_ImplementationGuide.pdf" data-original-source="https://ciff.org/documents/97/CIFF_TransparencyPolicy_ImplementationGuide.pdf">implementation guide</a> to help staff and grantees understand the open policy requirements. This guide is licensed under CC BY, and was a remix based on the Hewlett Foundation’s <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DGaD7zDJT1y2Ule-Stq6rTgChQdDGCucr3igtJ58j_g/edit">Open Licensing Toolkit for Staff</a> (also licensed under CC BY).</p>
<p>Creative Commons is happy to have been able to work with CIFF as they developed their open licensing policy over the last year. Congratulations to the foundation for this important policy adoption! It’s fantastic to see philanthropic organizations from around the world working together to populate the commons and increase the global impact of their charitable giving.</p>


feed_id: http://creativecommons.org/?p=46590
title: OER: A Catalyst for Innovation
uri: OER-A-Catalyst-for-Innovation
url: http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46590
content:
<p><a href="media/f34ffaaf.oecd_text_20cm_4c1.jpg" data-original-source="http://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/oecd_text_20cm_4c1.jpg"><img class="alignleft wp-image-46610 " src="media/b6467a02.oecd_text_20cm_4c1-1024x314.jpg" data-original-source="http://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/oecd_text_20cm_4c1-1024x314.jpg" alt="OECD Logo" width="509" height="156" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published its latest Open Educational Resources (OER) report yesterday: <a href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/content/book/9789264247543-en">Open Educational Resources: A Catalyst for Innovation, Educational Research and Innovation</a>. (<a href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/open-educational-resources_5jrrxrgx0j8t.pdf?contentType=%2fns%2fStatisticalPublication%2c%2fns%2fBook%2c%2fns%2fOECDBook&amp;itemId=%2fcontent%2fbook%2f9789264247543-en&amp;mimeType=application%2fpdf&amp;containerItemId=%2fcontent%2fserial%2f20769679&amp;accessItemIds=">PDF</a>)</p>
<p>The report covers the following topics:</p>
<ol>
<li>OER in educational policy and practice</li>
<li>OER as a catalyst for innovation</li>
<li>Fostering new forms of learning for the 21st century</li>
<li>Fostering teachers’ professional development</li>
<li>Containing educational costs</li>
<li>Improving the quality of educational resources</li>
<li>Widening the distribution of high quality educational resources</li>
<li>Reducing barriers to learning opportunities</li>
<li>Research on OER and the challenge of the extended lifecycle</li>
<li>Securing the sustainability of OER initiatives</li>
<li>Public policy interventions to improve teaching and learning through OER</li>
</ol>
<p>Authors Dominic Orr, Michele Rimini and Dirk Van Damme describe the report as:</p>
<blockquote>
<h5>[following on] earlier work by CERI on OER, which resulted in the publication <a href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/giving-knowledge-for-free_9789264032125-en">Giving Knowledge for Free</a> in 2007, and an OECD country questionnaire on OER-related policy and activities in 2012. It seeks to provide a state of the art review of evidence on OER practice and impacts, and evaluate the remaining challenges for OER entering the mainstream of educational practice.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>Creative Commons is also pleased to see OECD using a CC license on its report. We look forward to seeing more OECD reports openly licensed in the near future.</p>
<p>This report is a welcome contribution to overall <a href="http://www.oerstrategy.org/">OER strategy</a> and <a href="https://openpolicynetwork.org/">open licensing policy</a> recommendations to governments; and will be helpful in educating national governments, policy markers and educators about the benefits of OER specifically and open education more generally.</p>
<p>See also: <a href="http://oecdeducationtoday.blogspot.fr/2015/12/opening-up-to-open-educational-resources.html">OECD’s blog post.</a></p>


feed_id: http://creativecommons.org/?p=46620
title: New fellows for 2016 Institute for Open Leadership
uri: New-fellows-for-2016-Institute-for-Open-Leadership
url: http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46620
content:
<p><img class="size-full wp-image-46621 aligncenter" src="media/d0d866ee.cape_point.jpg" data-original-source="http://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/cape_point.jpg" alt="cape_point" width="600" height="248" /><br />
<small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/andreinafrica/2092641477/">cape point (panorama)</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/andreinafrica/">André van Rooyen</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</a></small></p>
<p>In September we <a href="https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46104">announced</a> that Creative Commons and the Open Policy Network are hosting a second <a href="https://openpolicynetwork.org/iol/">Institute for Open Leadership</a>. We’ve seen a significant increase in the number and diversity of policies that require that publicly funded resources should be widely shared under liberal open licenses so that the public can access and reuse the materials. These resources range from scientific research to digital textbooks to workforce training curricula, and more. <a href="https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46595">Philanthropic foundations</a> have been stepping up too&#8211;requiring their grant-funded works to be made freely available under Creative Commons licenses. We want to see more of these open licensing policies flourish, which will feed the commons, promote cross-discipline collaboration, and even increase the transparency of government and philanthropic investments.</p>
<p>The Institute brings together mentors who work with the fellows to develop a open licensing policy for their government, university, or project. We received many applications, and our review committee has invited the following group to join us in Cape Town in March 2016.</p>
<ul>
<li>Jane-Frances Agbu &#8211; National Open University of Nigeria &#8211; Lagos, Nigeria</li>
<li>Rim Azib &#8211; British Council, Tunis &#8211; Bizerta, Tunisia</li>
<li>Steve Cairns &#8211; Greenpeace International &#8211; Amsterdam, Netherlands</li>
<li>Amanda Coolidge &#8211; BCcampus &#8211; Vancouver, BC, Canada</li>
<li>Daniel DeMarte &#8211; Tidewater Community College &#8211; Norfolk, VA, United States</li>
<li>Paula Eskett &#8211; CORE Education &#8211; Christchurch, New Zealand</li>
<li>Mostafa Azad Kamal &#8211; Bangladesh Open University &#8211; Gazipur, Bangladesh</li>
<li>Roshan Kumar Karn &#8211; Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital &#8211; Kathmandu, Nepal</li>
<li>Vincent Kizza &#8211; Open Learning Exchange Uganda &#8211; Kampala, Uganda</li>
<li>Fiona MacAllister &#8211; University of the Witwatersrand &#8211; Johannesburg, South Africa</li>
<li>Katja Mayer &#8211; University of Vienna &#8211; Vienna, Austria</li>
<li>Caroline Mbogo &#8211; The World Agroforestry Centre &#8211; Nairobi, Kenya</li>
<li>Niall McNulty &#8211; Cambridge University Press &#8211; Cape Town, South Africa</li>
<li>Juliana Monteiro &#8211; Museu da Imigração do Estado de São Paulo &#8211; São Paulo, Brazil</li>
<li>Jacques Murinda &#8211; Great Lakes School of Open &#8211; Kigali, Rwanda</li>
<li>Alessandro Sarretta &#8211; Institute of Marine Sciences &#8211; Venezia, Italy</li>
</ul>
<p>None of this would be possible without the assistance of the Open Policy Network and ongoing support from the <a href="http://www.hewlett.org/">William and Flora Hewlett Foundation</a> and the <a href="https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/">Open Society Foundations</a>. Thank you.</p>


feed_id: http://creativecommons.org/?p=46645
title: Tell the Department of Education ‘YES’ on open licensing
uri: Tell-the-Department-of-Education-YES-on-open-licensing
url: http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46645
content:
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-46683" src="media/78444446.ed-logo_600_1.png" data-original-source="http://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ed-logo_600_1.png" alt="ed logo_600_1" width="600" height="245" /></p>
<p>In October we <a href="https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46345">wrote</a> that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) is <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/11/03/2015-27930/open-licensing-requirement-for-direct-grant-programs">considering</a> an open licensing requirement for direct competitive grant programs. If adopted, educational resources created with ED grant funds will be openly licensed for the public to freely use, share, and build upon.</p>
<p>The Department of Education has been running a comment period in which interested parties can provide feedback on the proposed policy. Creative Commons has drafted a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QQJDR7Kfv5qSsCGbAOKhy8OlXc-fMIwzHIMok-myEEI/edit">response</a>, which discusses the open licensing policy and other questions proposed by ED. You too can share your thoughts with ED&#8211;here&#8217;s a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FR4J1s7oyeLd_6CTZtzJyFN0yUMbMKW9BKThmsHvvIY/edit#">guide</a> about how to do it. <strong>The deadline is December 18</strong>.</p>
<p>We think the adoption of an open licensing requirement is useful because it clarifies the rights of the public in how we may all access, use, and adapt ED-funded resources.</p>
<blockquote><p>The license must be worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, and irrevocable, and must grant the public permission to access, reproduce, publicly perform, publicly display, adapt, distribute, and otherwise use, for any purposes, copyrightable intellectual property created with direct competitive grant funds, provided that the licensee gives attribution to the designated authors of the intellectual property.</p></blockquote>
<p>We think ED should include a specific mention that the open license definition they provide most closely aligns with the permissions and conditions of the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 license</a> (CC BY). This way, it will be clear to grantees which open license ED requires them to use.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s good to see the Department of Education proposing a similar rule that the Department of Labor <a href="https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/26100">introduced</a> several years ago with their community college and career training grant program. That $2 billion grant pool required that educational resources created with Department of Labor grant funds be licensed under the CC BY license. By doing so, the Department of Labor made sure that the resources created with its grant funds can be easily discovered and legally reused and revised by the public.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QQJDR7Kfv5qSsCGbAOKhy8OlXc-fMIwzHIMok-myEEI/edit">Creative Commons draft response to Department of Education open licensing policy</a></strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FR4J1s7oyeLd_6CTZtzJyFN0yUMbMKW9BKThmsHvvIY/edit#">How to submit a comment</a></strong></p>


feed_id: http://creativecommons.org/?p=46651
title: State of the Commons: 1 Billion Creative Commons Works
uri: State-of-the-Commons-1-Billion-Creative-Commons-Works
url: http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46651
content:
<p>I’m proud to share with you Creative Commons’ 2015 <a href="https://stateof.creativecommons.org/2015">State of the Commons report</a>, our best effort to measure the immeasurable scope of the commons by looking at the CC licensed content, along with content marked as public domain, that comprise the slice of the commons powered by CC tools.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-46685" src="media/a074d816.sotc_blog.png" data-original-source="http://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/sotc_blog.png" alt="sotc_blog" width="600" height="709" /></p>
<p>Creative Commoners have known all along that collaboration, sharing, and cooperation are a driving force for human evolution. And so for many it will come as no surprise that in 2015 we achieved a tremendous milestone: over 1.1 billion CC licensed photos, videos, audio tracks, educational materials, research articles, and more have now been contributed to the shared global commons.</p>
<p>Our small team continues to work to grow and improve the commons for everyone. We&#8217;re proud of our accomplishments, but there&#8217;s more to do and we need your help. Our goal is to raise $30,000 over the next week to celebrate the release and accomplishments of our 2015 State of the Commons report. Will you make a <a href="http://donate.creativecommons.org">contribution of $10, $25, $50 or more today</a>?</p>
<p>As we grow the size and scope of the commons, we are working hard to ensure that it becomes a vibrant, usable commons — full of collaboration and gratitude. We need our contributors to be able to talk to each other, find new content, give feedback, offer their thanks and encouragement, get analytics, and build networks and communities around the content they are creating. We want to light up the commons, and we need you to join us.</p>
<p>CC is a global charity that relies on our generous community of supporters like you. Kick off our year-end campaign strong by helping us meet our first benchmark: $30,000 over the next week to celebrate the release and accomplishments of our 2015 State of the Commons report.</p>
<p><a href="http://donate.creativecommons.org">Make your contribution to Creative Commons today.</a></p>
<p>Thank you for being a part of this.</p>
<p>With thanks,</p>
<p>Ryan Merkley<br />
CEO, Creative Commons<br />
@ryanmerkley</p>
<p>Read the full report: <a href="https://stateof.creativecommons.org/2015/">stateof.creativecommons.org/2015</a>.<br />
Read the <a href="http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46632">press release</a>.</p>


feed_id: http://creativecommons.org/?p=46718
title: Our deepest thanks and a very bittersweet farewell
uri: Our-deepest-thanks-and-a-very-bittersweet-farewell
url: http://creativecommons.org/weblog/2015/12/09/46718
content:
<p><a href="media/0477dc3c.Board-Exits-Blocks.png" data-original-source="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Board-Exits-Blocks.png"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-46720" src="media/0477dc3c.Board-Exits-Blocks.png" data-original-source="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Board-Exits-Blocks.png" alt="Board Exits Blocks" width="298" height="206" /></a></p>
<p>It is with our deepest gratitude that all of us at Creative Commons offer a bittersweet sendoff to Board members Hal Abelson, Michael W. Carroll, Laurie Racine, Eric F. Saltzman, Molly Shaffer Van Houweling, and Esther Wojcicki whose Board terms will come to a close at the end of this year. It is impossible to overstate the tremendous leadership and dedication that these Directors have contributed to Creative Commons, and we remain proud to carry on the important work that they so tirelessly stewarded.</p>
<p>CC has benefited greatly from the exceptional commitments from these Board members to help support a smooth transition. All have graciously accepted our invitation to join CC’s esteemed Advisory Council or other CC affiliate organizations in order to remain engaged in the guidance and stewardship of the organization in the years to come. We are grateful for an extended year of leadership service from Board Chair Paul Brest who will remain as Chair throughout 2016.</p>
<p>With our deepest gratitude, we wish Hal Abelson, Michael W. Carroll, Laurie Racine, Eric F. Saltzman, Molly Shaffer Van Houweling, and Esther Wojcicki our warmest farewell.  We look forward to keeping them all very close, and look forward to their ongoing contributions to Creative Commons in their roles on CC’s Advisory Council and CC Affiliate teams.</p>


feed_id: http://creativecommons.org/?p=46725
title: A warm welcome to our incoming Board members
uri: A-warm-welcome-to-our-incoming-Board-members
url: http://creativecommons.org/weblog/2015/12/10/46725
content:
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-46708" src="media/87ce4a29.kate-spelman.png" data-original-source="http://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/kate-spelman.png" alt="Kate Spelman" width="162" height="162" srcset="http://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/kate-spelman-150x150.png 150w, http://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/kate-spelman.png 162w" sizes="(max-width: 162px) 100vw, 162px" /> <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-46701" src="media/2ddcc3be.8243468396_5312298fba_q.jpg" data-original-source="http://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/8243468396_5312298fba_q.jpg" alt="Johnathan Nightingale" width="150" height="150" /></p>
<p>Creative Commons is delighted to announce two new appointments to our Board of Directors, Johnathan Nightingale and Katherine C. Spelman.</p>
<p>Johnathan Nightingale is the Chief Product Officer at Hubba, and was formerly the head of Firefox for Mozilla. In his role at Mozilla he was responsible for the engineering, product management, marketing, and design of the Firefox web browser on desktop and mobile platforms; a suite of products developed by a global community, used by over 400 million people worldwide, and localized into more than 80 languages. He has been an invited expert to the UK’s House of Lords on issues of surveillance and tracking, sat for 3 years on the W3C’s usable security working group, and has spoken often at industry conferences on issues of technology and security. He was among the first to graduate from the University of Toronto’s Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence program in 2001. He is an avid photographer, a Wikipedian, author of the ubiquitous Linux command line tool, “beep”, and a proud parent.</p>
<p>Kate Spelman, partner at K&amp;L Gates, represents many of the players in the content distribution ecosystem: author, university, nonprofit, publisher, and technology developer both nationally and internationally. She serves on several copyright task forces and advisory committees, among them the American Bar Association Intellectual Property Section Task Force on Copyright Reform; American Law Institute Restatement of Copyright; and the American Intellectual Property Law Association Amicus Committee.  A graduate of the University of Wisconsin Madison and the University of Michigan, Kate also has further education in technology and engineering from the University of California Berkeley.</p>
<p>Kate and Jonathan were formally elected to the Board on Sunday, December 6 and will serve a 4 year term through 2019. We look forward to their many valuable contributions to the Creative Commons community.</p>


feed_id: http://creativecommons.org/?p=46712
title: Happy Birthday CC license suite!
uri: Happy-Birthday-CC-license-suite
url: http://creativecommons.org/weblog/2015/12/16/46712
content:
<p><a href="https://donate.creativecommons.org/?utm_campaign=2015YE3&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_source=blog_20151216"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-46756" src="media/dff1584c.cc-happy-birthday-circles.gif" data-original-source="http://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/cc-happy-birthday-circles.gif" alt="cc-happy-birthday-circles" width="600" height="258" /></a></p>
<p>It’s hard to believe that it was 13 years ago today that we shipped the very first version of the CC license suite.</p>
<p>Before then, without the CC licenses, the barriers to collaborating in a global commons were too high. The benefits of shared educational content or scientific research, or paving the way for creators who could easily innovate as artists have throughout the ages, were hampered by complexity and confusion.</p>
<p>I never would have imagined the global commons as it stands today: over 1 billion CC licensed works, and millions of public domain materials. It’s incredible, and it’s because of all of us. We chose to build this together. And we need to remember that this has been the first step. We need to do more.</p>
<p><b><a href="https://donate.creativecommons.org/?utm_campaign=2015YE3&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_source=blog_20151216">To help steward the continued growth, vibrancy, and usability of the commons, will you make a contribution of $10, $25, $50 or more today?</a></b></p>
<p>Join us as we continue to advocate for the widespread adoption of CC licenses, open policy, and the growth of the commons. And join us for the work ahead that will ensure that the very best content in the commons is easy to find, engaging to use, and that its data is accessible to both the contributor and the user.</p>
<p>We need to light up the content and creators of our shared commons.</p>
<p><b>Tonight is the night. Tonight you can help us soar past our first year-end campaign benchmark and kick off our next ambitious goal. In celebration of the 13th birthday of the CC license suite, will you help us raise $45,000 by next Tuesday to keep us on track toward our year-end goal?</b></p>
<p><b><a href="https://donate.creativecommons.org/?utm_campaign=2015YE3&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_source=blog_20151216">Make your contribution to Creative Commons right now.</a></b></p>


feed_id: http://creativecommons.org/?p=46762
title: Special request from Esther Wojcicki, Creative Commons Advisory Council
uri: Special-request-from-Esther-Wojcicki-Creative-Commons-Advisory-Counci
url: https://creativecommons.org/weblog/2015/12/21/46762
content:
<p><a href="https://donate.creativecommons.org/?utm_campaign=2015YE4&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_source=blog_20151219"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-46790 size-full" src="media/12ffc3d2.oer-3.png" data-original-source="http://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/oer-3.png" alt="oer-3" width="600" height="269" /></a></p>
<p><em>Below is a guest post by Esther Wojcicki from the Creative Commons Advisory Council.</em></p>
<p>As a lifelong educator and recent author of <i>Moonshots in Education</i>, I’m proud to serve on Creative Commons’ Advisory Council and to have served as Chair of the CC Board. CC is at the very heart of the open education movement &#8212; our licenses put the “open” in Open Educational Resources (OER).</p>
<p><b>I’m writing to ask you to support CC’s high impact work in open education. <a href="https://donate.creativecommons.org/?utm_campaign=2015YE4&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_source=blog_20151219">Will you make a contribution of $25, $50, $100 or more today?</a></b></p>
<p>At a time when the cost of higher education is skyrocketing, OER has delivered $174M in textbook savings to students to date. At a time when people around the world are demanding equitable access to education, CC and our open education partners make it easy for educators and students everywhere to freely share curriculum, textbooks, and research at near zero cost.</p>
<p>What’s more, our advocacy has helped direct a shift at the government level. The United States Department of Education just outlined a major open licensing policy, and today over 19 countries around the world have legislation supporting OER.</p>
<p><b>I’m proud of our work in OER, but there are too many more students around the world waiting for easy access to education. We need your support. <a href="https://donate.creativecommons.org/?utm_campaign=2015YE4&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_source=blog_20151219">Make your contribution to Creative Commons today</a>. Thank you!</b></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/weblog/2015/12/21/46762">Special request from Esther Wojcicki, Creative Commons Advisory Council</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: http://creativecommons.org/?p=46769
title: Keep the commons thriving
uri: Keep-the-commons-thriving
url: https://creativecommons.org/weblog/2015/12/30/46769
content:
<p><a href="https://donate.creativecommons.org/?utm_campaign=2015YE8&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_source=blog_20151230"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-46809" src="media/070008d6.ye8-top.png" data-original-source="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ye8-top.png" alt="ye8-top" width="600" height="179" srcset="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ye8-top-300x90.png 300w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ye8-top.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></a></p>
<p>You’ve heard about the incredible 1.1 billion CC licensed works available to be reused, revised, remixed, and redistributed in infinite ways. You’ve heard about huge gains in OER and Open Policy. You’ve heard about the threats to our shared global commons, and that we now find ourselves in one of the most restrictive eras of copyright in recent history.</p>
<p>Creative Commons needs you right now to stand with us. We are a small team, working to solve global challenges. We have ambitious year end fundraising goals, and we’re not there yet. We rely on you, our Creative Commons community, to help support our work.</p>
<p><b><a href="https://donate.creativecommons.org/?utm_campaign=2015YE8&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_source=blog_20151230" target="_blank"><b>Our year end fundraising deadline is in 48 hours. Please take a moment to donate $10, $25, $50, or more to Creative Commons right now to join the movement and help us build a creative, free, and more connected global commons.</b></a></b></p>
<p>With thanks,</p>
<p>Ryan Merkley<br />
CEO, Creative Commons</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/weblog/2015/12/30/46769">Keep the commons thriving</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: http://creativecommons.org/?p=46773
title: Thank you and Happy New Year!
uri: Thank-you-and-Happy-New-Year
url: https://creativecommons.org/weblog/2016/01/01/46773
content:
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-46821" src="media/b8e5f45c.ye10-hib.png" data-original-source="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ye10-hib.png" alt="ye10-hib" width="600" height="179" srcset="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ye10-hib-300x90.png 300w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ye10-hib.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>
<p>Cheers to an incredible 2015. With your support, creators around the world have now shared over 1.1 billion, including NASA’s iconic images, educational materials in every subject, scientific research, government open data, 3D models, and more. Thank you!</p>
<p>And as we head into 2016 and beyond, there is much more to do. We’re thrilled to have you among our community as we continue to advocate for the widespread adoption of CC licenses, open policy, and the growth of the commons. And what’s more, we’ll be working hard to build an even more vibrant, usable, and collaborative commons. We look forward to sharing all our big wins with you.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/weblog/2016/01/01/46773">Thank you and Happy New Year!</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: http://creativecommons.org/?p=46632
uri: State-of-the-Commons-Report-Highlights-Milestone-of-Over-1-Billion-Cre
url: https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46632/
title:
State of the Commons Report Highlights Milestone of Over 1 Billion Creative Commons Works Shared Online

content:
<p><em>Annual State of the Commons Report highlights global cultural and policy impact of free and open content</em></p>
<p>Creative Commons, the global nonprofit that makes it easier for creators to share their work under simple copyright terms, announced a major milestone in the release of its 2015 State of the Commons Report today: over 1 billion works have been licensed using Creative Commons since the organization was founded. </p>
<p>This milestone was announced along with other significant data points in its State of the Commons report, which covers the growth of CC content on platforms, the globalization of CC tools, and cultural trends in the digitization of creative works. The State of the Commons report can be viewed at <a href="https://stateof.creativecommons.org/2015/">stateof.creativecommons.org/2015</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p>“We started the State of the Commons in 2014 to quantify the impact of creators everywhere who are making the conscious decision to share their content,” said Creative Commons CEO Ryan Merkley. “Our focus now is to create a vibrant, usable commons powered by collaboration and gratitude. Empowering the world to share free and open content and data results in more equity, access and innovation for everyone. We’re thrilled to see the impact fostering this climate is having on the Internet and society.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Creative Commons works in over 85 countries to lead this expanding global movement. A major factor in its growth are official translations of the Creative Commons Version 4.0 license suite. To date, the 4.0 license suite has been translated into 7 languages, with 3 more languages to be published before the new year. In 2015, people viewed content under Creative Commons more than 136 billion times.</p>
<p>More than 50 cultural institutions have made their permanent collections or records available for liberal use around the world under CC licenses or public domain tools. Forms of content shared include photos, videos, research articles, audio tracks, training materials, and other educational resources. Major platform partners including Flickr, Wikipedia, 500px, Medium, Vimeo, and YouTube among others have helped to grow the number of CC licensed works, participating in a worldwide effort to expand the commons, along with millions of individual websites.</p>
<blockquote><p>“Wikipedia relies on Creative Commons to make vast amounts of material available for the world to discover,” says Lila Tretikov, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation. “Freely licensed images and works of the world illustrate and enrich the articles Wikimedia’s volunteer editors write each day, making it possible for people everywhere to share in knowledge.”
</p></blockquote>
<p>There has also been a shift towards sharing in government. The recent #GoOpen initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Education with support from CC and technology giants Amazon and Microsoft signals a strong business case for open education. To date, the open education movement has delivered $174 million in savings to students using open textbooks with an additional $53 million projected through the next academic year — savings that can be used to improve access and equity for all students.</p>
<h3>Highlights from this year’s State of the Commons report include the following:</h3>
<ol>
<li>CC licenses continue to be the global standard for sharing: CC-licensed works passed the 1 billion mark this year, and have nearly tripled in the last 5 years, signaling an exciting increase in the number of people choosing to share content.</li>
<li>Velocity of change: The CC-marked public domain is growing rapidly and has nearly doubled in size over the last 12 months.</li>
<li>Openness is far reaching: People are using CC licenses to share in as many as 34 different languages. Creative Commons now has affiliate institutions located in 85 countries.</li>
<li>Advances in Foundation policies: In 2015 a significant number of foundations switched their granting default from “closed” to open, including the Ford Foundation, Wikimedia Foundation, Vancouver Foundation and the Bill &#038; Melinda Gates Foundation. These open funding policies ensure maximum impact of and access to Foundation-funded resources.</li>
<li>Momentum in the digitization of culture: The realization that there is a business and societal case for online sharing around culture&#8211;even in the presence of extremely divergent points of view&#8211;has resulted in museums opening their collections to share with the world under Creative Commons licenses and public domain tools. The Netherlands’ Rijksmuseum is leading the charge by digitizing collections.</li>
<li>A shift towards sharing in government: The proposed U.S. Department of Education open licensing policy will ensure government funded educational materials are openly licensed and freely available to the public that paid for them. Access to these materials will be open by default rather than require people to pay twice (or more) for access.</li>
<li>Open education movement goes mainstream: To date, the open education movement has delivered $174 million in savings to students through open textbooks.</li>
<li>Platforms as partners: Support and growth of openly-licensed content continues on platforms such as Wikipedia, Europeana, and Flickr, with new platform partners like Medium and edX.</li>
</ol>
<p>The State of the Commons report can be found online in various formats for sharing at <a href="https://stateof.creativecommons.org/2015">stateof.creativecommons.org/2015</a>. The report has been translated into 17 languages by Creative Commons affiliates, with at least 5 more translations to come.</p>
<h3>About Creative Commons</h3>
<p>Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization at the center of a high-profile, international movement to promote sharing of creativity and knowledge. Our goal is to help realize the full potential of the Internet—universal access to research and education, full participation in culture—to drive a new era of development growth, and productivity. CC provides the well-known suite of licenses and public domain tools that have become the global standard used by leading companies, institutions and individuals across culture, education, government, science, and more to promote digital collaboration and innovation. </p>
<p>The CC licenses are everywhere—1 billion CC licenses in use across 9 million websites—making it easy for anyone to use and reuse content. For example, CC licenses give the world access to NASA’s most iconic images from space, help educators create curriculum that reduce the cost of college for everyone, and allow scientists to freely share their work with medical professionals and researchers around the world. CC also works with foundations and governments to ensure that publicly-funded content, including research and educational materials, are made available for everyone to freely use, share, and improve.</p>
<h3>Creative Commons, Report Contact:</h3>
<p><a href="mailto:press@creativecommons.org">press@creativecommons.org</a></p>
<h3>Press Contact:</h3>
<p>Marci Hotsenpiller: <a href="mailto:marci@zincpr.com">marci@zincpr.com</a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46632/">State of the Commons Report Highlights Milestone of Over 1 Billion Creative Commons Works Shared Online</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=46833
title: Open Education Week: 7-11 March, 2016: Call for Participation
uri: Open-Education-Week-7-11-March-2016-Call-for-Participation
url: https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46833/
content:
<p><a href="http://www.openeducationweek.org/"><img class="alignleft wp-image-46834" src="media/6443a6e5.open-ed-week-2016-300x208.jpg" data-original-source="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/open-ed-week-2016-300x208.jpg" alt="open-ed-week-2016" width="428" height="297" srcset="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/open-ed-week-2016-300x208.jpg 300w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/open-ed-week-2016-768x532.jpg 768w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/open-ed-week-2016.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 428px) 100vw, 428px" /></a></p>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;"><a href="http://www.openeducationweek.org/"><span class="il">Open</span> <span class="il">Education</span> <span class="il">Week</span> <span class="il">2016</span>: <span class="il">Call</span> <span class="il">for</span> </a><span class="il"><a href="http://www.openeducationweek.org/">Participation</a>, by: <a href="http://www.oeconsortium.org/">Open Education Consortium</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY 4.0</a></span><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"><span class="il"><br />
</span></a></span></h6>
<p>The <span class="il">Open</span> <span class="il">Education</span> <span class="il">Week</span> planning committee <a href="http://www.openeducationweek.org/call-for-participation/">invites your contributions</a> to and <span class="il">participation</span> in the <a href="http://www.openeducationweek.org/">2016 <span class="il">Open</span> <span class="il">Education</span> <span class="il">Week</span></a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/openeducationwk?src=hash" target="_blank">#openeducationwk</a>), featuring online and in-person events around the world. There are many ways to participate &#8211; including but not limited to:</p>
<ul>
<li>host an event</li>
<li>help someone find and reuse open education resources (OER)</li>
<li>run a webinar</li>
<li>commit to openly license your educational resources</li>
<li>submit a video</li>
<li><a href="http://www.oerstrategy.org/">make a commitment to advance OER</a></li>
<li>use the <span class="il">week</span> to highlight the benefits of <span class="il">open</span> <span class="il">education in your institution<br />
</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span class="il">Open</span> <span class="il">Education</span> <span class="il">Week</span> is a celebration of the global <span class="il">Open</span> <span class="il">Education</span> movement. The purpose of the week is to raise awareness about the movement and its impact on teaching and learning worldwide, and there is always a need for the Creative Commons (CC) community to highlight how CC licensing makes OER “open.” Moreover, the CC community continues to innovate in open education and this is an opportunity to share your amazing work with the world. <span class="il">Participation</span> in all events and use of all resources is free and <span class="il">open</span> to the public.</p>
<p><strong>Please <a href="http://www.openeducationweek.org/submit/">submit your ideas</a> on how you will contribute to Open Education Week by 12 February, <span class="il">2016</span>.</strong> You are welcome to submit multiple resources or events. Please fill out one form <span class="il">for</span> each contribution.</p>
<p>Submitting your event / resources through this form will show the strength of commitment to openness around the world &#8211; all languages and time zones are most welcome!</p>
<p>Your event will be featured in the <span class="il">Open</span> <span class="il">Education</span> <span class="il">Week</span> schedule, on the world map of events, and will be promoted through <span class="il">Open</span> <span class="il">Education</span> <span class="il">Week</span> social media channels. You’ll also receive the official <span class="il">Open</span> <span class="il">Education</span> <span class="il">Week</span> badge to display on your webpage or event promotional materials.</p>
<p>Kudos to our friends at the Open Education Consortium for organizing <span class="il">Open</span> <span class="il">Education</span> <span class="il">Week 2016!</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/46833/">Open Education Week: 7-11 March, 2016: Call for Participation</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=46919
title: Where are we?
uri: Where-are-we
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/12/where-are-we/
content:
<p><i>Over the next few days, I’m going to share a series of posts about Creative Commons’ 2016-2020 strategy. Let me skip to the end: CC is going to refocus our work to build </i><b><i>a vibrant, usable commons, powered by collaboration and gratitude</i></b><i>. Over the course of these next few posts, I’ll explain what that means, and how we plan to achieve it.</i></p>
<p>The Creative Commons 2016-2020 Organizational Strategy reflects over a year of intensive consultation, discussion, brainstorming, analysis, and testing throughout CC’s global community, including staff, board, affiliates, partners, supporters, and donors. The insights and approaches contained within it have been influenced by hundreds of valuable discussions with creators, non-profits, foundations, government officials, advocacy organizations, content platforms, lawyers, librarians, museums, archivists, industry advocates, and open community leaders.</p>
<p>These essential discussions have taken place on <a href="https://creativecommons.email">mailing lists</a>, in chat rooms, in boardrooms and coffee shops, in large groups and in one-on-one discussions. Prompted and unprompted, time and time again, the need for a more vibrant, usable, collaborative commons has been an issue of concern. This is a critical moment for the commons, for the open Web, and for Creative Commons. I am incredibly enthusiastic about this new direction for the organization, and we are all deeply motivated to bring it to life. I&#8217;m grateful to everyone who has given their time and energy to help shape this strategy.</p>
<p><b>We need to talk about sharing</b></p>
<p>Collaboration, sharing, and co-operation are in our nature — building community, co-operating towards common goods, and creating shared benefits are at the heart of who we are. In fact, these values live even closer to us than our beating hearts, operating at the level of our DNA. Martin Nowak, a Harvard professor who studies the underpinnings of evolution, argued in Scientific American that humanity’s story is one of both competition and cooperation. According to Nowak, it is not just a struggle for survival, but also an essential &#8220;snuggle for survival.”</p>
<p>An extreme take on Darwin’s theory of evolution might suggest we should never help our fellow humans. We are expected to exploit our creative works to the greatest extent possible, to extract the maximum benefit, to the exclusion of all others. To accept anything less is foolish. And yet the leading thinkers, and the data, suggest the exact opposite.</p>
<p>Nowak&#8217;s research shows that co-operators — even those who share at their own expense — often win out over time. Elinor Ostrom’s research on the power of shared economies and the collaborative management of common resources won her the Nobel Prize in Economics. In Adam Grant’s book, “Give and Take”, he goes beyond the idea that givers are purely altruistic, and argues that those who “give first are often best positioned for success later.” And giving doesn’t just help the giver, it also begets more giving. According to Grant, when researchers studied giving across social networks, they found that when one person gave at their own personal cost over a series of rounds, others were more likely to contribute in subsequent rounds, even with people who were not in the original group. “The presence of a single giver was enough to establish a norm of giving,” wrote Grant.</p>
<p>Sharing is not a purely selfless act — while thinking beyond one’s own personal benefit is at the core of why we share, it also pays itself forward in reputation, and rewards us with good feelings and personal gratification. Sharing contributes to our individual identity — how we want to see ourselves, and be seen, in the world. Nowak calls this kind of earned reputation “indirect reciprocity” — common in large, complex communities, where direct reciprocity is nearly impossible. Complex communities like the ones we created together with the Web. Individuals who share in these communities establish and accumulate reputation. To be known, and to be valued — that’s reputation — and it is essential to vibrant, open communities, from Wikipedia, to open science, to open source software. We accumulate benefits from others who give freely because of the norms created in those groups. These acts are not entirely altruistic, and the motivations behind them are real and powerful.</p>
<p>This is the real power of sharing: concurrent and lasting benefits, multiplied for the giver, the receiver, and society. If Grant’s research is right, then a global movement built around sharing and collaboration will be infectious — converting not only those who give and receive, but establishing and reinforcing new norms in online communities. Every share can inspire others — eventually, over the long run — to “share alike”.</p>
<p><b>The Internet is real life</b></p>
<p>The line between these online communities and real life is blurring, or in many cases, altogether irrelevant. The Internet is real life. It’s where we go to work. It’s how we connect to the people we love. It’s where we tell our stories. This is the society we’re building together. If it is going to be fair, equal, diverse, vibrant, serendipitous, and safe for everyone, it will only be because we choose to make it that way. If it is going to be accessible, equitable, and full of innovation and opportunity, it will require our leadership to build the foundations that support these ideals.</p>
<p>This is how Creative Commons can be successful: by ensuring that the legal, technical, and policy infrastructure we create is designed to foster cooperation and sharing. The tools and services we create are important, but equally or perhaps even more important is how we create them: by supporting and fostering open, collaborative communities and driving engagement across the spectrum of open knowledge and free culture. Our open values are at the heart of what we do, but also how we do it. If we are successful in this endeavour, we will be much closer to realizing our vision: unlocking the full potential of the Internet to drive a new era of development, growth, and productivity.</p>
<p><i>Next: Towards a vibrant, usable commons.</i></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/12/where-are-we/">Where are we?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons Blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=47105
title: Towards a vibrant, usable commons
uri: Towards-a-vibrant-usable-commons
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/14/towards-a-vibrant-usable-commons/
content:
<p><i>Over the next few days, I’m going to share a series of posts about Creative Commons’ 2016-2020 strategy. Let me skip to the end: CC is going to refocus our work to build </i><b><i>a vibrant, usable commons, powered by collaboration and gratitude</i></b><i>. Over the course of these next few posts, I’ll explain what that means, and how we plan to achieve it. Read our first post: <a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/12/where-are-we/">We need to talk about sharing</a>.</i></p>
<p><b>The challenge we face</b></p>
<p>While we may all be hard-wired for sharing, legislators in every country in the world have taken copyright well beyond its original role as “an incentive for creation” to a carefully-guarded and nearly never-ending right to private profit.</p>
<p>Copyright was originally designed to inspire more creativity from creators — to guarantee them some limited benefit to incentivize their creation. Today’s copyright practically ignores the fact that the Web and technological innovation made us all creators and publishers, often dozens of times a day. This modern reality has implications for creativity, innovation, privacy, business models, and more, yet most of these issues remain unaddressed in antiquated copyright structures. As a result of its refusal to acknowledge the present, today’s copyright rules restrict sharing, slow and prevent collaboration, and leave millions of works locked away regardless of the author’s desire (or lack of desire) to use them.</p>
<p>As a society, we are failing to limit the past — this was Lawrence Lessig’s warning and refrain from “Free Culture.&#8221; In fact, we have capitulated to the past, protecting traditional structures and business models, often at the expense of innovation and creativity. We put private good before cooperation. We will never know exactly what we’ve lost as a result. It’s impossible to quantify fully the inventions not made, discoveries not revealed, and creativity restrained.</p>
<p>The benefits that should be afforded to the public as part of an effective system of copyright are sadly lacking today, and it’s reasonable to expect that without a dramatic shift we may never realize these benefits. Secret deals, negotiated by governments and corporations hand-in-hand, without public review or consideration, are the new normal. Most copyright negotiations and consultations are focused on making minor changes, rather than addressing the major failures of laws that were written for another century. The fight for copyright reform can’t be won without rethinking our approach, and harnessing the power of many interconnected global communities.</p>
<p><b>Hacking copyright and driving reform</b></p>
<p>Creative Commons didn’t change copyright. The terms of copyright are still so long that a new work published today will be locked down until long after we are all dead. But a Creative Commons license offers an elegant solution for someone who wants to share right now. The licenses are not, and never will be, an alternative to meaningful copyright reform, but they are a powerful tool that creators can employ now without waiting, and without asking permission. CC created a release valve to the constraints of copyright — a doorway to an alternate reality of free and open content, powered by creators who share a set of important values. And while CC has been successful, our work will not be complete until we light up that universe of content and creators to establish what we might describe as an open distributed social network.</p>
<p>Now well into our second decade, the CC licenses are ubiquitous, and accepted as the global standard for sharing of content under permissive legal terms. They are embedded in major content platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, and Medium, public archives like the DPLA, Internet Archive, and Wikimedia Commons, and have been adopted by governments and foundations, including the White House and major US foundations including Hewlett, Gates, and Ford. The CC licenses enable open access to academic research and data, open textbooks, and are increasingly used for government open data (via CC0). The license suite functions globally, and is brought to life around the world by CC affiliate chapters in 85 countries. The commons is massive and growing. The 2015 State of the Commons report showed that between 2010 and 2015, the commons nearly tripled in size.</p>
<p>Creative Commons represents just one part of the global commons. Today’s commons: one with the potential for infinite abundance rather than the tragedy of mismanaged scarcity, is made up of many overlapping communities: open source, open government data, open science, open educational resources (OER), Wikipedians, Mozillians, free software creators, etc. While we don’t agree on everything, our common thread is a desire to foster the benefits of openness: access, opportunity, equity, innovation, transparency.</p>
<p>Taken together, the commons is a platform for cooperation. Each person joins the network when they share, which invites a collaboration with others — sometimes direct, and often indirect. Today, there are over <a href="https://stateof.creativecommons.org/2015">1.1 billion Creative Commons licensed works</a>, shared by millions of people around the world. What’s most powerful about this number is that each creator chose to cooperate, to collaborate, and to share. Despite this profound gift, their works too often sit disconnected from each other, without context, gratitude, or mechanisms for collaboration.</p>
<p><b>A renewed focus</b></p>
<p>CC’s focus should no longer be to achieve scale. The key challenge facing the commons today is usability, vibrancy, and collaboration.</p>
<p>CC has helped to foster a global movement that has reimagined the idea of the commons as a digital environment of infinite abundance inspired by collaboration, rather than mismanaged scarcity plagued by self-interest. The size of the commons is not as important as how (and if) the works it contains are used to achieve our <a href="https://creativecommons.org/about/">vision and mission</a>. This is most likely to come to fruition if the materials contained within the commons are easy to discover and curate, to use and remix, and if those who create feel valued for their contributions. To date, this has not been the case. In every part of the commons, users struggle to realize these benefits. The opportunity for CC is to focus and do more to offer tools, education, advocacy, and community-building.</p>
<p>The Web has obviously changed significantly since 2002 when CC launched, but the way the CC licenses work hasn&#8217;t. While most web services and apps are data-driven and accessible via API, CC’s licenses are largely static, devoid of data, and rooted in markup. There are no services to enhance the user experience, or provide additional value and create connections. Users still have to manually provide attribution. There are no analytics about use or re-mix. Adding a work to the commons is a huge gift, but contributors get very little in exchange — no feedback, no analytics, not even a &#8220;like&#8221; or a &#8220;thank you.” While CC is integral to many kinds of creativity and sharing on the web, it has yet to capitalize on this influence to connect and light up the commons.</p>
<p>CC must recognize its various roles in a variety of diverse and active communities. We provide essential infrastructure for the Web, and are vital contributors and leaders in these global movements. The opportunity to realize the benefits of openness will come from showing how “open” is uniquely able to solve the challenges of our time. Our role is not just as providers of tools, but also as strategic partners, advocates, influencers, and supporters to quantify, evangelize, and demonstrate the benefits of open.</p>
<p>We also acknowledge that Creative Commons is both an organization and a movement, and that there will be many actors — especially CC&#8217;s global affiliate network — who will take on their own projects and initiatives that extend the scope of these activities. That is not only acceptable, it must be encouraged and supported to the greatest extent possible. A powerful movement is one of common values with many independent actors seeking a shared outcome, not uniform application of programs and tools. If we are successful, our initiatives will support these communities in various ways as we all seek to strengthen the commons.</p>
<p><i>Next: Our strategy and plan</i></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/14/towards-a-vibrant-usable-commons/">Towards a vibrant, usable commons</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons Blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=47112
title: Creative Commons awarded $10M grant from Hewlett Foundation to support renewed strategy
uri: Creative-Commons-awarded-10M-grant-from-Hewlett-Foundation-to-support
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/19/creative-commons-awarded-hewlett/
content:
<p>On behalf of the Creative Commons staff, Board, Affiliate Network, and global community, we are thrilled to announce that the Board of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has unanimously approved an unrestricted multi-year grant in the amount of $10 million to Creative Commons.</p>
<p>The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has been a proud founding partner and longstanding supporter of Creative Commons; In particular, CC and Hewlett have worked closely together to innovate in education — CC licenses are at the heart of Open Educational Resources, and CC is an active and engaged leader in the OER movement. Hewlett is also an adopter of CC — the Foundation has implemented an open policy for many grantees, requiring open licenses on grantee outputs to ensure maximum use and re-use.</p>
<p>The grant comes at pivotal time as a major investment in CC’s new strategy. “Creative Commons is the chief steward of a large and growing movement for openness, a movement to make knowledge more freely available, to foster sharing and collaboration, and to spur advances and improvements that make the world a better place for everyone,” said Hewlett Foundation President Larry Kramer, in announcing the grant.</p>
<p>With this critical lead support and tremendous vote of confidence in our work, Creative Commons is now able to invest in its next organization phase, a renewed vision for not just the licenses but for the broader commons movement. “Our renewed strategy will be aimed at building a more vibrant, usable commons powered by collaboration and gratitude,” said Creative Commons CEO Ryan Merkley. “This is how we light up the commons: Creators need to be able to easily find the very best content in the commons, share feedback, give gratitude, get analytics, and work together to build networks around their interests and passions.”</p>
<p>This effort to build a more connected global commons is nothing short of transformational. It’s a strategic shift for Creative Commons that will require us to develop new infrastructure, new tools, and new resources; and it will require a new level of investment. Lead support from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation provides key momentum and will be critical in catalyzing this new level of investment, part of a much broader effort to ensure long term organizational sustainability and a thriving global commons for decades to come.</p>
<p>Our deepest thanks to The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and to all of you who have supported CC over the years. And for those of you who are new to CC, we welcome you to our community and look forward to sharing all our big wins with you. We are humbled by the generous show of support and feel privileged to be able to take on the important work ahead.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/19/creative-commons-awarded-hewlett/">Creative Commons awarded $10M grant from Hewlett Foundation to support renewed strategy</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons Blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=47127
title: Copyright Week 2016: The public domain is not lost
uri: Copyright-Week-2016-The-public-domain-is-not-lost
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/20/copyright-week-2016-public-domain-not-lost/
content:
<p><a href="https://www.eff.org/copyrightweek"><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-47140" src="media/83f92e91.social-copyrightweek-1024x512.png" data-original-source="https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/social-copyrightweek-1024x512.png" alt="social-copyrightweek" width="599" height="300" srcset="https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/social-copyrightweek-300x150.png 300w, https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/social-copyrightweek-768x384.png 768w, https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/social-copyrightweek-1024x512.png 1024w, https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/social-copyrightweek.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 599px) 100vw, 599px" /></a></p>
<p><em>We&#8217;re taking part in <a href="https://www.eff.org/copyrightweek">Copyright Week</a>, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are taking on different elements of the law, and addressing what&#8217;s at stake, and what we need to do to make sure that copyright promotes creativity and innovation.</em></p>
<p>Every year we <a href="http://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/">breathe a collective sigh of disappointment</a> for millions of pieces of creative content that will not enter the public domain because of incredibly long copyright terms. We all know that creativity and knowledge owes something to what came before it—every creator builds on the ideas of their predecessors. Copyright terms that last decades past the death of the author will undermine the potential of the commons and needlessly limit the potential for new creativity.</p>
<p>And in the last few years, we’ve seen <a href="https://creativecommons.org/campaigns/trans-pacific-partnership-would-harm-user-rights-and-the-commons/">additional threats to the commons</a> from prospective trade agreements such as the secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership. If the TPP comes into effect, it would force member nations to set their term of copyright protection to life of the authors plus 70 years (if they do not already have that term), which increases the term an additional 20 years past the baseline required by existing international agreements. This means that works still under copyright in Brunei, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Vietnam will be automatically granted another 20 years of protection before they enter the public domain. We’re in agreement with leading economists that there is no logical reason to increase the term of copyright: an extension would create a tiny private benefit at a great cost to the public. It is estimated that the copyright term extension that would be required if the TPP is enacted would cost the public hundreds of millions of dollars each year.</p>
<p>At the same time, we celebrate the amazing works that are <a href="http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/class-of-2015/">finally a part of our shared public domain</a>. In addition to works that are now in the public domain because their copyright has expired, we’ve seen several interesting things happen this last year that is helping authors to share their works in the public domain right now. This is because major online content creation and sharing platforms like <a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2015/03/30/great-news-for-the-commons-flickr-now-supports-cc0-and-the-cc-public-domain-mark/">Flickr</a> and <a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2015/05/06/medium-embraces-cc-licenses/">Medium</a> have added options to share works in the public domain using the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0 Public Domain Dedication</a> and the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/">Public Domain Mark</a>. What is CC0? It’s a tool that allows anyone to waive their copyright and place a work directly into the global public domain—prior to the expiration of copyright. What is the Public Domain Mark? It’s a digital stamp that anyone can apply to a work that’s already in the worldwide public domain—such as very old works whose copyright has clearly expired.</p>
<p><img class="img-responsive wp-image-47134 alignleft" src="media/2a359116.spacexrocket-1024x683.jpg" data-original-source="https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/spacexrocket-1024x683.jpg" alt="spacexrocket" width="600" height="400" srcset="https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/spacexrocket-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/spacexrocket-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/spacexrocket-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/spacexrocket.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacexphotos/24423604506/">First stage of Falcon 9 rocket</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacexphotos/">SpaceX</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0</a></small></p>
<p>What does the public get when authors share content in the public domain? We get to access and use an incredible body of content, including photos from <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacexphotos/">SpaceX</a>, <a href="media/d69b16ce.FilePluto-01_Stern_03_Pluto_Color_TXT.jpg" data-original-source="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pluto-01_Stern_03_Pluto_Color_TXT.jpg">NASA</a>, and millions of others creators.</p>
<p>In the <a href="https://stateof.creativecommons.org/2015/">2015 State of the Commons report</a>, we noted a huge increase in the number of works dedicated to the public domain using the CC0 Public Domain Dedication and out-of-copyright works marked with the Public Domain Mark. According to the data, the total number of public domain works using these tools in 2014 was about 17.5 million. That number jumped to nearly 35 million in 2015. This means that the size of the CC-marked public domain nearly doubled over the last year. This is, in part, due to the tools being more widely and adopted by platforms like Europeana and Flickr. Of course, the public domain is not limited to content marked with CC’s public domain tools, but providing clear information about the public domain status of works alerts subsequent creators they can use those works without any restriction.</p>
<p><a href="https://stateof.creativecommons.org/2015/"><img class="img-responsive aligncenter wp-image-47131" src="media/32567cd7.pd-screenshot-931x1024.png" data-original-source="https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/pd-screenshot-931x1024.png" alt="pd screenshot" width="500" height="550" srcset="https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/pd-screenshot-273x300.png 273w, https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/pd-screenshot-768x845.png 768w, https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/pd-screenshot-931x1024.png 931w, https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/pd-screenshot.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></a></p>
<p>Even though copyright lasts far too long, the public domain is not lost. By fighting  for more reasonable copyright policy, and continuing to develop and steward legal tools that empower sharing in the public domain, we can help regain the public domain for all of us.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/20/copyright-week-2016-public-domain-not-lost/">Copyright Week 2016: The public domain is not lost</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons Blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=47114
title: Let’s light up the global commons
uri: Let-s-light-up-the-global-commons
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/20/lets-light-up-the-global-commons/
content:
<p><i>Over the past week, we’ve talked about sharing, and its fundamental role in societies, and I’ve shared our goal of a </i><b><i>vibrant, usable commons, powered by collaboration and gratitude</i></b><i> (Read our previous posts: </i><i>“<a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/12/where-are-we/">We need to talk about sharing</a>”, and “<a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/14/towards-a-vibrant-usable-commons/">Towards a vibrant, usable commons</a>.”). What follows next is our plan for bringing the strategy to life.</i></p>
<p>Yesterday, we announced an incredible gift from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: a $10 million unrestricted grant, which will have a transformational impact on our work. For many years, CC has struggled with sustainability, and has lacked a strong fundraising program. Over the past 18 months, with support from many of you, we’ve set that right. We’ve tripled the number of donors, doubled individual fundraising, cut our expenses, and focused our work on the areas where we will have the most impact. That’s been difficult, but also essential to building the kind of support required for a gift of this magnitude.</p>
<p>I’m personally very grateful to Hewlett for their support for CC — they’ve been there from the very beginning, and it’s clear they’ll be there well into the future. Their donation doesn’t mean we’re free and clear: we’ll need these new resources to make some important investments, but we’ll also need others to join us if we’re going to be successful. But more on that another day. For now, let’s focus on the plan.</p>
<p>To articulate our strategy, we developed an intended outcome statement &#8212; a brief statement that expresses clearly our goal:</p>
<p><i>“Creative Commons will, within 3-5 years, foster a vibrant, usable, and collaborative global commons, powered by an engaged community of creators, curators, and users of content, knowledge, and data. We will do so by focusing in three intermediate outcomes: discovery, &nbsp;collaboration, and advocacy.”</i></p>
<p>That could mean a lot of things, and the hardest part of any strategy is deciding which things you’re <i>not going to do</i>. Saying no is much harder than saying yes. <b>CC will focus our strategy in three specific areas: Discovery, collaboration, and advocacy.</b></p>
<p><b>Discovery</b> is about creating a more vibrant and usable commons, both on the platforms where open content is hosted, and also for those works that are individually hosted on creators&#8217; websites. It is also about telling a compelling story of open collaboration, and demonstrating its value to the world so that others will join the movement. Search, curation, meta-tagging, content analytics, one-click attribution are all examples of areas where improved discovery would support creators that use the commons.</p>
<p>To do this work, CC will need to establish a small developer team. We work in the open, and can draw on the open source community, but to do that we need the capacity to develop our own prototypes and tools, maintain our services to licensors, and work with contributors. We’ll also strengthen our communications team to tell the story of the commons, our partners, and our community — watch for an announcement on that soon.</p>
<p><b>Collaboration</b> is about helping creators across sectors, disciplines, and geographies, to work together to share open content and create new works. CC’s role is to facilitate greater cooperation and engagement in the commons, realizing the unique benefits of open across many of the communities that rely on open content.</p>
<p>To do this work, CC will play an active role in developing and facilitating solutions for cooperation and engagement in communities like OER or open access. Solutions which will often then scale up to other communities — imagine helping to build more effective search for open educational resources, or The List, a mobile app that allows users to request images and others to submit them with a CC BY license to a public archive, as simple ways to facilitate collaboration that can scale up across multiple communities. CC will assign staff to develop partnerships with platforms and creative communities that create and remix content, and help improve the experience of sharing and working in a public commons.</p>
<p><b>Advocacy</b> is about CC’s vital role in advocacy and policymaking. Creative Commons has a powerful and respected role in pushing for positive reforms. We are frequently called upon to lend our voice to important open policy debates, and to explain the impacts for the public good of particular policies, while identifying areas where new or existing policy impacts the ability of users to apply or rely upon CC licenses. However, the fight for copyright reform is a global one, and will only be won if we activate the power of many interconnected global communities.</p>
<p>To do this work, CC will focus on strengthening and supporting the global affiliate network — chapters in over 85 countries comprised of some of the world’s leading experts and advocates in open content and knowledge. At our most recent summit in Seoul, South Korea, the energy and excitement from the network was inspiring — but we have to ensure that energy turns into action, and there’s an urgent need to create a global network strategy to connect it all together. CC may not have the capacity or expertise to manage dozens of copyright reform campaigns globally, but the CC affiliate network does, if properly supported and engaged. With a strong team in place, micro-grants for local projects, and better infrastructure, CC will put collaboration at the centre of our approach, as we have been successful at supporting and collaborating with connected communities that advocate for policies that strengthen the commons, like the Open Policy Network and Communia.</p>
<p><b>This is where you come in</b></p>
<p>What’s next? We’re now developing program implementation plans, including consultation with the CC global affiliate network and key partners. We expect that work to be complete by the end of February.</p>
<p>We want to hear from you about how we can truly light up the global commons. This will be a transformative change for Creative Commons &#8212; a new direction that is more focused and will have even greater impact. We don’t have all the answers, and we can’t do it alone. I hope you’ll join us as we shape the projects and programs that will bring this strategy to life.</p>
<p><b>So tell us: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/remix/">What’s your idea to help CC make the commons more vibrant and usable, and to foster communities of collaboration and gratitude?</a></b></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/20/lets-light-up-the-global-commons/">Let&#8217;s light up the global commons</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons Blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=47110
title: Celebrate CC music: Netlabel Day accepting applications from independent labels
uri: Celebrate-CC-music-Netlabel-Day-accepting-applications-from-independe
url:
https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/22/celebrating-cc-music-netlabel-day-opens-applications-for-independent-labels/

content:
<p><a href="http://netlabelday.blogspot.com/"><img class="img-responsive alignnone size-full wp-image-47146" src="media/9f15b069.netlabelday.jpg" data-original-source="https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/netlabelday.jpg" alt="netlabelday" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/netlabelday-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/netlabelday.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p>
<p>The second annual <a href="http://netlabelday.blogspot.com/">Netlabel Day</a> celebrating free music under Creative Commons licenses will take place on 14 July, 2016. The call for digital record labels is now open and applications will be accepted through 29 February.</p>
<p>First organized by the Chilean label M.I.S.T. Records in March 2015, the 2015 edition featured 80 labels from around the world and released more than 120 digital albums under CC licenses.</p>
<p>In addition to Creative Commons, this year&#8217;s sponsors include the Internet Archive and Free Music Archive.</p>
<p>Organizers will host local gigs and record label expos in Argentina, Canada and Chile.</p>
<blockquote><p>“The goal this year is to discuss, debate, promote, and explore the state of musical management in the participant countries”, says Manuel Silva, M.I.S.T. label head and creator.</p></blockquote>
<p>To apply, email <a href="mailto:contact.netlabelday@gmail.com">contact.netlabelday@gmail.com</a>. Visit <a href="http://netlabelday.blogspot.com">http://netlabelday.blogspot.com</a> for more info.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/22/celebrating-cc-music-netlabel-day-opens-applications-for-independent-labels/">Celebrate CC music: Netlabel Day accepting applications from independent labels</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons Blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=47155
title: New CC directors to focus on platforms and content creation
uri: New-CC-directors-to-focus-on-platforms-and-content-creation
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/27/new-cc-directors/
content:
<p>Creative Commons is pleased to announce the appointment of two new senior-level positions to help implement our new strategy. Last week, CC announced a renewed vision to create a vibrant, usable commons, powered by gratitude and collaboration. These two positions will be fundamental to bringing this strategy to life. I’m pleased to appoint Jane Park as Director of Platform and Partnerships, and Eric Steuer as Director of Content and Community.</p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone size-full wp-image-47159" src="media/c3215eff.jane_park_2.jpg" data-original-source="https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/jane_park_2.jpg" alt="Jane Park" width="190" height="195" /></p>
<p><b>Jane Park</b></p>
<p>Jane has eight years of organizational experience in open education, communications, fundraising, and community building. Most recently, she established CC’s first internal platform team to support adoption on content platforms, and drove data collection and analysis for the 2015 State of the Commons report. As Director of Platform and Partnerships, she will be focused on engaging CC’s partners in creating and sharing content to make the commons more usable, collaborative, and full of gratitude.</p>
<p>Prior to this new role, Jane founded CC&#8217;s School of Open, recruiting 60 volunteers across 6 continents, and launching 100 open education courses and workshops. She has programmed workshops and resources to support grantees of the $2 billion U.S. Dept of Labor career training program requiring CC BY for all grant outputs, has led numerous public campaigns and events for CC, including a website redesign, fundraising drive, and open education salons. And she has driven adoption of CC licenses for platforms such as Blackboard, Boundless, and edX, in addition to co-authoring reports and surveys on the state of open licensing policies and copyright barriers in education. Jane’s appointment was effective January 1.</p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone size-full wp-image-47158" src="media/9858cdb5.eric_steuer_2.jpg" data-original-source="https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/eric_steuer_2.jpg" alt="Eric Steuer" width="190" height="195" /></p>
<p><b>Eric Steuer</b></p>
<p>As Director of Content and Community, Eric will focus on activating creators and collaborators around open content, knowledge, and data. He will lead CC’s communications team, bringing the best of the commons to the forefront, and celebrating communities that share and create together.</p>
<p>Most recently, Eric was a Senior Director at WIRED, running its Audience Development group. In this role, he built readership and oversaw community engagement across all of WIRED&#8217;s properties. Under Eric&#8217;s direction, WIRED&#8217;s social media audience more than tripled and its newsletter traffic grew by 2,500%. Additionally, Eric built a syndication network made up of more than two dozen partners. Eric remains a contributing editor at WIRED, and has authored well over 100 features, essays, and articles—including two cover stories for the magazine.</p>
<p>Eric’s history with Creative Commons goes back over a decade. He was CC&#8217;s Creative Director from 2005-2011, and led the organization’s work with artists, media, technology companies, and cultural institutions. Eric was a key member of the team responsible for the adoption of CC’s tools by users including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Vimeo, SoundCloud, YouTube, Warner Bros, Al Jazeera, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Nine Inch Nails, Random House, WhiteHouse.gov, and many others.</p>
<p>Eric is the board chair of CASH Music, a member of KQED&#8217;s audience development advisory group, and a recording artist. He will begin his new role at CC on February 1.</p>
<p>Follow Jane and Eric on Twitter (@janedaily and @ericsteuer) or reach them directly via <a href="https://creativecommons.org/contact">https://creativecommons.org/contact</a>.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/27/new-cc-directors/">New CC directors to focus on platforms and content creation</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons Blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=46845
title: U.S. Department of Labor adopts CC BY licensing policy department-wide
uri: U-S-Department-of-Labor-adopts-CC-BY-licensing-policy-department-wide
url:
https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/02/01/u-s-department-labor-adopts-cc-licensing-policy-department-wide/

content:
<p><img class="img-responsive alignleft wp-image-47165 " src="media/f1fef736.DOL-CC-open-policy.jpg" data-original-source="https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/DOL-CC-open-policy.jpg" alt="DOL + CC (open policy)" width="629" height="254" srcset="https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/DOL-CC-open-policy-300x121.jpg 300w, https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/DOL-CC-open-policy-768x310.jpg 768w, https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/DOL-CC-open-policy-1024x413.jpg 1024w, https://blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/DOL-CC-open-policy.jpg 2254w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Creative Commons (CC) believes publicly funded education, research and data resources should be shared in the global commons. The public should have access to what it paid for, and should not be required to pay twice (or more) to access, use, and remix publicly funded resources.</p>
<p>This is why we are pleased to announce that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has adopted a department-wide<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"> Creative Commons Attribution</a> (CC BY) license requirement on intellectual property developed under a competitive Federal award process.</p>
<hr />
<p>DOL’s new open licensing policy may be viewed in the <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/12/30/2015-32725/uniform-administrative-requirements-cost-principles-and-audit-requirements-for-federal-awards">federal register</a> (<a href="media/b6684b9c.2015-32725.pdf" data-original-source="https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2015-32725.pdf">PDF</a>) and on <a href="http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=DOL_FRDOC_0001-0659">regulations.gov</a></p>
<ul>
<li><i>6. Revise § 2900.13 to read as follows:</i>
<ul>
<li><i>§2900.13 Intangible property.</i>
<ul>
<li><i>In addition to the guidance set forth in</i><a href="media/32010395.CFR-2014-title2-vol1-sec200-315.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2014-title2-vol1/pdf/CFR-2014-title2-vol1-sec200-315.pdf"> <i>2 CFR 200.315(d)</i></a><i>*, the Department of Labor requires intellectual property developed under a competitive Federal award process to be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license. This license allows subsequent users to copy, distribute, transmit and adapt the copyrighted work and requires such users to attribute the work in the manner specified by the recipient.</i></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>While the total dollar amount of competitive DOL Federal grants affected by this new open licensing policy is not yet known, Lindsey Tepe at New America <a href="http://www.edcentral.org/oeratlabor/">estimates</a> the rule change will impact somewhere between $300 and $400 million annually.</p>
<hr />
<p>The adoption of Creative Commons licensing clarifies to the public how they may access, use, and adapt publicly funded resources. There are multiple benefits of DOL requiring a CC BY license on publicly funded resources:</p>
<ul>
<li>Government increases the impact, reach and scalability of its grants.</li>
<li>Government creates conditions for maximum potential value created from of all resources it funds, more efficiency, and better stewardship of public funds.</li>
<li>Public has access to the education resources it funded.</li>
<li>Innovative and entrepreneurial uses of openly licensed materials are enabled.</li>
<li>Resources are available for reuse and value-add by anyone, including individual citizens, educators, scientists, public sector employees, and entrepreneurs.</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p>This major open licensing policy development codifies DOL’s longtime leadership at the program level where the department required CC BY licenses on multiple grants before making this a department-wide open licensing policy. Examples include:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/US:_Department_of_Labor_-_Trade_Adjustment_Assistance_Community_College_and_Career_Training_%28TAACCCT%29_grant_program">Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant program</a>
<ul>
<li>CC and its partners have been <a href="http://support.taaccct.org/">supporting</a> DOL and its TAACCCT grantees for the last four years and will continue to do so for the next two. TAACCCT grantees are already sharing CC BY licensed education materials in the public <a href="https://www.skillscommons.org/">Skills Commons</a> OER repository.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/US:_Department_of_Labor:_Career_Pathways_Innovation_Fund_Grants_Program">Career Pathways Innovation Fund Grants Program</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/US:_Department_of_Labor:_H-1B_Ready_to_Work_Partnership_grant_program">H-1B Ready to Work Partnership grant program</a></li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p>DOL has already begun to integrate open licensing into its existing professional development<a href="http://www.etasmarttraining.org/modules.php"> SMART training series</a>. The CC BY license requirement is referenced in the following modules:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="media/a33d2907.Capital_Assets.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.etasmarttraining.org/pdf/modules/Capital_Assets.pdf">Capital Assets, Equipment, Intellectual Property, and Supplies</a></li>
<li><a href="media/c378e7f7.Procurement_under_New_Requirements.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.etasmarttraining.org/pdf/modules/Procurement_under_New_Requirements.pdf">Procurement under the New Requirements</a></li>
<li><a href="media/8c3efcf6.UG_Administrative_Requirements.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.etasmarttraining.org/pdf/modules/UG_Administrative_Requirements.pdf">Uniform Guidance: Administrative Requirements</a></li>
<li><a href="media/6be1dc04.UG_Cost_Principles.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.etasmarttraining.org/pdf/modules/UG_Cost_Principles.pdf">Uniform Guidance: Cost Principles</a></li>
</ul>
<p>These resources signal that the DOL is off to a great start. Creative Commons looks forward to supporting DOL with its<a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2015/09/22/open-licensing-policy-toolkit-draft/"> Open Licensing Policy Toolkit</a> and CC certificate (to be developed) for government staff.</p>
<hr />
<p>Creative Commons and dozens of other organizations <a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2015/12/07/tell-the-department-of-education-yes-on-open-licensing/">urged the U.S. Department of Education</a> to adopt a similar open licensing policy. We hope DOL’s policy will be a useful guide as the Department of Education as it considers its proposed<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/11/30/2015-30279/open-licensing-requirement-for-direct-grant-programs"> Open Licensing Requirement for Direct Grant Programs</a>.</p>
<p>We applaud the U.S. Department of Labor for leading the way.  Well done!</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/02/01/u-s-department-labor-adopts-cc-licensing-policy-department-wide/">U.S. Department of Labor adopts CC BY licensing policy department-wide</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=47387
title: COMMUNIA hosts public domain celebration in the European Parliament
uri: COMMUNIA-hosts-public-domain-celebration-in-the-European-Parliament
url:
https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/02/03/communia-hosts-public-domain-celebration-in-the-european-parliament/

content:
<p><em>This is a guest post by <a href="https://www.kl.nl/en/mensen/lisette-kalshoven/">Lisette Kalshoven</a>.</em></p>
<p>On Monday, January 25th <a href="http://www.communia-association.org/">COMMUNIA</a> organized a Public Domain Day celebration at the European Parliament. COMMUNIA advocates for policies that expand the public domain and increase access to and reuse of culture and knowledge, and consists of many organisations including <a href="https://creativecommons.org/">Creative Commons</a>, <a href="https://www.kl.nl/en/">Kennisland</a> and <a href="http://centrumcyfrowe.pl/">Centrum Cyfrowe</a>. The event, which focused on showcasing creators who have chosen to donate their output to the public domain, was hosted by <a href="https://juliareda.eu/en/">MEP Julia Reda</a>.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/153258591?color=ffffff&amp;title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br />
<small><a href="https://vimeo.com/153258591
">Julia Reda at the Public Domain Day Celebration</a> by <a href="http://www.sebastiaanterburg.nl/">Sebastiaan ter Burg</a>; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0</a></small></p>
<h3>Highlighting creators sharing in the public domain</h3>
<p>COMMUNIA invited creators such as <a href="http://kenney.nl/assets">Kenney Vleugels</a>, who makes game assets available to other game developers under the the CC0 Public Domain Dedication, Alastair Parvin of <a href="http://www.wikihouse.cc/">WikiHouse.cc</a>, who is developing an open source approach to sustainable housing, Femke Snelting of <a href="http://www.constantvzw.org/site/">Constant</a>, who is publishing public domain magazines, <a href="http://ericschrijver.nl/">Eric Schrijver</a>, who is writing a sharing guide for artists, and Thomas Lommee from <a href="http://openstructures.net/">Open Structures</a>, a standardised open design system. The lunch discussions focused on the artistic and design practices of these creators and the challenges they run into. A recurring theme was the legal uncertainty created by overly complex copyright laws, and the excessive length of copyright protection.</p>
<p>The public domain is traditionally seen as a body of works that are no longer under copyright because the terms of protection have expired. Public Domain Day celebrates this very moment, when the period of copyright protection ends for works of certain authors. But the public domain is not simply a dusty collection of old works. During the event COMMUNIA highlighted the fact that the public domain is a modern phenomenon—it is alive. We celebrate the practice of authors contributing to the public domain long before their copyright expires. From this perspective, <a href="http://www.communia-association.org/2015/12/10/copyright-communication-commission-communiaction-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/">the ongoing policy debate on European copyright</a> will structure the shape and scope of our collective public domain for years to come.</p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone  wp-image-47393" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/pd-day.jpg?resize=600%2C400" alt="pd day" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/pd-day.jpg?resize=300%2C200 300w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/pd-day.jpg?resize=768%2C512 768w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/pd-day.jpg?resize=1024%2C683 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/pd-day.jpg?w=1200 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ter-burg/23980228523/">Public Domain Day Celebration at the European Parliament</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ter-burg/">Sebastiaan ter Burg</a>; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0</a></small></p>
<h3>Copyright debate in Europe should support the public domain</h3>
<p>The European Commission is in the process of proposing changes to the copyright rules in the EU. It laid out some of its ideas through a <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/document.cfm?action=display&amp;doc_id=12526">Communication in December 2015</a>, and will present concrete legislative proposals in June 2016. In 2016 and beyond COMMUNIA will advocate for specific points, including the three below. You can read more <a href="http://www.communia-association.org/2016/01/27/public-domain-day-2016-at-the-european-parliament/">here</a>.</p>
<ol>
<li><b>Ensure that the mere digitisation of public domain works does not create new rights over them.</b> Some member states would like to allow anyone who digitized a public domain work to claim new exclusive rights. This creates legal uncertainty and undermines the concept of the public domain.</li>
<p></p>
<li><b>Introduce a mandatory and strong exception to copyright for educational use.</b> We need to ensure that education is not burdened by copyright-related barriers. To ensure this, we need a broad, harmonised exception. It should cover all types of uses, including digital and online activities, both inside and outside of the classroom.</li>
<p></p>
<li><b>Allow cultural heritage institutions to make out-of-commerce works available online.</b> Vibrant and diverse cultural heritage institutions are one of the defining features of our European culture. In order to remain relevant, they need to show their collections online. A new exception should allow these institutions to make available online the out-of-commerce works in their collections.</li>
</ol>
<p>COMMUNIA is following the events in Brussels closely, and is sharing the advantages of a strong public domain and a flexible copyright to policy makers. You can see photos from the Public Domain event <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ter-burg/albums/72157663768437022">here</a> (all <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0</a>, created by <a href="http://www.sebastiaanterburg.nl/">Sebastiaan ter Burg</a>). If you want to stay informed on the changes in European copyright, you can follow the developments on the <a href="http://www.communia-association.org/">COMMUNIA blog</a>. If you are interested in the area where copyright and education clash, please have a look at our Medium series on it: <a href="https://medium.com/copyright-untangled">Copyright Untangled</a>.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/02/03/communia-hosts-public-domain-celebration-in-the-european-parliament/">COMMUNIA hosts public domain celebration in the European Parliament</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=47858
title: There’s still time to stop the TPP
uri: There-s-still-time-to-stop-the-TPP
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/02/12/theres-still-time-to-stop-the-tpp/
content:
<p><img class="img-responsive wp-image-47859 alignleft" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/TPPA_signing_protest_in_Auckland-02.jpg?resize=630%2C354" alt="TPPA_signing_protest_in_Auckland-02" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/TPPA_signing_protest_in_Auckland-02.jpg?resize=300%2C169 300w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/TPPA_signing_protest_in_Auckland-02.jpg?resize=768%2C432 768w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/TPPA_signing_protest_in_Auckland-02.jpg?resize=1024%2C576 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/TPPA_signing_protest_in_Auckland-02.jpg?w=1600 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TPPA_signing_protest_in_Auckland-02.jpg ">TPPA Signing Protest in Auckland</a>, by Prosperosity, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA 4.0</a></small></p>
<p>Last week, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Pacific_Partnership">Trans-Pacific Partnership</a> (TPP)—the massive multilateral trade agreement negotiated in secret among government and industry representatives—was signed by officials in New Zealand.</p>
<p>When the final text of the TPP was released in November 2015, <a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2015/11/16/trans-pacific-partnership-would-harm-user-rights-and-the-commons/">we wrote</a> about how the agreement is a direct threat to the public interest and the commons. The <a href="https://creativecommons.org/campaigns/trans-pacific-partnership-would-harm-user-rights-and-the-commons/">provisions around intellectual property</a> are especially problematic. If adopted, the TPP would represent the most sweeping expansion of international restrictions on copyright in over twenty years. It downplays the importance of the public domain and exceptions and limitations to copyright, increases the already-too-long term of copyright protection, and demands harsh infringement penalties. We continue to urge member nations to <b>reject the TPP</b>.</p>
<p>The February 4 ceremonial “signing” came after a few months with <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160203/15151133510/countries-sign-tpp-whatever-happened-to-debate-we-were-promised-before-signing.shtml">little to no public consultation or debate</a>. But simply signing the agreement doesn’t mean it has gone into effect. The road to enactment begins now, as each of the nations involved will attempt to ratify the TPP through their respective political processes.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/02/trade-officials-sign-tpp-its-still-lawmakers-reject-it">EFF</a>, “the agreement will enter into force either 60 days after all original signatories ratify it or, if that doesn&#8217;t happen within two years, in April 2018 if at least six of the 12 countries accounting for 85 percent of the combined gross domestic product of the original signatories have ratified the agreement.”</p>
<p>From Canada to Japan to Chile to the United States, activists in TPP-affected countries are organizing around ways to stop the agreement from taking effect. Ratification is not a foregone conclusion—as we’ve seen before with the massive public support against SOPA/PIPA, ACTA, and other regulation that would harm the public interest and the open web.</p>
<p>There is still time to act against the harmful TPP. In the United States, you can <a href="https://act.eff.org/action/tell-congress-to-vote-no-on-the-tpp">contact your Congressional Representatives and Senators</a> (who will need to vote on the matter after President Obama introduces the TPP legislation to Congress). <b>Tell them to vote NO on the TPP.</b> We’ll also try to highlight ways that advocates in other countries can get involved before those nations complete their ratification procedures.</p>
<p>Together we should combine our efforts and stand united against the TPP. We know it contains sweeping provisions regarding environmental regulation, pharmaceutical procurement, intellectual property, labor standards, and food safety. And over the last five years, it has been developed and negotiated in secret. The TPP and other trade deals need to be developed transparently and with robust public oversight. Otherwise, this and other types of undemocratic, back-room agreements will continue to be a significant and damaging mechanism for global policymaking.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/02/12/theres-still-time-to-stop-the-tpp/">There’s still time to stop the TPP</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=47873
title: Trade agreements like TPP need radical transparency and meaningful public participation
uri: Trade-agreements-like-TPP-need-radical-transparency-and-meaningful-pub
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/02/22/47873/
content:
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-47874" src="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/16466471030_e95ed826f0_z.jpg?resize=600%2C400" alt="16466471030_e95ed826f0_z" srcset="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/16466471030_e95ed826f0_z.jpg?resize=300%2C200 300w, https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/16466471030_e95ed826f0_z.jpg?w=640 640w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/backbone_campaign/16466471030/">Rolling Rebellion Sparks in Seattle to Defend Internet &amp; Stop the TPP</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/backbone_campaign/">Backbone Campaign</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC BY 2.0</a></small></p>
<p>Creative Commons and an international coalition of organizations and individuals has published the <a href="media/6717c512.Brussels_Declaration.pdf" data-original-source="https://wiki.creativecommons.org/images/f/ff/Brussels_Declaration.pdf">Brussels Declaration on Trade and the Internet</a>. It follows the recent <a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/02/12/theres-still-time-to-stop-the-tpp/">ceremonial signing</a> of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).</p>
<p>The TPP is an example of a trade agreement that has been negotiated in secret with input only from government and corporate interests. There has been no meaningful participation from civil society organizations and public interest advocates who work to protect consumer and digital rights. The text of the TPP was kept secret from the public for several years; it was finally published in November 2015.</p>
<p>Our declaration calls for increased transparency and inclusion by all stakeholders in the development and negotiations of global trade agreements. It was originally developed at a meeting in Belgium earlier this year.</p>
<blockquote><p>Any international rulemaking process that affects the online and digital environment should adhere to human rights and good governance obligations to actively disseminate information, promote public participation and provide access to justice in governmental decision-making.</p></blockquote>
<p>The declaration makes six specific recommendations for countries participating in global trade agreements, including regular releases of draft proposals, plenty of opportunity for public comment, and serious engagement of organizations and experts representing Internet users and consumers.</p>
<p>The TPP’s copyright provisions are <a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2015/11/16/trans-pacific-partnership-would-harm-user-rights-and-the-commons/">quite problematic</a>: they downplay the importance of the public domain and exceptions and limitations to copyright, increase the already-too-long term of protection, and demand harsh infringement penalties. Member nations should reject it. And the public should be able to expect openness and fair representation in these types of negotiations.</p>
<p>You can read the full declaration <a href="media/6717c512.Brussels_Declaration.pdf" data-original-source="https://wiki.creativecommons.org/images/f/ff/Brussels_Declaration.pdf">here</a>.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/02/22/47873/">Trade agreements like TPP need radical transparency and meaningful public participation</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=47885
title: The flip side of copyright
uri: The-flip-side-of-copyright
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/02/23/the-flip-side-of-copyright/
content:
<p><a href="http://fairuseweek.org/"><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-47889" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/fair-use-week-small.png?resize=601%2C241" alt="fair use week small" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/fair-use-week-small.png?resize=300%2C120 300w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/fair-use-week-small.png?resize=768%2C308 768w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/fair-use-week-small.png?resize=1024%2C410 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/fair-use-week-small.png?w=1442 1442w" sizes="(max-width: 601px) 100vw, 601px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://fairuseweek.org/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fair Use Week 2016</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is here, and we’re happy to celebrate it alongside many other organizations and individuals who believe in the importance of flexible exceptions to copyright law. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are now over </span><a href="https://stateof.creativecommons.org/2015/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">1 billion</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> CC-licensed works available, and these will always be free for anyone to use and share. CC licenses work because of the existing contours of copyright. We sometimes complain about the numerous negative aspects of our collective copyright rules—such as absurdly long terms, disproportionate infringement penalties, and a pervasive permission culture. At the same time, we also need to support and expand the features of our copyright law that make possible increased access to information, educational activities, and freedom of expression. We all can use the Creative Commons licenses to create our own commons of content that can be freely reused and shared. But we still rely on the fundamental checks and balances to copyright law to do things that would never be possible using open licensing alone. This is why we celebrate Fair Use Week.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fair use</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> “permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders&#8230;[including for] commentary, search engines, criticism, parody, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving and scholarship.” Fair use is categorized as an exception to the exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder. A fair use is not an infringement of copyright.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The legal doctrine of fair use continues to get stronger. In the U.S., a court case held that </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authors_Guild,_Inc._v._Google,_Inc."><span style="font-weight: 400;">creating copies of copyrighted works for the purpose of search is a fair use</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Scholarly and creative disciplines like documentary filmmaking rely on collaboratively-developed </span><a href="http://www.cmsimpact.org/fair-use"><span style="font-weight: 400;">best practices guides</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that steer fair use norms for their respective communities. The power behind fair use lies in its flexibility, which allows for changes in technology and how we interact with and use copyrighted works for creative production, teaching, and learning, as well as new practices in research and journalism.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are still threats to realizing the full potential of flexible limitations and exceptions to copyright. For example, there are currently trade agreements in play that diminish the importance of limitations to copyright. Instead of securing mandatory limitations and exceptions for uses of copyrighted works under the TPP, </span><a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2015/11/16/trans-pacific-partnership-would-harm-user-rights-and-the-commons/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">all of the provisions that recognize the rights of the public are voluntary</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, whereas almost everything that benefits rightsholders is binding. Some scholarly publishers are </span><a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2014/08/07/dozens-of-organizations-tell-stm-publishers-no-new-licenses/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">trying to impose licenses</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that would restrict how researchers are able to conduct text and data mining. These licenses and contracts are problematic because they attempt to require permissions under the law where no permission would have been necessary otherwise. As we mentioned above, U.S. case law has already clarified that activities such as text and data mining will remain outside of the purview of copyright, while other countries are introducing specific legislative exemptions for it. Communia </span><a href="http://www.communia-association.org/2015/07/30/on-the-need-to-protect-copyright-exceptions-from-contractual-interference/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">has written</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> about how limitations and exceptions to copyright in the European Union should not be able to be moved aside by contract or license. Of course, Creative Commons licenses </span><a href="https://wiki.creativecommons.org/index.php/Frequently_Asked_Questions#Do_Creative_Commons_licenses_affect_exceptions_and_limitations_to_copyright.2C_such_as_fair_dealing_and_fair_use.3F"><span style="font-weight: 400;">respect fair use and other exceptions and limitations to copyright</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. CC licenses end where copyright ends, which means you don’t need to comply with a CC license if you don’t need permission under copyright.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s clear that fair use and other limitations and exceptions are vital to a healthy copyright system. During Fair Use Week and the rest of the year, let’s continue to support and expand these critical user rights.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/02/23/the-flip-side-of-copyright/">The flip side of copyright</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48115
title: Jonathan Barnbrook on his CC-licensed art for David Bowie’s Blackstar
uri: Jonathan-Barnbrook-on-his-CC-licensed-art-for-David-Bowie-s-Blacksta
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/02/26/jonathan-barnbrook-interview/
content:
<p class="p1"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Barnbrook" target="_blank">Jonathan Barnbrook</a> is a world-renowned artist who has worked extensively in a variety of media including film, typography, and graphic design. He was also a close collaborator of David Bowie, and created the cover artwork for the musician&#8217;s last four albums. Sadly, Bowie died in January, just two days after the release of his final studio album, <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackstar_(David_Bowie_album)" target="_blank">Blackstar</a></em> (aka <span class="s1">★</span>). The record, which has gone on to become a commercial and critical hit, was intended by Bowie to be a &#8220;parting gift&#8221; to fans.</p>
<p class="p1">As an homage to his friend and creative collaborator, Barnbrook decided to take the &#8220;gift&#8221; concept to the next level. He <a href="http://pitchfork.com/news/63219-david-bowies-blackstar-art-released-for-free-to-fans/" target="_blank">released the artwork for <em>Blackstar</em> under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license</a>, so that it could be shared and remixed noncommercially by Bowie fans around the world.</p>
<p class="p1">We recently had the opportunity to talk to Barnbrook about choosing to make the Blackstar art available in this fashion. It was great to hear how much the notions of tribute and gratitude played into his decision to use a CC license for this project.</p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone size-medium wp-image-48117" src="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Bowie_Blackstar_1.jpg?resize=300%2C300" alt="Bowie_Blackstar_1" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Bowie_Blackstar_1.jpg?resize=150%2C150 150w, https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Bowie_Blackstar_1.jpg?resize=300%2C300 300w, https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Bowie_Blackstar_1.jpg?resize=768%2C768 768w, https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Bowie_Blackstar_1.jpg?resize=1024%2C1024 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small><a href="http://www.bowieblackstar.net/" target="_blank">Blackstar</a> by <a href="http://www.barnbrook.net/" target="_blank">Barnbrook</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-NC-SA 4.0</a></small></p>
<p class="p1"><b>What inspired you to offer the </b><em><span class="s1"><b>Blackstar</b></span></em><b> art to the public for reuse and remix? </b></p>
<p class="p1">I felt a public, more &#8220;official&#8221; gesture was needed to empathize with the grief many people were suffering [as a result of David Bowie&#8217;s death]. I had seen a lot of tattoos and use of the artwork, so I wanted to give these people something to remember David by without them thinking they were using the artwork illegally or secretly in some way. I was as upset as they were, so the artwork was released in the positive spirit of sharing and understanding what they were going through.</p>
<p class="p1">People belittle collective public grief, which is a bit silly because a person can be the conduit of an ideology or philosophy of an age. I think [the grief] has been so enormous for David because he represented being who you wanted to be in a society where people are often not given the chance to do that. He gave hope and expression to many who didn&#8217;t fit in or who were not where they quite wanted to be, so when he was gone it was understandable that people felt a great sense of loss.</p>
<p class="p1">I also feel that music is very underrated in terms of importance in people’s lives. In an immediate sense it doesn&#8217;t help a war situation or save someone&#8217;s life, but it is very life affirming. It can help you through depression, express the moments of absolute joy, be a symbol of an age or philosophy. So again, it is understandable that you&#8217;d grieve when the person who expressed these things for you in the intangible form of music is no longer there to be part of your life.</p>
<p class="p1">I always felt that it was an incredible responsibility and privilege whenever I worked on David’s covers. So I understood that this would be an appropriate thing to do.</p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone size-medium wp-image-48121" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Jonathan_Barnbrook_I.jpg?resize=300%2C300" alt="" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Jonathan_Barnbrook_I.jpg?resize=150%2C150 150w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Jonathan_Barnbrook_I.jpg?resize=300%2C300 300w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Jonathan_Barnbrook_I.jpg?w=768 768w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small><a href="media/1f4ca482.Jonathan_Barnbrook" data-original-source="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Barnbrook" target="_blank">A portrait of Jonathan Barnbrook …</a> by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Cyberuly" target="_blank">Cyberuly</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/" target="_blank">CC BY 2.5</a></small></p>
<p class="p1"><b>Why did you specifically choose a Creative Commons license to encourage people to share and remix the artwork? </b></p>
<p class="p1">It is a very well-thought-out, simple system that everybody knows and can understand. The licenses can be read in depth or understood simply on the website. It made it clear that people could use it in the way they wanted without affecting the commercial aspect of the album sales.</p>
<p class="p1"><b>Was releasing the art in this way something you&#8217;d considered doing before Bowie&#8217;s death?</b></p>
<p class="p1">I talked about this with David before he died and he thought it was a great idea, although I couldn’t have imagined the sad circumstances under which I would eventually do it. It came from when the album <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Next_Day" target="_blank">The Next Day</a></em> came out—the fans took the white square on the cover and used it in their own way. It was something which I didn’t calculate but it made me extremely happy that they wanted to use, respond, and be part of it too. I felt this needed to be thought of at a fundamental level for the release of <em><span class="s1">Blackstar</span></em>, that the old model of a record company releasing the record and copyrighting everything so fans could not react or add their own interpretation was wrong. It shouldn&#8217;t be such a one-sided experience and instead should show respect and understanding for those people who love the music. The music is still the property of the record company and that is not affected, this just means that people can have their own identification with the release and what Bowie meant to them. When he died I felt that it was even more important that we should do this, especially since a lot of people had specifically asked me for the artwork without any intention of making money from it.</p>
<p class="p1">Since I released the artwork I have received so many lovely messages thanking me for it and saying what it means to be able to use the artwork to remember David by. Really it has brought a tear to my eye each time I have read them.</p>
<p class="p1"><b>Have you seen any interesting uses or remixes of the art yet? </b></p>
<p class="p1">People are incorporating the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aladdin_Sane" target="_blank">Ziggy Stardust stripe</a> in with it, which I think is great. That is an amazing graphic and to feel that the <em>Blackstar</em> [art] is of equal meaning is an honor.</p>
<p class="p1">How an artist has affected your life is an intensely personal, unique experience. One of the reasons that we used the Creative Commons license allowing derivatives was because of this. It is important that people interpret [art] in their own way and that they feel free to do it. It is not something that should be dictated by me—I just created one of the components to do it.</p>
<p class="p1"><b>And what kind of things do you <em>hope</em> people do with the art? </b></p>
<p class="p1">Quite simply: show their love and appreciation of David Bowie.</p>
<p class="p1"><b>How did you first learn about Creative Commons licenses? </b></p>
<p class="p1">It has always been on my radar. It was one of the first prominent models of sharing creativity in a way that didn&#8217;t fit in with the existing models of &#8220;commercial or not commercial&#8221; for artworks. There needs to be a room to share which is above and beyond what is monetary value. Humanity is not built on money—it is built on the meaningful exchange between people.</p>
<p class="p1"><b>How have openness and sharing influenced your work and creative process generally? </b></p>
<p class="p1">I think it has been fundamental to it. In addition to working in music, [my creative studio] has done a lot of activist work—and that is about ideas. The spreading of those ideas is fundamental to their success. We have made a lot of them free for people to use and we will be shortly be using Creative Commons again for artworks on our new website soon.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/02/26/jonathan-barnbrook-interview/">Jonathan Barnbrook on his CC-licensed art for David Bowie&#8217;s <em>Blackstar</em></a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48129
title: World Without Waste? Appropedia and the Sustainability Commons
uri: World-Without-Waste-Appropedia-and-the-Sustainability-Commons
url:
https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/03/07/world-without-waste-appropedia-and-the-sustainability-commons/

content:
<p><em>
<p>The guest post below was written by <a href="https://twitter.com/xirzon">Erik Moeller</a> of <a href="http://passionatevoices.org/">Passionate Voices</a>, a collaborative blog that hosts interviews with interesting makers, writers, thinkers, and artists from all over the world.</p>
<p></em></p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>The global <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maker_culture">maker movement</a> is known for creative hacks, as well as for getting people of all ages excited about technology and how the world works. At the intersection of maker communities and social activism, we find remarkable projects like <a href="http://opensourceecology.org/">Open Source Ecology</a>, <a href="http://www.wikihouse.cc/">WikiHouse</a>, and the topic of this article: <a href="http://www.appropedia.org/">Appropedia</a>.</p>
<p>Appropedia is not a specific effort to use technology for good, but rather a global community documenting collaborative solutions for sustainability, appropriate technology, poverty reduction, and <a href="http://www.appropedia.org/Portal:Permaculture">permaculture</a>. You can think of it as a “Wikipedia for sustainability” and, indeed, it uses similar underlying mechanics: the <a href="http://www.appropedia.org/Appropedia:Copyrights">Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License</a> and the <a href="http://mediawiki.org/">MediaWiki software</a>, for starters.</p>
<p><b></b><img class="img-responsive alignnone size-full wp-image-48130" src="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/LM_solar_workshops_2015.jpg?resize=960%2C540" alt="LM_solar_workshops_2015" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/LM_solar_workshops_2015.jpg?resize=300%2C169 300w, https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/LM_solar_workshops_2015.jpg?resize=768%2C432 768w, https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/LM_solar_workshops_2015.jpg?w=960 960w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><em><small>Appropedia co-founder Lonny Grafman (sitting, right) at the <a href="http://www.appropedia.org/Las_Malvinas_photovoltaic_workshops"> Las Malvinas photovoltaic workshops</a>, where participants become the teachers and install solar power for a public pharmacy. <a href="media/fb364923.FileLM_solar_workshops_2015.jpg" data-original-source="http://www.appropedia.org/File:LM_solar_workshops_2015.jpg">License</a>: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC BY-SA</a></small></em></p>
<p>Lonny Grafman, an an instructor at Humboldt State University in Northern California, founded Appropedia in 2006. Today it has thousands of pages on topics as diverse as <a href="http://www.appropedia.org/Solar_cooking">solar cookers</a>, <a href="http://www.appropedia.org/How_to_make_awesome_thermal_curtains">thermal curtains</a>, and <a href="http://www.appropedia.org/Portal:Rainwater_harvesting">rainwater harvesting</a>. It is available in eight languages, including the beginnings of a <a href="http://www.appropedia.org/Karibu_Appropedia">Kiswahili</a> edition.</p>
<p>The wiki is a tool for communities of practice that are looking to achieve real-world impact. At Humboldt State, Grafman founded a program called Practivistas. “In the Practivistas program, we bring students from the US and other countries to live and work with students in another country, in communities of little resources,” Grafman explains.</p>
<p>Practivistas don’t approach communities with a predetermined problem or solution. Instead, projects like a <a href="http://www.appropedia.org/Las_Malvinas_ecoladrillo_schoolroom">classroom</a> constructed using locally sourced materials and alternative building methods are planned and implemented together with local communities from start to finish. In this case, plastic bottles were used as one of the primary materials for the classroom walls.</p>
<p><img class="img-responsive size-full wp-image-48135 aligncenter" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Prototypebag.jpg?resize=2592%2C1936" alt="Prototypebag" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Prototypebag.jpg?resize=300%2C224 300w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Prototypebag.jpg?resize=768%2C574 768w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Prototypebag.jpg?resize=1024%2C765 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Prototypebag.jpg?w=2592 2592w" sizes="(max-width: 2592px) 100vw, 2592px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><em><small>A beach bag made from plastic waste as part of the <a href="http://www.appropedia.org/Arroyo_Norte_waste_plastic_innovation">Arroyo Norte waste plastic innovation project</a>. <a href="media/f8df255f.FilePrototypebag.jpg" data-original-source="http://www.appropedia.org/File:Prototypebag.jpg">License</a>: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC BY-SA</a></small></em></p>
<p>Projects are documented in Appropedia so that other communities may benefit. Beyond Practivistas, students from <a href="http://www.appropedia.org/Category:Service_learning_courses">courses</a> at Humboldt and other universities contribute content to the wiki through what’s called service learning. Explains Grafman: “It’s this thing that sits between and hopefully a little bit above internship, which is about student learning, and volunteerism, which is about the target community getting needs met.”</p>
<p>Grafman argues that engaging students in building the commons is better for the students, too: “My experience is that students learn more. Even just by motivation. When you’re doing something real, that has real impacts, there’s just a lot more motivation to do it right.”</p>
<p>In addition to his work on Appropedia, Grafman is interested in ways to reduce humanity’s energy use. He co-founded a company, <a href="http://meetnexi.com/">Nexi</a>, which makes energy monitors for the home. It’s a for-profit, and parts of the tech will remain proprietary, while Nexi may contribute to a commons of open data about energy use: “The good news is that we really don’t have to be puritanical about anything as diverse solutions will actually build more resilience.”</p>
<p>Appropedia, meanwhile, is hiring an <a href="http://www.appropedia.org/Appropedia:Executive_Director">Executive Director</a>, to make the sustainability commons itself sustainable in the long run. No matter what the future holds, as a repository of creative solutions for addressing the problems all around us, Appropedia has already demonstrated that an information commons can directly improve people’s lives.</p>
<p>You can <a href="http://www.appropedia.org/Appropedia:About">learn more about the project’s goals</a>, and read the <a href="http://passionatevoices.org/2016/02/19/episode-4-lonny-grafman/">full interview</a> I conducted with Lonny Grafman on <em>Passionate Voices</em>.</p>
<p>Erik Moeller (<a href="https://twitter.com/xirzon">@xirzon</a>), PassionateVoices.org</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/03/07/world-without-waste-appropedia-and-the-sustainability-commons/">World Without Waste? Appropedia and the Sustainability Commons</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48140
title: Happy Open Education Week!
uri: Happy-Open-Education-Week
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/03/08/happy-open-education-week/
content:
<p><img class="img-responsive alignleft wp-image-48142" src="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/960-x-437-banner-size.jpg?resize=567%2C258" alt="Open Education Week Banner" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/960-x-437-banner-size.jpg?resize=300%2C137 300w, https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/960-x-437-banner-size.jpg?resize=768%2C350 768w, https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/960-x-437-banner-size.jpg?w=960 960w" sizes="(max-width: 567px) 100vw, 567px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/a/creativecommons.org/folderview?id=0B-2iwGe3GdicfjVBRVNCSm9MWGRBWk9pem9oYVd5c3ZlSGxKS2QtY19obkRwZkY5Q0JzMUE&amp;usp=drive_web#"><span class="il">Open</span> <span class="il">Education</span> <span class="il">Week</span> <span class="il">2016</span> Banner</a><span class="il">, by: <a href="http://www.oeconsortium.org/">Open Education Consortium</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY 4.0</a></span><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"><span class="il"><br />
</span></a></span></h6>
<p>Happy <a href="http://www.openeducationweek.org/">Open Education Week</a> everyone!</p>
<p>Open Education Week is an annual convening of the global open education movement to share ideas, new open education projects and to raise awareness about open education and its impact on teaching and learning worldwide.</p>
<p>Join this weeklong celebration of the benefits of free and open sharing in education.</p>
<p>Creative Commons is actively participating with:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.openeducationweek.org/events/creative-commons-for-academics-community-stakeholders-and-business-leaders">Creative Commons for Academics, Community Stakeholders and Business Leaders  </a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.openeducationweek.org/events/oer-minihackaton">OER mini-hackaton</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.openeducationweek.org/events/an-introduction-to-creative-commons-open-educational-resources-open-policies">An Introduction to: Creative Commons, Open Educational Resources &amp; Open Policies</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.openeducationweek.org/events/exponential-teachers-hangout-with-creative-commons">Exponential Teachers Hangout with Creative Commons</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://bit.ly/ExTH-OpenEdWeek2016">hangout live</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Be sure to share your Open Education Week activities with: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/openeducationwk">#openeducationwk</a></p>
<p>What events are you planning this week?</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/03/08/happy-open-education-week/">Happy Open Education Week!</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48151
title: New Job Opportunities at Creative Commons
uri: New-Job-Opportunities-at-Creative-Commons
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/03/08/new-job-opportunities-at-creative-commons/
content:
<div id="attachment_48153" style="width: 594px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="img-responsive  wp-image-48153" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/22359007740_443dbf3447_z.jpg?resize=584%2C389&#038;ssl=1" alt="Women In Tech - 115 by WOCinTech Chat, CC BY-SA 2.0" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/22359007740_443dbf3447_z.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/22359007740_443dbf3447_z.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w" sizes="(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wocintechchat/22359007740/" target="_blank">Women In Tech &#8211; 115</a> by <a href="http://www.wocintechchat.com/" target="_blank">WOCinTech Chat</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC BY-SA 2.0</a></p></div>
<p>I’m very excited to share three new job postings with Creative Commons today, supporting three essential areas of our work: technology, communications, and fundraising. It’s a very exciting time for CC: we have new revenues, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/remix/">a new strategy</a>, and a growing Commons and an energetic movement around the world. There is new energy, a great staff, and so much potential, but we need add to our team to be successful. Below is a summary of the new positions with links to the postings.</p>
<p><b><a href="https://creativecommons.org/opportunities/director-of-engineering/" target="_blank">Director of Engineering </a><br />
</b></p>
<p>Responsible for all aspects of CC&#8217;s technology infrastructure and product and service development, the Director of Engineering will lead our existing dev team to build a more vibrant, usable global commons, powered by collaboration and gratitude. We want to light up the Commons — make it more discoverable, usable, and connected. This is the opportunity: to build products and services — both standalone and within our partner platforms — that will bring the commons to life with greater use, re-use, and contribution.</p>
<p><b><a href="https://creativecommons.org/opportunities/communications-manager/" target="_blank">Communications Manager </a><br />
</b></p>
<p>Focused on the production and distribution of communication materials that expand CC&#8217;s reach and increase the size of our community, the Communications Manager will create innovative, compelling communications that grow and connect communities of creators who want to share. You’ll help us put the best of the Commons front and centre, and show the benefits of sharing and collaboration in all the communities in which we work.</p>
<p><b><a href="https://creativecommons.org/opportunities/development-manager/" target="_blank">Development Manager</a><br />
</b></p>
<p>This position is focused on fundraising from foundation and government sources to meet our annual revenue goals. The job includes research, data management, reporting, and copy writing. Our new strategy is ambitious, and your opportunity is to support our team with the resources they need to achieve these goals. Your contribution will be vital to the success of the organization and our global community.</p>
<p>There are a few more hires in the queue this year: one in UX and one in event planning, which will likely go up in the summer. It’s a really exciting time to join CC, and an important time for the free culture and open knowledge movements around the world. Please share the posts, and help us find great people to join our team.</p>
<p>One final note: As today is International Women’s Day, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out how much I believe that our organizations are better when they have women’s voices and leadership featured prominently. Our CC staff today is 42 percent women, and 60 percent of our team at director level and above are women. But we can do better, and when we do, our work and our movement will be better as a result — all the data says so.</p>
<p>When drafting these postings, we did a final round of revisions in response to insights about <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-100-qualified">how different genders approach a call for applications</a>. Research suggests that women often choose not to apply for a position based on the requirements they don’t have, while men tend to apply regardless. Some have suggested this is a problem women should fix, which to me is about as backwards as saying women get paid systemically less for the same work because they don’t ask the right way. I think it’s a challenge for Creative Commons to address, and for me personally — ensuring we ask for everything we do need, and nothing we don’t. If we can’t hire talented, qualified women, that’s our fault, not the fault of talented, qualified women.</p>
<p>You can help: have a look at these postings and if you know a bright, creative woman who wants to change the world with us, encourage her to apply. If that person is you, we can’t wait to hear from you.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><i>Stock photo from the excellent </i><a href="http://www.wocintechchat.com/blog/wocintechphotos"><i>Women of Color in Tech</i></a><i>, that shares CC-licensed stock images, perfect for just this kind of post. We love them.</i></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/03/08/new-job-opportunities-at-creative-commons/">New Job Opportunities at Creative Commons</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48165
title: Creative Commons Turkey Joins the CC Affiliate Network
uri: Creative-Commons-Turkey-Joins-the-CC-Affiliate-Network
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/03/17/creative-commons-turkey-joins-cc-affiliate-network/
content:
<p><a href="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/25205711813_9aa1c1141e_k.jpg?ssl=1" rel="attachment wp-att-48171"><img class="img-responsive alignnone size-large wp-image-48171" src="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/25205711813_9aa1c1141e_k.jpg?resize=1024%2C678&#038;ssl=1" alt="25205711813_9aa1c1141e_k" srcset="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/25205711813_9aa1c1141e_k.jpg?resize=300%2C199&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/25205711813_9aa1c1141e_k.jpg?resize=768%2C509&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/25205711813_9aa1c1141e_k.jpg?resize=1024%2C678&amp;ssl=1 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a> <small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/141009156@N05/25205711813/in/album-72157665945908236/">Creative Commons Türkiye Lansmanı</a> (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC BY-SA</a>)</small></p>
<p>Last week, on March 11 2016, Creative Commons Turkey was officially launched during an event at Özyeğin University in Istanbul. Creative Commons is extremely proud and happy to have CC Turkey join the affiliate network, and we want to congratulate the whole team for their efforts over the last year to accomplish this.</p>
<p>We hope and expect that the CC Turkey team will play a pivotal role in the region, and we are looking forward to working with them on the translation of the licenses into Turkish and for the organisation of CC-related events!</p>
<p>Hoşgeldiniz CC Türkiye!<br />
-Gwen Franck, Regional Coordinator Europe<br />
&#8212;</p>
<p><em>Reposted from <a href="http://creativecommons.org.tr/the-creative-commons-turkey-launch/">Creative Commons Türkiye</a>:</em></p>
<p>The Creative Commons Turkey launch event was held in Özyeğin University on Friday, March 11 with the theme of #shareyourcreativity. The event featured a large number of guests including legal professionals, IT experts, researchers, educators and librarians.</p>
<p>We are pleased to announce that Creative Commons Turkey is now a part of the global CC community.</p>
<p>The event offered a rich program of exciting, horizon-broadening speeches and enlightening discussions. In the spotlight of the discussions of open society, free society and copyrights reform and culture of sharing which Creative Commons represents and is therefore a natural part of it. The use of Creative Commons licenses will make great contributions to the development of these dynamics in Turkey. The launch event was a step towards identifying the points of resistance and gaps in adopting the culture of sharing in the Turkish society and building a legal infrastructure for it.</p>
<p>Sharing and dissemination of intellectual, cultural and artistic outputs to wider audiences are unprecedented elements of a creative, innovative, well-educated, sophisticated and free society. In recognition of this fact, Creative Commons Turkey, under the leadership of Özyeğin University, will continue to work unflaggingly to enable and promote the use of CC licenses in collaboration with all stakeholders. You may follow up on our activities at <a href="http://creativecommons.org.tr/">creativecommons.org.tr</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/ccturkiye">@ccturkiye</a>.</p>
<p>We invite you all to share your creativity with CC licenses.</p>
<p>Please visit the <a href="http://creativecommons.org.tr/etkinlikler/creative-commons-turkiye-lansmani/program/">program page</a> for the presentations and videos of the Creative Commons Turkey launch event. [Photos from the event are available on <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/141009156@N05/sets/72157665945908236/">Flickr</a>.]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/03/17/creative-commons-turkey-joins-cc-affiliate-network/">Creative Commons Turkey Joins the CC Affiliate Network</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48181
title: Reporting back on the Institute for Open Leadership 2
uri: Reporting-back-on-the-Institute-for-Open-Leadership-2
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/03/28/reporting-back-institute-open-leadership-2/
content:
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-48183" src="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/25195563243_ef5affb730_z.jpg?resize=600%2C334&#038;ssl=1" alt="25195563243_ef5affb730_z" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small> <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/140868336@N03/25195563243/in/pool-2946428@N23/">The Centenary Tree Canopy Walkway</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/140868336@N03/">Alessandro Sarretta</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC BY</a></small></p>
<p>Last week Creative Commons hosted the second <a href="https://openpolicynetwork.org/iol/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Institute for Open Leadership</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The Institute is a training and peer-to-peer learning opportunity that brings together up-and-coming leaders to develop and implement an open licensing policy in their institution, province or nation. We were thrilled to welcome a diverse group of fellows from 14 countries to Cape Town, South Africa. </span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jane-Frances Agbu – National Open University of Nigeria – Nigeria</span></li>
<li>Rim Azib – British Council, Tunis – Tunisia</li>
<li>Steve Cairns – Greenpeace International – Netherlands</li>
<li>Amanda Coolidge – BCcampus – Canada</li>
<li>Daniel DeMarte – Tidewater Community College – United States</li>
<li>Paula Eskett – CORE Education – New Zealand</li>
<li>Mostafa Azad Kamal – Bangladesh Open University – Bangladesh<br />
Roshan Kumar Karn – Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital – Nepal</li>
<li>Vincent Kizza – Open Learning Exchange Uganda – Uganda</li>
<li>Fiona MacAllister – University of the Witwatersrand – South Africa</li>
<li>Katja Mayer – University of Vienna – Austria</li>
<li>Caroline Mbogo – The World Agroforestry Centre – Kenya</li>
<li>Niall McNulty – Cambridge University Press – South Africa</li>
<li>Juliana Monteiro – Museu da Imigração do Estado de São Paulo – Brazil</li>
<li>Alessandro Sarretta – Institute of Marine Sciences – Italy</li>
</ul>
<p>In addition to the fellows, we invited seven mentors with open policy expertise from various open sectors. We even brought back two IOL #1 fellows (</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Klaudia Grabowska and David Ernst)</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to be mentors at this year’s Institute.</span></p>
<p>Prior to arriving in Cape Town, all of the fellows proposed an open policy project, which they then developed with their mentors and other fellows during the week. A natural focus for the week was understanding open licensing and the potential for open policies to expand public access to knowledge, data, culture, and research around the world. But licensing is not the only component to a successful open policy adoption. Much of the week involved hearing how openness is perceived within different sectors and institutions, and coming up with strategies and tactics for addressing the important social, cultural, and technological challenges to open policy adoption. </span></p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone  wp-image-48185" src="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/25969299975_3cea1717e3_z.jpg?resize=600%2C445&#038;ssl=1" alt="25969299975_3cea1717e3_z" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small> <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/58154873@N04/25969299975/in/pool-2946428@N23/">IOL2 session</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/58154873@N04/">Kelsey</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC BY</a></small></p>
<p>In addition to learning and working with the mentors and other fellows, there were several interesting speakers that came to talk with the group, including </span><a href="http://cfms.uct.ac.za/staff/xprof-adam-haupt/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Adam Haupt</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><a href="http://www.commerciallaw.uct.ac.za/claw/staff/academic/cncube"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Caroline Ncube</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> from the University of Cape Town, Mark Horner from </span><a href="http://www.siyavula.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Siyavula</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="http://ralphborland.net/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ralph Borland</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> with Africa Robots, and Barbara Chow, TJ Bliss, and Dana Schmidt from the </span><a href="http://www.hewlett.org/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hewlett Foundation</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.  </span></p>
<p>Over the coming months, the Institute fellows will share regular updates here about their projects, including the progress they are making in implementing open licensing policies within their institutions and governments.</p>
<p>Thank you to Paul Stacey and Kelsey Wiens—who helped facilitate the week-long workshop—and to Kelsey in particular, who helped arrange all the logistics for the meeting in Cape Town. We also appreciate the assistance from the Open Policy Network and the ongoing support from the William and Flora Hewlett and the Open Society Foundations in making the Institute for Open Leadership possible.</p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone  wp-image-48184" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/25893415802_00f0a52ca3_z.jpg?resize=600%2C416&#038;ssl=1" alt="25893415802_00f0a52ca3_z" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small> <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/42511880@N03/25893415802/in/pool-2946428@N23/">IOL2 fellows and mentors</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/42511880@N03/">Cable Green</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC BY</a></small></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/03/28/reporting-back-institute-open-leadership-2/">Reporting back on the Institute for Open Leadership 2</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48232
title: Help Us Build Creative Commons Certificates – Open Community Call
uri: Help-Us-Build-Creative-Commons-Certificates-Open-Community-Call
url:
https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/05/open-community-call-help-us-build-creative-commons-certificates/

content:
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">With Creative Commons now being used by people all over the world to openly license over a billion pieces of content, a good working knowledge of what Creative Commons is and how it works is critical.</span></p>
<p>Creative Commons is developing a series of certificates to provide organizations and individuals with a range of options for increasing knowledge and use of Creative Commons.</p>
<p>The Creative Commons Master Certificate will define the full body of knowledge and skills needed to master CC. This master certificate will be of interest to those who need a broad and deep understanding of all things Creative Commons.</p>
<p>In addition, custom certificates are being designed for specific types of individuals and organizations. Initially Creative Commons is focusing on creating a specific CC Certificate for 1. educators, 2. government, and 3. librarians. The CC Certificate for each of these will include a subset of learning outcomes from the overall CC Master Certificate along with new learning outcomes specific to each role.</p>
<p>All certificates will include both a modular set of learning materials that can be used independently for informal learning, and a formal, structured and facilitated certificate the can be taken for official certification.</p>
<p>CC is grateful for initial support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Institute for Museum and Library Services who have provided funding for the development of the CC Master Certificate and specialized versions for educators, government, and librarians.</p>
<p>Creative Commons is seeking to engage the entire open community in the development of these certificates.</p>
<p><img class="img-responsive aligncenter size-full wp-image-48236" src="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/15751425_41bbde8e6a_z.jpg?resize=640%2C480&#038;ssl=1" alt="Sandcastle building image" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/15751425_41bbde8e6a_z.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/15751425_41bbde8e6a_z.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2oJmi" target="_blank">Sandcastles</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/neilt/" target="_blank">Neil Turner</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-SA </a></p>
<p>We plan to design and develop the certificates openly on the web in a way that allows for public input and contribution. We currently are experimenting with making all the certificate designs available for review and edit through GitHub and other tools.</p>
<p>In addition we are looking to tap into as much subject matter expertise as possible through the formation of  certificate working groups. A working group of Creative Commons staff has been formed to provide subject matter expertise on the CC Master Certificate. We’re also reaching out through our networks to form working groups with librarians, educators and government to ensure the specialized certificates are relevant and appropriately targeted to each group.</p>
<p>A Creative Commons Certificate librarian working group is being formed through coordinated outreach in consultation with organizations like the American Library Association, Digital Public Library of America, and SPARC.</p>
<p>The government and educator versions of the certificate are being created to satisfy needs that emerged out of the US Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College Career Training (TAACCCT) grant and the 700+ community colleges who are grantees. Creative Commons is reaching out to these and others for expertise on the government and educator versions of the certificate.</p>
<p>A working group of participants from across Creative Commons global affiliate network has also been formed to help ensure initial work takes into consideration internationalization and localization.</p>
<p>If you’d like to be actively involved in any of these working groups let us know.</p>
<p>Certificates will be created as Creative Commons licensed Open Educational Resources reusing and remixing as many existing openly licensed resources as possible. We’re looking to aggregate, adopt, and adapt existing materials as much as possible and only develop new content for areas where nothing already exists. We’ll be inviting you to identify all materials you’re aware of and map them to certificate learning outcomes.</p>
<p>Rather than focusing our initial efforts on content development we’ll instead focus on defining learning outcomes along with associated activities and assessments that effectively test those outcomes. Our aim is to have assessments be 100% performance-based, testing people on their ability to use Creative Commons in applied and practical ways. One form of activity and assessment will include having certificate participants create actual certificate content as OER. Co-creation with participants will build up a pool of community created Creative Commons Certificate content, targeted to learning outcomes, in many different languages, localized to different parts of the world, and curated by Creative Commons.</p>
<p>If you have thoughts, resources, or interest in helping out please let us know.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">We currently have a submission in to the Knight Foundation’s “</span><a href="https://www.newschallenge.org/challenge/how-might-libraries-serve-21st-century-information-needs/brief"><span style="font-weight: 400">How might libraries serve 21st century information needs?</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400">” challenge brief. If successful, we plan to engage working groups of librarians in multi-day sprint workshops to do everything from co-defining learning outcomes, to identifying existing CC related openly licensed curricula, beta testing curricula, and defining optimal modes of delivery and duration. If you think that is a good idea or want to be part of those sprints we invite you to express interest by sharing your comments here </span><a href="https://www.newschallenge.org/challenge/how-might-libraries-serve-21st-century-information-needs/submissions/creative-commons-cc-certificate-for-librarians"><span style="font-weight: 400">Creative Commons (CC) Certificate for Librarians</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400">. </span></p>
<p>In future development, Creative Commons is planning for a train-the-trainer certification which will authorize others to deliver Creative Commons certificates on its behalf in different parts of the world. We welcome expressions of interest from other organizations wanting to work with us on this.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">As CC embarks on its </span><a href="media/8930030d.CC-Strategy-2016-2020-1.pdf" data-original-source="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/CC-Strategy-2016-2020-1.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400">strategy</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> to “foster a vibrant, usable, and collaborative global commons”, Creative Commons certificates will play a critical role in ensuring participation scales in informed and skilled ways. </span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/05/open-community-call-help-us-build-creative-commons-certificates/">Help Us Build Creative Commons Certificates &#8211; Open Community Call</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48197
title: New Open Education Search App by OpenEd.com and Microsoft
uri: New-Open-Education-Search-App-by-OpenEd-com-and-Microsoft
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/13/new-open-education-search-app-opened-com/
content:
<p>A new Open Education Search App is available as part of the U.S. Department of Education&#8217;s <a href="http://tech.ed.gov/open-education/">#GoOpen campaign</a>, a commitment by 14 states and 40 districts to transition to the use of high-quality, openly-licensed educational resources in their schools. The search app pulls in data from the <a href="http://learningregistry.org/">Learning Registry</a> and works within any <a href="https://www.imsglobal.org/activity/learning-tools-interoperability">Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI)</a> compliant Learning Management System. The Open Education Search App enables educators and other users within these districts to search for and assign OER directly within an LMS. Current search filters include subject, grade, topic, and individual standard (eg. Common Core, NGSS, Texas TEKS). Information about the CC license status of the resource is also displayed. The app is available now on the <a href="https://www.eduappcenter.com/apps/500#.Vv2m1Y_YLdT">EduAppCenter</a>; you can also check out a screenshot of how it looks below.</p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-48250 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/OpenEdSearchApp-3.jpg?resize=700%2C521&#038;ssl=1" alt="OpenEdSearchApp" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/OpenEdSearchApp-3.jpg?w=700&amp;ssl=1 700w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/OpenEdSearchApp-3.jpg?resize=300%2C223&amp;ssl=1 300w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
<p>In addition to the Open Education Search App, Creative Commons license integration and search is available on Microsoft&#8217;s <a href="https://docs.com/">Docs.com</a>. Both <a href="https://www.opened.com/">OpenEd.com</a> and Microsoft are #GoOpen platform partners working to create the environment where educators and students can access the tools, content and expertise necessary to thrive in a connected world. Creative Commons will continue to work closely with both to integrate CC license choice and content discovery across platforms.</p>
<p>Learn more about Creative Commons work with platforms: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/platform/">https://creativecommons.org/platform/</a>.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/13/new-open-education-search-app-opened-com/">New Open Education Search App by OpenEd.com and Microsoft</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48276
title: At Japanese Beatmaking Event, Producers Create CC Remixes in Just Four Hours
uri: At-Japanese-Beatmaking-Event-Producers-Create-CC-Remixes-in-Just-Four
url:
https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/14/japanese-beatmaking-event-producers-create-cc-remixes-just-four-hours/

content:
<p><a href="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/artworks-000157071751-owfm6n-t500x500.jpg?ssl=1"><img class="img-responsive alignnone size-full wp-image-48277" src="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/artworks-000157071751-owfm6n-t500x500.jpg?resize=500%2C500&#038;ssl=1" alt="artworks-000157071751-owfm6n-t500x500" srcset="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/artworks-000157071751-owfm6n-t500x500.jpg?w=500&amp;ssl=1 500w, https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/artworks-000157071751-owfm6n-t500x500.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/artworks-000157071751-owfm6n-t500x500.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p>
<p>Earlier this month, the fine folks of <a href="http://creativecommons.jp/">Creative Commons Japan</a> hosted a beatmaking event at <a href="http://bigakko.jp/">Bigakko</a>, an innovative art education center in Tokyo. A quartet of up and coming Japanese electronic music producers—<a href="https://soundcloud.com/madegg">Madegg</a>, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/metome">Metome</a>, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/shokuhin-maturi">Foodman</a> (best name ever), and <a href="https://soundcloud.com/canooooopy">Canooooopy</a>—were issued a challenge: Create brand new remixes of CC-licensed tracks found online. The musicians had exactly four hours to complete the challenge, from finding the CC-licensed source material to exporting their finished remixes.</p>
<p>The results turned out to be pretty fantastic, and are now available through the <a href="https://soundcloud.com/wearecc/sets/cc-japan-presents-beat-making">Creative Commons SoundCloud account</a>. Most of the remixes and almost all of the source tracks that were used are licensed under CC BY and CC BY-SA, so there&#8217;s a lot here that you can not only listen to but also use for your own projects and remixes. Check &#8217;em out:</p>
<p>Madegg, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/wearecc/mdg-banana-man?in=wearecc/sets/cc-japan-presents-beat-making">&#8220;Banana Man&#8221;</a></p>
<p>Metome, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/wearecc/metome-impro-2016l4l2?in=wearecc/sets/cc-japan-presents-beat-making">&#8220;Impro 2016l4l2&#8221;</a></p>
<p>食品まつりa.k.a Foodman, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/wearecc/foodman-hey?in=wearecc/sets/cc-japan-presents-beat-making">&#8220;Hey&#8221;</a></p>
<p>Canooooopy, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/wearecc/canooooopy-clouded-souls-of-crowds?in=wearecc/sets/cc-japan-presents-beat-making">&#8220;雲間に閃く集合知 [clouded souls of crowds]&#8221;</a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/14/japanese-beatmaking-event-producers-create-cc-remixes-just-four-hours/">At Japanese Beatmaking Event, Producers Create CC Remixes in Just Four Hours</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48256
title: Active OER: Beyond open licensing policies
uri: Active-OER-Beyond-open-licensing-policies
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/14/active-oer-beyond-open-licensing-policies/
content:
<div><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonastana/15440396324/" target="_blank"><img class="img-responsive " title="eBook by Jonas Tana, on Flickr" src="https://i1.wp.com/farm8.static.flickr.com/7578/15440396324_0958f53aa3_b.jpg?resize=600%2C400&#038;ssl=1" alt="eBook by Jonas Tana, on Flickr" border="0" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><small>&#8220;<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonastana/15440396324/" target="_blank">eBook</a>&#8221; (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/" target="_blank" rel="license">CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</a>) by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/jonastana/" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/jonastana/" target="_blank" rel="cc:attributionURL">Jonas Tana</a><a href="http://www.imagecodr.org/" target="_blank"> </a></small></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is a guest blog post written by Alek Tarkowski, Director of </span></i><a href="http://centrumcyfrowe.pl/"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Centrum Cyfrowe</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and co-founder of </span></i><a href="http://creativecommons.pl/"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Creative Commons Poland</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. On April 14, 2016, 60 experts from 30 countries are meeting in Kraków, Poland for the first </span></i><a href="http://oerpolicy.eu/oer-policy-forum/"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">OER Policy Forum</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The goal of the event is to build on the foundations for OER strategy development and define collective paths towards greater, active OER adoption.</span></i></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>In 2015, the Polish government launched an <a href="http://www.epodreczniki.pl/begin/">online repository</a> of open, Creative Commons Attribution-licensed e-textbooks, covering the core curriculum for primary and lower secondary education. After five years, open education activists finally saw their advocacy work bear fruit. In parallel, the government changed the textbook funding model, which translated into massive cost savings for parents and students.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With this goal achieved, we ask ourselves: is our work done? Or is this just the first step in fully achieving the potential for Open Educational Resources (OER) in education? Do we just need textbooks that parents and students don&#8217;t have to pay for, or do we need educators and learners actively engaging with resources, and trying out new pedagogies? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The issue surfaces from time to time in discussions on OER policies, but not often enough. We need to move beyond strategies that ensure open availability of content, and supplement them with active policies that support engagement of educators and learners with open resources. Scale of usage, and not just the number of available resources, should be our key metric of success. </span></p>
<p><b>Just free, or also open?</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In February, at the annual meeting of the OER community, organised by the Hewlett Foundation, </span><a href="http://opencontent.org/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">David Wiley</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><a href="http://www.johnhiltoniii.org/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">John Hilton III</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> organised a discussion on &#8220;free vs. open&#8221;. The terminology itself was a bit confusing, because by &#8220;free&#8221; they meant &#8220;freely available&#8221;, and by &#8220;open&#8221; they meant allowing the </span><a href="http://opencontent.org/blog/archives/3221"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;5 Rs&#8221;</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of active reuse of content. Such use of terms would cause a violent outburst from any orthodox Free Software advocate, since that community has clear definitions of </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratis_versus_libre"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;libre&#8221; and &#8220;gratis&#8221;</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. But the strange choice of key terms made sense in a way—it drew our attention from the typical way we have been naming things to the problem at heart of OER developments.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We&#8217;ve spent too much time arguing about the virtues of &#8220;libre&#8221; vs. &#8220;gratis&#8221;, which usually are rooted in moral arguments centered around the value of freedom. Not enough effort has been made to relate the value of OER to real-life educational challenges and the  everyday practices of educators and learners. The OER movement, like much of the open movement, has not paid enough attention to the actual value that openly-licensed resources provide to their users—in such as way that is defined in more precise terms than a potential for greater personal freedom. (This issue has been raised by John Wilbanks in his </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MFCucnXVgs"><span style="font-weight: 400;">keynote at the OpenEd conference in 2014</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wiley and Hilton rightly asked participants of the discussion: what do we gain from policies that lead to the provision of freely available resources? And how do we support open use of resources? The conversation is timely: OER policies are gaining important footholds in the United States. On the one hand, the federal government is committing to making openly available the educational content funded with public tax dollars. Also, at the state level—in particular colleges—educational systems are switching from proprietary to open resources, with the &#8220;Z degree&#8221; (zero resource cost college degree) leading the way. Using the terms of the debate, these are &#8220;gratis&#8221;, but not necessarily &#8220;libre&#8221; policies.</span></p>
<p><b>Strong and weak forms of open policies</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The same challenge became clear to me over the last five years, as the Polish government has been implementing its open textbooks program. In 2011, Poland adopted a </span><b>strong open</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> model, which ensures legal openness (through open licensing), technical openness (for example use of open formats and dealing with accessibility issues) and which makes content available with no costs for end users. Polish open textbooks are available for free, in open formats, and under an open license. This is different from a </span><b>weak open</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> model, in which open licensing is not used. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This weak open model has been for almost two decades at the heart of the Open Access model of scientific publishing, in which academic research articles published in scholarly journals are made available to freely access and read (without carrying a specific open license), typically after an embargo period. Yet in recent years we see a shift toward strong openness in Open Access publishing. This has been explicitly expressed through the re-formulation of principles at the </span><a href="http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/boai-10-recommendations"><span style="font-weight: 400;">10th Anniversary of the Budapest Open Access Initiative</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Open licensing ensures strong openness by ensuring, through legal means, rights defined in the educational sphere by Wiley’s “5 Rs”. Recommendations to do so are based on a very well developed argument that goes back to </span><a href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Richard Stallman&#8217;s thinking on user freedoms</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and </span><a href="http://remix.lessig.org/book.php"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lawrence Lessig&#8217;s idea of remix as core activity for free culture</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. But while reuse of code is a common practice in computer programming, reuse of educational content remains an elusive phenomenon. Open licensing advocates usually argue on the basis of future gains: we need to provide a reuse potential by removing legal barriers so that one day we can see novel types of reuse happen. The challenge our community faces is whether the positive changes advocates say will be realized by adopting strong open policies (i.e. policies that deliberately contain an open licensing mandate) can be observed quickly enough in order to validate their development and implementation. Without solid data on why strong open models are needed, they might be evaluated as overly challenging or ineffective. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We need to remember that strong openness is much more controversial than its weak form. In Poland, the willingness of the government to support a strong open policy led to a conflict with a strong lobby of educational publishers. The controversy focused solely on legal issues around ownership of content &#8211; and would have been easily solved by adopting a weak policy model (which the Polish government refused to do, fortunately). </span></p>
<p><b>Free or Open? Wrong question?</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Making the distinction between “libre” and “gratis” (or &#8220;free&#8221; and &#8220;open&#8221;, to use terminology proposed by Wiley and Hilton) is a first, important step. Only then we become aware that there is more to OER policies than just open licensing requirements. It becomes possible to define a spectrum of policies through which educational change happens thanks to openly shared and reused resources.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yet this does not mean that we need to choose between one strategy or the other. Lowering textbook and materials costs for parents and students has been an important aspect of the education policy introduced in Poland. Similarly, open licensing is an important standard for public funding of educational resources and  should remain core to any impactful OER policy. These are important policies, with the potential of introducing greater equality into the educational system. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But we need to be aware that such a policy, on its own, is a &#8220;passive&#8221; one if we consider broader goals defined by the open education movement. It&#8217;s one that creates only potential action for further change. We need to ask the question, what is happening to content that we have openly provided? And build policies that later support not just passive provision of OER, but their active reuse.</span></p>
<p><b>Mapping paths toward open education</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reuse is not something that can only happen &#8220;in the wild&#8221; once the adequate conditions are created. In fact, such organic reuse is quite rare. Although we lack empirical data, I would assume that less than 5% of users is willing to modify content, remix it, create own versions and mash-ups. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If we agree that empowerment and engagement of educators and learners is an important goal, we need to implement </span><b>active policies</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that build on and support the potential ensured by passive ones. These could include incentives for teachers to create, reuse and share OER, investing in repositories and other types of infrastructure for discovery and analytics of content, or paying attention to digital literacy of teachers and formulation of new pedagogies. Developing, testing and implementing such active policies in educational systems around the world has to compliment efforts to open resources.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Almost five years after the signing of the </span><a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/access-to-knowledge/open-educational-resources/what-is-the-paris-oer-declaration/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Paris OER Declaration</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and ten years after the </span><a href="http://www.capetowndeclaration.org/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">foundational meeting in Cape Town</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, it is time to define new strategies. For the last few years, I have been advocating for the definition of such &#8220;paths to open education&#8221;. In response, I’ve often heard that education is too varied for such standard scenarios to be defined. But if we want policies that support active reuse of OERs, then we need to define such standard paths. It is clear to me that these would be useful for policymakers asking the same questions. And the answers to some of these questions might even be easier than focusing most of our efforts and outreach on open licensing.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/14/active-oer-beyond-open-licensing-policies/">Active OER: Beyond open licensing policies</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48279
title: Developing Open Policy for Higher Education
uri: Developing-Open-Policy-for-Higher-Education
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/15/developing-open-policy-higher-education/
content:
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">In March we </span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">hosted the second Institute for Open Leadership, and in our </span></i><a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/03/28/reporting-back-institute-open-leadership-2/"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">summary of the event</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> we mentioned that the Institute fellows would be taking turns to write about their open policy projects. First up is Amanda Coolidge, Senior Man</span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">ager of Open Education at BCcampus.</span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I have been in the field of open education for 10 years, starting in 2006, when I was based in Nairobi, Kenya working on the </span><a href="http://www.tessafrica.net/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">TESSA Project</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> through the Open University UK.  I joined BCcampus’s Open Education Team in 2014 and have had the opportunity to work on a variety of open education projects provincially, nationally, and internationally. BCcampus supports the work of the British Columbia (Canada) post-secondary system in the areas of teaching, learning, and educational technology. My role is to lead the Open Education team, and in particular to advocate for open education practices across the province of B.C. BCcampus’s Open Education team is best known for the work we have done on the </span><a href="https://open.bccampus.ca/about-2/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">B.C. Open Textbook Project</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p>
<div><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/37961627@N02/25829866573/" target="_blank"><img class="img-responsive " title="IOL2 Working by amanda.coolidge, on Flickr" src="https://i1.wp.com/farm2.static.flickr.com/1446/25829866573_5005710be0_b.jpg?resize=501%2C501&#038;ssl=1" alt="IOL2 Working by amanda.coolidge, on Flickr" border="0" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><small>&#8220;<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/37961627@N02/25829866573/" target="_blank">IOL2 Working</a>&#8221; (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank" rel="license">CC BY 2.0</a>) by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/37961627@N02/" target="_blank" rel="cc:attributionURL">amanda.coolidge</a></small></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Institute for Open Leadership was the most profound and inspirational professional development activity I have taken part in. I had the chance to meet a group of passionate open advocates from around the world who are changing open policy in museums, non-profit organizations, research, and higher education. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">From the week in Cape Town, I came away with two small open policy projects, and one large project. </span></p>
<h3>BCcampus Open Education contracts with grantees</h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the smaller open policy projects I have taken on is to change and clarify the wording of our contracts with our B.C. grantees. When we work on projects—either creating or adapting open educational resources—each grantee must adhere to the contract that is outlined between BCcampus and the grantee. The language in these contracts needed to be stronger to ensure that openness was not an afterthought, but that it was deeply embedded into the work we were asking the grantee to accomplish. Changes to the wording of our contracts include:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Technical formats for revision and remixing: </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Completed OER materials must include the original, editable files for re-distribution.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Accessibility standards: OER in the form of multimedia, such as videos or audio, must be compliant with accessibility standards and include a transcript and preferably closed captioning.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Clarification of the CC license requirements for newly created works and the use of existing resources in the development of materials:</span>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>New Creation – copyright with author(s)</b>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The materials covered by this contract will be a newly created work, for which the copyright will be held by the author or in the case of a new book that is collaboratively produced by more than one author the copyright will be jointly owned by all contributing authors. In both cases, t</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">he resulting content will be</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">licensed for reuse with the most current version of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><b>Use of Existing Content</b>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Any existing content used in the development of the materials must have a Creative Commons License. The use of the materials must comply with the original Creative Commons License attributed to the existing content.</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Open policy for the Ministry of Advanced Education</h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The second smaller—yet potentially more impactful—policy project is developing an open policy statement for our B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education. The open policy is directed to granting funds, in that the Ministry would state that all grantees who receive public funds from the Ministry of Advanced Education must use CC licensed material in the development of their said project. While this is still in draft form and has not been formally presented to the Ministry, a part of the statement reads:</span></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Grantees are encouraged to search existing resources and OER repositories for openly licensed learning objects and, where appropriate, reuse these learning objects instead of duplicating existing objects as components of their proposed programs. If existing OER are reused as part of the grant funded project, the grantee shall comply with the terms of the applicable open license, including proper attribution.</span></p></blockquote>
<h3>Open educational resources policy guide</h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The third, and largest, open policy project is the creation of an Open Educational Resources Policy Guide for Colleges and Universities in both the United States and Canada. I have the distinct pleasure of working on this project with another IOL Fellow, </span><a href="http://www.tcc.edu/about-tcc/college-leadership/executive-staff"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Daniel Demarte</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Daniel is Vice President for Academic Affairs &amp; Chief Academic Officer at Tidewater Community College. Daniel and I are very passionate about ensuring that the development and implementation of OER is successful in higher education. We believe that in order to mainstream OER development and adoption, an open policy should be implemented. The purpose of the guide is to promote the utilization of OER and scale efforts to full OER programs. It is written primarily for governance officials at public two-year colleges in the United States and Colleges and Universities in Canada. The contents of the policy guide are not intended to be prescriptive; contents are intended to be adapted for use according to a college’s culture. The OER policy guide is organized in three sections including:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">OER Policy Principles</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Components of an OER Policy</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">OER Policy Resources</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The components of OER Policy section includes the following topics that we think decision-makers should consider when developing an institutional OER Policy, or when integrating these components into an existing institutional policy:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">OER Purpose</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">OER Policy Statement</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Intellectual Property and Licensing OER Content</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">OER Procedures and Responsibilities</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">OER Training and Professional Development</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">OER Course Design</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">OER Content Development</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sharing OER Content</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">OER Technical Format</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">OER Sustainability (college-wide capacity, funding model, tenure)</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">OER Quality Assurance</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For each component, we provide an explanation of why the component is needed, sample policy statements, sample resources, and a recommended action checklist. Stay tuned for continued updates on the status of the Open Educational Resources policy guide.</span></p>
<p>I would like to give my sincere thanks to Creative Commons, mentors, fellows, and the Open Policy Network for including me in the Institute for Open Leadership.</p>
<div><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/37961627@N02/26366500991/" target="_blank"><img class="img-responsive alignnone" title="View from Table Mountain by amanda.coolidge, on Flickr" src="https://i2.wp.com/farm2.static.flickr.com/1492/26366500991_e0031c385d_b.jpg?resize=600%2C273&#038;ssl=1" alt="View from Table Mountain by amanda.coolidge, on Flickr" border="0" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><small>&#8220;<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/37961627@N02/26366500991/" target="_blank">View from Table Mountain</a>&#8221; (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank" rel="license">CC BY 2.0</a>) by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/37961627@N02/" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/37961627@N02/" target="_blank" rel="cc:attributionURL">amanda.coolidge</a><a href="http://www.imagecodr.org/" target="_blank"> </a></small></div>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/15/developing-open-policy-higher-education/">Developing Open Policy for Higher Education</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48206
title: How should we attribute 3D printed objects?
uri: How-should-we-attribute-3D-printed-objects
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/19/attribute-3d-printed-objects/
content:
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">How should we attribute authors of CC-licensed 3D designs once that design has been used to print a 3D physical object?</span></i></p>
<div id="attachment_48292" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="img-responsive wp-image-48292 size-full" title="3DSystems 3D Printed Bass" src="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/16675977030_d2523f0664_z.jpg?resize=640%2C359&#038;ssl=1" alt="3DSystems 3D Printed Bass" srcset="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/16675977030_d2523f0664_z.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/16675977030_d2523f0664_z.jpg?resize=300%2C168&amp;ssl=1 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pestoverde/16675977030/"><span property="dc:title">3DSystems 3D Printed Bass</span></a> / <span property="cc:attributionName">Maurizio Pesce</span> / <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" rel="license">CC BY</a></small><br /></p></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The challenge of attribution, or “view source,” for 3D printed objects, is widespread in the 3D printing community, an active part of CC’s larger network. It is multi-layered and speaks to existing needs by both creators and users of 3D designs. Creators want to be credited for their designs because it feels good to be recognized; plus, as a creator you want to know if and how your work is being used. Users, who are often other creators, want to be able to view the source design behind a physical object so that they can use the design to reprint the object, modify the design, remix it with other designs, or make significant creative additions to the design.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Michael Weinberg from Shapeways first presented on the challenge of attribution in 3D printing at the CC Global Summit last October and wrote up </span><a href="http://michaelweinberg.org/post/132223260200/by-3d-creative-commons-attribution-and-3d"><span style="font-weight: 400;">this post</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> summarizing the issue.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In CC’s view, the challenge is more than just compliance with the attribution condition of CC licenses. Actually, it is debatable whether attribution is legally required on the physical object of a CC-licensed 3D design in the first place. Notwithstanding the legal question of whether attribution is required, CC is interested in the challenge of attribution because it speaks to two of our three </span><a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/01/20/lets-light-up-the-global-commons/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">new strategic outcomes</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">: </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">discovery</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">collaboration</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Standardizing attribution for 3D print objects and providing the information infrastructure behind it (such as a registry or database) would increase </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">discovery</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the CC-licensed designs behind the objects and increase connections and </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">collaborations</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for users who wish to adapt CC-licensed designs to different contexts either on their own or in direct dialogue with the original creator.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Indicating the license on a design is simple; platforms like Thingiverse and Sketchfab have </span><a href="https://blog.sketchfab.com/sketchfab-launches-a-download-option-and-reaches-200k-3d-files/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">made it easy to upload</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><a href="http://www.makerbot.com/blog/2016/03/14/thingiverse-creative-commons-licenses-explained"><span style="font-weight: 400;">mark your 3D designs with a CC license</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, complete with machine-readable license metadata embedded within the webpage where you download the design file. But once someone sends that file off to a printer, the license information is gone, including the source of the creation &#8212; the author, or any way to contact her. The printed physical object doesn’t carry the license info, and though some platforms have provided workarounds, like Thingiverse’s “</span><a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1465718/attribution_card"><span style="font-weight: 400;">print thing tags</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">,” these workarounds only make sense for some objects (eg. figurines) but not others (eg. earrings). So how do you view the source of a copyrighted 3D printed object so that you can give credit, print your own version, or iterate on the original design? How do you comply with the attribution requirement of the CC license, if it is in fact legally required? </span></p>
<p><b>Let’s figure out a standard way to attribute and view the source of 3D printed objects</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Given the current momentum and interest in the 3D printing movement, we think it is much more likely that a standard will be adopted now — this year — rather than at a later date. We want to make sure that any norms that are set are discoverable (machine-readable), usable (user-friendly), and widely adopted (3D community-approved). We also want to make sure that the information behind each attribution is not lost, but indexed in a registry or database so that a user could potentially scan a 3D printed object and view not only its source and license info, but also its derivatives and any commercial models associated with it. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The hope is that any standard for 3D printing could also be adapted for different fields where there are physical objects linked to their digital attributions, eg. print books, but for now we want to focus on the needs of the 3D printing community.</span></p>
<p><b>Where do we begin? </b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To start, we’ve laid out the basic issues and legal questions we need to consider so that we can start researching them, below. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The TL;DR versi</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">on:</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> We will research and document the basics of 3D printing, including figuring out what types of content are actually copyrightable. We will learn more about how CC licenses are used in the 3D printing community: what and how are users licensing? how are they currently providing credit and source information? We will also explore the policy implications of encouraging attribution as a social norm even where it is not required because copyright does not apply. </span></p>
<p><b>Research questions in detail</b></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Basics about how 3D printing works</span></i></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Breakdown of the most common 3D printing process(es) from idea conception to creation of physical object, including types of digital files involved (e.g. scans and CAD files), simple explanation of technical process that occurs in 3D printer, etc.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How often are CC licenses applied in this domain? How often are they complied with?</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What are common techniques for giving credit and identifying source in 3D printing? Real world rules of thumb for ShareAlike?</span></li>
</ul>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Role of copyright in 3D printing</span></i></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Within the 3D printing process, which digital files and physical objects are likely eligible for copyright and why? Which ones are not?</span>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What are limitations of copyrightability in each of these and how could they or have they been applied? (e.g., useful article rule, merger doctrine)</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Outline relevant case law. (U.S. and major international cases)</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">When is copyright in each of those objects potentially implicated in the 3D printing process?</span>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Even where copying or adaptation occurs, what exceptions or limitations might apply? (e.g., fair use, severability test)</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Outline relevant case law. (U.S. and major international cases)</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Policy implications to think about following initial research of copyright in 3D printing</span></i></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Even if attribution is not legally required, would promoting a standard of attribution result in expansion of copyright (or publicly perceived expansion of copyright)?</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">If copyright is not applicable, what is, or should be, CC’s role in this space?</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Michael Weinberg and Public Knowledge have already provided some </span><a href="https://www.publicknowledge.org/news-blog/blogs/it-will-be-awesome-if-they-dont-screw-it-up-3d-printing"><span style="font-weight: 400;">great</span></a> <a href="media/a9f1c684.What27s20the20Deal20with20Copyright_20Final20version2.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.publicknowledge.org/files/What%27s%20the%20Deal%20with%20Copyright_%20Final%20version2.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">baseline</span></a> <a href="https://www.publicknowledge.org/documents/3-steps-for-licensing-your-3d-printed-stuff"><span style="font-weight: 400;">research</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for these questions. We welcome links to other existing research. There may be academic research we don’t have access to (ironically), so any pointers would be helpful. </span></p>
<p><b>We want your input</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At the same time that we are scoping and carrying out legal research, we will be helping to organize an initial meeting of 3D experts in law, design, and technology, including platforms that enable hosting and distribution of CC-licensed 3D designs. We’ll share our initial thinking and blueprints for prototypes from this meeting, gather community feedback, and then iterate to develop these prototypes for testing in a few platforms. The goal is not for us to develop something that is tech</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">nically perfect, but for something that has community buy-in for wide and easy adoption.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We’d like to hear from you regarding any of the above. What are we missing in terms of the legal and policy questions? What are some technical solutions that platforms are already using that we should be considering? Who should be involved that we’re not already talking to? And last, but not least, what are your current practices and ideas as a user? Please </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/contact"><span style="font-weight: 400;">contact us</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> directly or on the </span><a href="https://creativecommons.email/mailman/listinfo/community"><span style="font-weight: 400;">cc-community list</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. We’re only just getting started.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/19/attribute-3d-printed-objects/">How should we attribute 3D printed objects?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48298
title: Vice President Biden: Taxpayer-funded cancer research shouldn’t sit behind walls
uri: Vice-President-Biden-Taxpayer-funded-cancer-research-shouldn-t-sit
url:
https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/22/vice-president-biden-taxpayer-funded-cancer-research-shouldnt-sit-behind-walls/

content:
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On Wednesday in New Orleans, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden </span><a href="https://medium.com/@VPOTUS/here-s-what-the-vice-president-said-to-the-largest-convening-of-cancer-researchers-in-the-country-3007bb196dbd#.nz0s3b803"><span style="font-weight: 400;">spoke</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> at the convening of the American Association for Cancer Research on the need to speed up scientific research, development, and collaboration that can lead to better cancer treatments. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vice President Biden is leading the </span><a href="http://www.cancer.gov/research/key-initiatives/moonshot-cancer-initiative"><span style="font-weight: 400;">National Cancer Moonshot Initiative</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which aims to accelerate cancer research and “make more therapies available to more patients, while also improving our ability to prevent cancer and detect it at an early stage.”</span></p>
<p><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/163625176?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><small><a href="https://vimeo.com/163625176">VP Joe Biden asks about CC&#8217;s Ryan Merkley&#8217;s op-ed in Wired</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/metamattl">Matt Lee</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</small></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In his remarks to the American Association for Cancer Research, Biden discussed a broad global support for the Cancer Moonshot Initiative. He talked about the importance of collaboration among cancer researchers, academic institutions, patient groups, the private sector, and government. </span></p>
<p>He made a commitment to cancer researchers to help break down barriers that get in the way of their work. One of the barriers is not having broad open access to cancer research and data. The Vice President asked about the types of innovative insights and discoveries that could be made possible with next generation supercomputers and openly accessible, machine readable text and data.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Biden spoke about realigning the incentives around sharing cancer data so that research and development can lead to better treatments, faster. He said, <strong>“taxpayers fund $5 billion a year in cancer research every year, but once it’s published, nearly all of that taxpayer-funded research sits behind walls. Tell me how this is moving the process along more rapidly.”</strong> Biden quoted Creative Commons CEO Ryan Merkley, who this week published an </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/2016/04/stealing-publicly-funded-research-isnt-stealing/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">op-ed in WIRED</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> on the urgent imperative for open access to publicly funded cancer research: </span></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Imagine if instead we said we will no longer conceal cancer’s secrets in a paywall journal — pay-walled journals with restricted databases, and instead make all that we know open to everyone so that the world can join the global campaign to end cancer in our lifetimes? It’s a pretty good question. There may be reasons why it shouldn’t be answered like I think it should — and I’m going to hear from you, I hope, because I’ve not made these recommendations yet. But it seems to me this matters. This question matters.</span></p></blockquote>
<p>In the op-ed, Merkley pushed for a fundamental change in the model for sharing and collaboration around scientific information, including cancer research: “An alternative system, where all publicly-funded research is required to be shared under a permissive license, would allow authors to unlock their content and data for re-use with a global audience, and co-operate in new discoveries and analysis.”</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We’re grateful to see Vice President Biden’s continued support in the fight against cancer, and we’re committed to assisting in the efforts to ensure unrestricted access to cancer research for the public good.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/22/vice-president-biden-taxpayer-funded-cancer-research-shouldnt-sit-behind-walls/">Vice President Biden: Taxpayer-funded cancer research shouldn’t sit behind walls</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48307
uri: The-long-arm-of-copyright-Millions-blocked-from-reading-original-vers
title:
The long arm of copyright: Millions blocked from reading original versions of The Diary of Anne Frank

url:
https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/26/long-arm-copyright-millions-blocked-reading-original-versions-diary-anne-frank/

content:
<p><a href="http://annefrank.centrumcyfrowe.pl/"><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-48313" src="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/anna_frank-infograph2v2-3.png?resize=600%2C430&#038;ssl=1" alt="anna_frank-infograph2v2 (3)" srcset="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/anna_frank-infograph2v2-3.png?w=1400&amp;ssl=1 1400w, https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/anna_frank-infograph2v2-3.png?resize=300%2C214&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/anna_frank-infograph2v2-3.png?resize=768%2C549&amp;ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The original writings of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Diary of Anne Frank</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> should have entered the public domain on January 1, 2016. They should have become freely accessible to everyone who wants to read and experience this important cultural work. Instead, the texts remain clogged in the pipes of EU copyright law. In some countries like Poland, the texts are in the public domain. In others, such as the Netherlands, the original writings are protected under copyright until 2037. As a result, millions of people are unable to access and read the online versions of the original works. (The situation is even worse in the U.S., where those writings will <a href="https://blog.wikimedia.org/2016/02/10/anne-frank-diary-removal/">remain under copyright until 2042</a>.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Centrum Cyfrowe, Kennisland, and COMMUNIA are highlighting the strange legal situation around </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Diary of Anne Frank </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">with the campaign </span><b><i>#ReadAnneDiary</i></b><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today, the Polish digital education organization Centrum Cyfrowe published the original, Dutch-language version of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Diary of Anne Frank </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">online at </span><a href="http://annefrank.centrumcyfrowe.pl/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">annefrank.centrumcyfrowe.pl</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. This is the first time internet users will able to read the original writings of Anne Frank online. But unless you’re in Poland, you won’t be able to access it. Why? Because as of today, the primary texts are still protected by copyright in most member states of the European Union. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">COMMUNIA </span><a href="http://www.communia-association.org/2016/04/25/anne-frank-term-copyright-protection-time-move-harmonisation-unification/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">explains</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> the copyright confusion surrounding the diary: </span></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">First, the Anne Frank Foundation announced their plans to list Otto (Anne Frank’s father) as a co-author, which would extend the protection period of the published diary until 2050. Next, due to a transitional rule in Dutch law it became clear that Anne Frank’s original writings would not enter the public domain in 2016 in the Netherlands (and many other EU countries with similar rules). Finally, in early February the Wikimedia Foundation (the organization that hosts Wikipedia and related projects) decided to remove the Dutch-language text of the diary from Wikisource.</span></p></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s a mess. But it doesn’t have to be this way. COMMUNIA underscores the need for a modern, progressive copyright framework in Europe: </span></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Currently, the rules for establishing the duration of the term of protection are so complex that we need the support of legal experts from different European countries just to determine whether an individual work is still protected by copyright or neighboring rights. In particular, the lack of effective harmonisation of the duration of copyright across the EU hampers efforts of organisations and entrepreneurs, who want to offer online products and services. Only an intervention at the European level can be remedy this situation. As we have repeatedly argued, the term of copyright protection should be reduced and fully harmonized and unified throughout the EU. If we want to fully unlock the potential of our rich cultural heritage we need clear rules that allow anyone to determine whether a work is still protected by copyright. This also includes making it clear that digitization of public domain works does not create new rights.</span></p></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><b><i>#ReadAnneDiary</i></b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> campaign corresponds with this year’s </span><a href="http://www.wipo.int/ip-outreach/en/ipday/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">World Intellectual Property Day</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Copyright and other intellectual property rights can be used to promote creativity, sharing, and innovation. Creative Commons licensing allows authors to publish their creative works on more flexible terms than the default all rights reserved regime. Creators of all types are leveraging open copyright licensing and the public domain to collaborate and share a wealth of content—including digital educational resources, scientific research findings, and rich cultural and artistic works.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At the same time, it’s crucial that the public has the right to access important historical works like original versions of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Diary of Anne Frank</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. It should be available online—in the public domain—for anyone to access, read, and appreciate.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/26/long-arm-copyright-millions-blocked-reading-original-versions-diary-anne-frank/">The long arm of copyright: Millions blocked from reading original versions of <em>The Diary of Anne Frank</em></a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48320
title: U.S. should require “open by default” for federal government software code
uri: U-S-should-require-open-by-default-for-federal-government-softw
url:
https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/28/u-s-require-open-default-federal-government-software-code/

content:
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-48324" src="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/photo-1453060113865-968cea1ad53a-1.jpeg?resize=600%2C366&#038;ssl=1" alt="photo-1453060113865-968cea1ad53a" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/I8OhOu-wLO4 ">Photo</a> by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@tirzavandijk">Tirza van Dijk</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0</a>.</small></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A few weeks ago we </span><a href="https://github.com/WhiteHouse/source-code-policy/issues/149"><span style="font-weight: 400;">submitted comments</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) </span><a href="media/afc0bed1.SourceCodePolicy.pdf" data-original-source="https://github.com/WhiteHouse/source-code-policy/blob/gh-pages/SourceCodePolicy.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">draft federal source code policy</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The purpose of the policy is to improve access to custom software code developed for the federal government, and would require that:</span></p>
<blockquote><p>(1) New custom code whose development is paid for by the Federal Government be made available for re-use across Federal agencies; and</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">(2) a portion of that new custom code be released to the public as Open Source Software.</span></p></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We provided feedback on a few different areas of the proposed policy. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">First, we suggested that software developed by U.S. government employees should be clearly marked as being in the public domain not only in the United States, but worldwide, and as a matter of both copyright and patent rights. Under U.S. copyright law, works created by employees of the federal government are </span><a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/105"><span style="font-weight: 400;">not subject to copyright protection in the United States</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. But what about foreign copyrights? Clearly, this custom code produced by government employees—thus in the public domain in the U.S.—could be equally as useful to developers outside of the U.S. There is no indication that the U.S. government has wishes to enforce its copyright abroad, but rather allows and even encourages the worldwide public to reuse its works freely, including software. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We said that software created by federal government employees should be released under the </span><a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">CC0 Public Domain Dedication</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which waives any copyright that might apply, accompanied by a standard non-assertion pledge (“nonassert”) that indicates that the U.S. government will not to seek to enforce patent rights it may have against reusers of the software.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Second, we proposed that software funded by the federal government but developed by third party vendors should be released under free/open source software licenses that permit the greatest levels of freedom for reuse with the least number of restrictions. This will ensure that the public is granted rights to freely use, share, and build upon custom software code developed using public funds.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Third, we urged the federal government to consider setting a policy of “open by default” for custom software developed by third parties. Right now, the draft policy requires each covered agency to release at least 20% of its newly-developed custom code each year as </span><a href="https://opensource.org/licenses"><span style="font-weight: 400;">open source software</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, we urged the U.S. government to extending its open source licensing policy to the outputs of Federal grants and cooperative agreements. We discussed a precedent that support the adoption of a default open licensing policy for software—even for grants and cooperative agreements. In 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) adopted an open licensing policy for the outputs of its $2 billion </span><a href="media/f86cd405.SGA-DFA-PY-13-10.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.doleta.gov/grants/pdf/SGA-DFA-PY-13-10.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grants Program</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. As a condition of the receipt of a grant under this program, grantees are required to license to the public all digital content created with the support of the grant under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY) license. In addition to content such as digital education and training resources, DOL requires that all computer software source code developed or created with grant funds must be released under an open license acceptable to either the Free Software Foundation and/or the Open Source Initiative. DOL adopted this open licensing policy “to ensure that the Federal investment of these funds has as broad an impact as possible and to encourage innovation in the development of new learning materials.” As of December 2015, the Department of Labor has adopted a department-wide open licensing policy, which covers all intellectual property developed under a competitive Federal award process.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The public comment period is now </span><a href="https://github.com/WhiteHouse/source-code-policy/issues/249"><span style="font-weight: 400;">closed</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The U.S. government will analyze the feedback and revise the policy as necessary. You can view all of the comments submitted </span><a href="https://github.com/WhiteHouse/source-code-policy/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aclosed"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/04/28/u-s-require-open-default-federal-government-software-code/">U.S. should require “open by default” for federal government software code</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48336
title: Join CC in supporting the International Day Against DRM
uri: Join-CC-in-supporting-the-International-Day-Against-DRM
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/03/join-cc-supporting-international-day-drm/
content:
<p><a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/dayagainstdrm"><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-48344" src="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/in-chains.png?resize=600%2C431&#038;ssl=1" alt="in-chains" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><br />
<small>Image credit Brendan Mruk/Matt Lee, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></small></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today is the </span><a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/dayagainstdrm"><span style="font-weight: 400;">International Day Against DRM</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a global campaign to raise awareness about the harms of restricting access to legally-acquired content using digital restrictions management (DRM). DRM consists of access control technologies or restrictive licensing agreements that attempt to restrict the use, modification, and distribution of copyright-protected works. </span><a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm_digital_restrictions_management"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Defective by Design says</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, “DRM creates a damaged good; it prevents you from doing what would be possible without it.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">CC has always attempted to minimize the negative effects of DRM. All </span><a href="https://creativecommons.org/faq/#can-i-use-effective-technological-measures-such-as-drm-when-i-share-cc-licensed-material"><span style="font-weight: 400;">the Creative Commons licenses</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> forbid users of those works from adding DRM or other technological measures that would restrict others from using the work in the same way. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">More and more creators have been removing the digital locks from their works and experimenting with new business models. At the same time, we see copyright law being misused in service of controlling access and use of legally-acquired content. For example, last year the agricultural machinery manufacturer John Deere attempted to use U.S. copyright law </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/2015/04/dmca-ownership-john-deere/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">to restrict access to the software code</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> on their tractors. Specifically, John Deere said that provisions of the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Digital Millennium Copyright Act</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> allows them to limit farmers’ ability to inspect and modify software code to fix or enhance the equipment the farmers already own. This is just one example of how DRM has been used to restrict user rights. Luckily the Library of Congress has again adopted a </span><a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/10/28/2015-27212/exemption-to-prohibition-on-circumvention-of-copyright-protection-systems-for-access-control#h-12"><span style="font-weight: 400;">set of exemptions</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to the DMCA rule that forbids the circumvention of access controls. This way, users can bypass DRM and take advantage of the rights granted to them under the law. However, the list of categories of exemptions is quite limited, and requires interested parties to submit new evidence every three years in order to be granted a renewal. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another worrying trend is the inclusion of DRM provisions within international trade agreements. And negotiators are pushing DRM anti-circumvention separate from any connection to the effective enforcement of copyright laws. For example, the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Pacific_Partnership"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Trans-Pacific Partnership</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (TPP) </span><a href="https://creativecommons.org/campaigns/trans-pacific-partnership-would-harm-user-rights-and-the-commons/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">adopts criminal penalties</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for circumventing digital rights management on works, and treats this type of violation as a separate offense regardless of any copyright infringing activity on the underlying content. It is a threat to users’ abilities to use and manipulate the technologies and products they legally own.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We need to end DRM. Get involved in the </span><a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/dayagainstdrm"><span style="font-weight: 400;">International Day Against DRM</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">! You can find an event, write a blog post, create a video, translate graphics, and join the discussion. </span><a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/01/why-owning-your-stuff-means-owning-your-digital-freedom"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Digital freedom depends on the right to tinker</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the right to access information and knowledge, and the right to re-use our shared cultural commons.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/03/join-cc-supporting-international-day-drm/">Join CC in supporting the International Day Against DRM</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48328
title: EU pushing ahead in support of open science
uri: EU-pushing-ahead-in-support-of-open-science
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/03/europe-moving-right-direction-support-open-science/
content:
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone size-full wp-image-48353" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/8270436894_f71b87230c_z.jpg?resize=640%2C425&#038;ssl=1" alt="8270436894_f71b87230c_z" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/8270436894_f71b87230c_z.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/8270436894_f71b87230c_z.jpg?resize=300%2C199&amp;ssl=1 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/skynoir/8270436894/">Laboratory Science—biomedical</a>, by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/skynoir/">Bill Dickinson</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</a></small></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">April saw lots of activity on the open science front in the European Union. On April 19, the European Commission officially </span><a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-1408_en.htm"><span style="font-weight: 400;">announced </span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">its plans to create an “Open Science Cloud”. Accompanying this initiative, the Commission stated it will require that scientific data produced by projects under <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/">Horizon 2020</a> (Europe’s </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">€</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">80 billion science funding program) be made openly available by default. Making open data the default will ensure that the scientific community, companies, and the general public can enjoy broad access (and reuse rights) to data generated by European funded scientific projects. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Commission’s actions in support of open science contrasts with the approach taken by the Member States, who—although none deny the momentum to push for “open by default”—are being much more cautious in developing and publishing open science policies. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Also in April, the Dutch EU Presidency hosted an </span><a href="http://english.eu2016.nl/events/2016/04/04/open-science-conference"><span style="font-weight: 400;">open science conference</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in Amsterdam. One outcome of the conference was a collaboratively developed document called the </span><a href="http://english.eu2016.nl/documents/reports/2016/04/04/amsterdam-call-for-action-on-open-science"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amsterdam Call for Action on Open Science</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The call for action advocates for “full open access for all scientific publications”, and endorses an environment where “data sharing and stewardship is the default approach for all publicly funded research”. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 12 action items laid out in the document push to increase support for open science in Europe. We offered suggested improvements to a few of the proposed actions. First, in response to the item to </span><strong><a href="https://wiki.surfnet.nl/display/OSCFA/2.+Facilitate+text+and+data+mining+of+content">facilitate text and data mining of content</a></strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">, we said that text and data mining (TDM) activities should be considered outside the purview of copyright altogether. In other words, text and data mining should be considered as an extension of the right to read (“the right to read is the right to mine”). However, as others have pointed out, the fact that the InfoSoc and Database directives have not been implemented uniformly across all Member States indicates a need to adopt a pan-European exception in order to provide clarity to those wishing to conduct TDM. We noted that any exception for text and data mining should cover mining for any purpose, not just “for academic purposes.” In addition, a TDM exception should explicitly permit commercial activity. Finally, we said that terms of use, contractual obligations, digital rights management, or other mechanisms that attempt to prohibit the lawful right to conduct TDM should be forbidden. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Second, we questioned why the item to </span><strong><a href="https://wiki.surfnet.nl/display/OSCFA/3.+Improve+insight+into+IPR+and+issues+such+as+privacy">improve insight into IPR and issues such as privacy</a></strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">needs to take into consideration activities that “will ensure that private parties will still be able to profit from their investments.” We noted that all of the proposed actions are supposed to serve the identified pan-European goal of full open access to all scientific publications. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Third, we commended the action to </span><strong><a href="https://wiki.surfnet.nl/display/OSCFA/7.+Adopt+open+access+principles">adopt open access principles</a></strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">. However, we suggested that any principles developed should tackle a wider set of issues than those identified: “transparency, competition, sustainability, fair pricing, economic viability and pluralism.” We said that open access principles should take into account the long-standing principles described by the </span><a href="http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Budapest Open Access Initiative</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and its </span><a href="http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/boai-10-recommendations"><span style="font-weight: 400;">10-year update</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which includes recommendations on public policy changes, licensing, infrastructure support, and advocacy. In addition, we said that the stakeholders involved in the development of any principles should include researchers, students, and the public.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, on the item of how to </span><strong><a href="https://wiki.surfnet.nl/display/OSCFA/11.+Involve+researchers+and+new+users+in+open+science">involve researchers and new users in open science</a></strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">, we urged researchers to actively engage with other scientists, citizens, and non-traditional audiences. Part of this change means that academics and policymakers need to stop characterizing these other groups as “users [who] might get lost in their search for information, or draw wrong conclusions.” If we presume a default of open, we need to get comfortable with sharing—which sometimes means giving up some control—so that others can benefit. With openness in policy and practice, the communication of science can benefit not only its intended audience, but promote novel and interesting types of re-use across disciplines and and by unconventional users.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/03/europe-moving-right-direction-support-open-science/">EU pushing ahead in support of open science</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48362
title: Open Textbooks 4 Africa
uri: Open-Textbooks-4-Africa
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/09/open-textbooks-4-africa/
content:
<p><img class="img-responsive alignleft wp-image-48363" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Logo.png?resize=530%2C303&#038;ssl=1" alt="OT4A Logo" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Logo.png?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Logo.png?resize=300%2C172&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Logo.png?resize=768%2C439&amp;ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;"><a href="https://ot4a.org/"><span class="il">Open</span> <span class="il">Textbooks for Africa Logo</span></a><span class="il">, by: Kelsey Wiens, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY 4.0</a></span><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"><span class="il"><br />
</span></a></span></h6>
<p><em>This is a guest blog post written by Kelsey Wiens, founder of Open Textbooks for Africa and public lead for Creative Commons South Africa. On March 11-12, 45 experts from around the world and across South Africa met to discuss opportunities for Open Textbooks in Africa. The goal of the event was to support the adoption and adaption of currently available open textbooks, as well as build and design a South African focused open textbook.</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div class="embed-vimeo" style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/163662273" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The first Open Textbook Summit in Africa was hosted in Cape Town on March 11-12 by <a href="https://ot4a.org/">Open Textbooks for Africa</a> (OT4A). This two-day event bought together 45 local University lecturers, open education practitioners, and open textbooks experts from around the world. OT4A is a pilot project designed to support the adoption and adaption of currently available open textbooks as well as build and design our own textbooks to showcase African knowledge to the world.</p>
<p>Day one included a panel discussion and debate on the challenges of open textbooks in the South African context. Day two was a workshop to develop an astronomy open textbook with a global south perspective. Textbooks currently used by the Astronomy department at the University of Cape Town feature the sky from the northern hemisphere (i.e., upside down). The working group for the open Astronomy textbook has met twice since the workshop, established a work plan, and is anticipating a classroom usable draft by the end of 2016 &#8211; for use in the first term of 2017.</p>
<p>The physics group, also based out of the University of Cape Town, is adapting an OpenStax (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a> licensed) open textbook. They have listed the OpenStax <a href="https://openstax.org/details?college-physics">Physics</a> open textbook as a “recommended book&#8221; in the second semester of 2016; aiming for full adoption in classrooms in 2017. This shift will save over 180,000 South African Rands to 150 first year students in first year (equivalent to US$11,860) at one institution over one academic year.  Additional meetings are planned with University of Witwatersrand, University of Western Cape &amp; TSiBA to promote open textbooks.</p>
<p>For more details and to inquire about how your university can use open textbooks, please contact OT4A at: <a href="https://ot4a.org/">https://ot4a.org</a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/09/open-textbooks-4-africa/">Open Textbooks 4 Africa</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48374
title: Don’t let California lock down public access to government works
uri: Don-t-let-California-lock-down-public-access-to-government-works
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/19/california-bill/
content:
<p><em><strong>If you’re a California resident, act now! <a href="https://action.eff.org/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=10331">Send a message</a> to your state representatives telling them to uphold free, open access to California government works. </strong></em></p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-48378" src="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/state-house-big.jpg?resize=600%2C399&#038;ssl=1" alt="state house big" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/state-house-big.jpg?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/state-house-big.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/state-house-big.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/state-house-big.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/daveynin/10935503663/">Front of California State Capitol</a>, by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/daveynin/">David Fulmer</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC BY 2.0</a></small></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Unencumbered access to public sector information is central to a well-functioning democratic system. And if our government entities believe that transparency, collaboration, and public participation are civic goals worth supporting, then the public should be able to enjoy free and open access to taxpayer-funded government resources. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In February, California </span><a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2880"><span style="font-weight: 400;">introduced a bill</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that would permit state and local government agencies “to own, license, and, if it deems it appropriate, formally register intellectual property it creates or otherwise acquires.” The law would control access to public sector information developed in California. The bill, called AB 2880, is currently moving through the state assembly. Its origin rests partly in a </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/03/21/a-private-company-trademarked-the-phrase-yosemite-national-park-should-the-u-s-pay-to-get-it-back/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">trademark dispute</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> between the U.S. federal government and a third-party contractor at Yosemite National Park. AB 2880 was introduced to clarify the intellectual property rights held by the state of California.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Most of the intellectual property developed as a result of public funding in the state of California is in the public domain due to the state&#8217;s progressive copyright policy. This means that anyone may share and re-use the work of government agencies without having to ask permission or worry about infringing anyone’s copyright. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In its </span><a href="media/11188b7a.201520160AB2880_Assembly-Judiciary-.pdf" data-original-source="http://sparcopen.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/201520160AB2880_Assembly-Judiciary-.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">policy analysis</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the proposed law, the state attempts to dismiss criticism by pointing out that AB 2880 wouldn’t interfere with individuals accessing information through a California Public Records Act request. While freedom of information requests are an important mechanism to ensure the public’s right to access government records, it’s not a viable or efficient technique for sharing a vast majority of the information the public should have access to by default. And, </span><a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/04/ab-2880"><span style="font-weight: 400;">according to EFF</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, asking citizens to rely on records requests for access to publicly sector information is not a solution because California would still be able to regulate downstream uses of those materials:</span></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;by explicitly reserving all of the exclusive rights given to a copyright holder, the state and local governments keeps extraordinary powers to restrain the ability for a citizen to distribute documents they obtain through a CPRA request.&#8221;</span><i></i></p></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With changes in law and funding requirements, public sector bodies are switching the default from closed to open. Efforts such as </span><a href="https://project-open-data.cio.gov/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Project Open Data</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the agency-wide </span><a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/02/01/u-s-department-labor-adopts-cc-licensing-policy-department-wide/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">U.S. Department of Labor open licensing policy</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the EU’s </span><a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-1408_en.htm"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Horizon 2020</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> research program, and national level open licensing frameworks for public sector information in </span><a href="http://www.ausgoal.gov.au/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Australia</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><a href="https://www.ict.govt.nz/guidance-and-resources/open-government/new-zealand-government-open-access-and-licensing-nzgoal-framework/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">New Zealand</span></a> <a href="https://www.ict.govt.nz/guidance-and-resources/open-government/new-zealand-government-open-access-and-licensing-nzgoal-framework/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">are only a few examples.</span></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In its own summary of the bill, the state specifically acknowledged the concern that “allowing state ownership of intellectual property might restrict the dissemination of information.” California should remove this bill from the legislative docket, or amend it in such a way that guarantees that the public is granted free and open access to government funded works.</span></p>
<p><em><strong>If you&#8217;re a California resident, act now! <a href="https://action.eff.org/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=10331">Send a message</a> to your state representatives telling them to uphold free, open access to California government works. </strong></em></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/19/california-bill/">Don’t let California lock down public access to government works</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48428
title: Controversy: A Recap of the copyright issues surrounding Prince’s estate
uri: Controversy-A-Recap-of-the-copyright-issues-surrounding-Prince-s-es
url:
https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/23/controversy-recap-issues-surrounding-copyright-princes-estate/

content:
<p><img src="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/800px-Prince_Brussels_1986.jpg?resize=192%2C300&#038;ssl=1" alt="800px-Prince_Brussels_1986" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
<h5><a href="media/c397ce08.Prince_musician" data-original-source="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician)">Prince performing in Brussels during the Hit N Run Tour in 1986</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC-by-2.0</a></h5>
<p>Today at <a href="https://paynebritton.wordpress.com/">Copyright On!,</a> Britton Payne discussed the unique copyright situation surrounding Prince’s estate. This potentially long and bitter battle could shape the future of music copyright to come. Prince fought a number of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician)#Copyright_issues">legendary copyright battles</a>, which makes this current fight over the ownership of his works particularly interesting.<br />
As Payne writes, “Prince was a tireless advocate of his rights as an artist, using copyright law to control and protect his artistic footprint, even when it seemed like it would cost him more than it would gain. For different reasons, it appears that more contentious exploration of copyright law will continue to be part of his legacy.”</p>
<div>The tl;dr of Payne’s post:</div>
<div><strong>I Feel for You (I think I want my copyright back): The termination of transfer law</strong></div>
<div>After 35 years, artists can reclaim copyright from the copyright holder, which essentially gives them another “bite at the apple” to control their own work. While this law was created to protect artists in 1978 (coincidentally the year Prince’s first album was released), there has been little guidance on the execution of this law.</div>
<p>Prince reworked his contract with Warner Brothers in 2014 to regain access to his early back catalog, which resets the clock on this law. However, every year more of Prince’s back catalog will be up for termination of transfer law, which means that his estate can gain ownership of an increasing number of works, and by extension, control the money that continues to pour in from his most popular titles.</p>
<div><strong>How come U don’t call (a lawyer) anymore: Prince didn’t leave a will</strong></div>
<div>
<p>Prince’s will has yet to be found, which means that several conflicting laws surrounding his unpublished back catalog are coming into effect. Because he also left no living heirs, his estate and copyright is now in the hands of his sister, Tyka Nelson, and his five recognized half siblings. (More than 700 people have claimed to be Prince’s half-siblings, but none are recognized by the courts.)</p>
<p>However, siblings cannot execute termination of transfer unless they are the “administrator” of the estate. The title of “administrator” is currently in the hands of a “court appointed ‘special administrator’” called the Bremer Trust. In six months, a more permanent administrator will be found (possibly Tyka, Prince’s sister.)</p>
</div>
<div><strong>My name is Prince, but also Joey Coco, Alexander Nevermind, and Jamie Starr</strong></div>
<div>
<p>Prince collaborated with many artists and also wrote music under a series of pseudonyms including Alexander Nevermind, Joey Coco, and Jamie Starr. These collaborations as well as his “works made for hire” are covered by different copyright statutes than his solo composed music. There are several issues complicating these works:</p>
<ul>
<li>Many of his co-authors are deceased</li>
<li>Pseudonymous works have a longer copyright statute than works written under Prince’s own name</li>
<li>Prince’s “works made for hire” are covered by different copyright law than his other work</li>
</ul>
<p>In short, Prince wrote thousands of songs, many of them unpublished, jointly published, written for other artists, or written for hire, and hundreds of them are potentially affected by different copyright laws.</p>
</div>
<div><strong>The Beautiful One(s): The PRINCE act and post mortem rights of publicity</strong></div>
<div>A new act in Minnesota may protect Prince’s likeness for the next 50 years. This act, called “Personal Rights in Names Can Endure”(PRINCE) will keep Prince’s likeness in the hands of his estate. This precedent will be the first to protect deceased celebrities to limit commercial rights to his likeness, so be sure to hang on to your vintage Purple Rain t-shirt. (It’s worth noting that Prince never endorsed merchandising in his lifetime, so most of the apparel floating around the Web is bootleg.)</div>
<div></div>
<div><strong>Tonight we’re gonna party like it’s 2086</strong></div>
<div>
<p>In 2086, most of Prince’s works will enter the public domain. Copyright law has been progressively expanded to protect the rights of artists, so any changes to the law will likely benefit his heirs.</p>
<p>Prince’s music in the public domain seems like a long way off, but imagine the next generation <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fv_6bH8WUA">discovering this video,</a> and it all seems pretty worth it.</p>
</div>
<h3></h3>
<div>
<h3>Read more at <a href="https://paynebritton.wordpress.com/2016/05/23/heirs-go-crazy-princes-estate-and-copyrights-termination-of-transfer/">Copyright On!</a></h3>
</div>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/23/controversy-recap-issues-surrounding-copyright-princes-estate/">Controversy: A Recap of the copyright issues surrounding Prince&#8217;s estate</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48419
title: #happybdaybassel
uri: happybdaybassel
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/22/happybdaybassel/
content:
<div id="attachment_48421" style="width: 200px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="media/878c135c.Bassel_Khartabil" data-original-source="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassel_Khartabil"><img class="img-responsive wp-image-48421" src="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/1024px-Bassel_Khartabil_Safadi.jpg?resize=190%2C236&#038;ssl=1" alt="Bassel" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/1024px-Bassel_Khartabil_Safadi.jpg?resize=242%2C300&amp;ssl=1 242w, https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/1024px-Bassel_Khartabil_Safadi.jpg?resize=768%2C953&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/1024px-Bassel_Khartabil_Safadi.jpg?resize=825%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 825w, https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/1024px-Bassel_Khartabil_Safadi.jpg?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 190px) 100vw, 190px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Bassel Khartabil, CC by 2.0</p></div>
<p>On May 22nd, more than four years after his detention and six months after his disappearance, Bassel Khartabil (Arabic: باسل خرطبيل‎) will turn 35 years old. Bassel’s imprisonment by the Assad regime is a brutal human rights violation and the continued lack of answers about his fate is a hindrance to the fight for free information in the Middle East and beyond. While Creative Commons has been actively involved in the <a href="http://freebassel.org/">Free Bassel</a> Campaign since the beginning, <a href="http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2015/12/14/bassel-khartabil-syria-mit/">Bassel’s rumored death sentence</a> makes today’s call to action particularly pressing.</p>
<p>As Lawrence Lessig wrote in 2012, “We distract ourselves with a million other things, but distraction doesn’t change reality: thousands have died; thousands more are being held; tyranny still lives.”</p>
<p>Bassel Khartabil is a Palestinian-Syrian Free Software and Free Culture activist and project lead for Creative Commons Syria. Bassel’s work on Mozilla Firefox, Wikipedia, Fabricatorz, and other open culture projects with his research company Aiki Labs has been credited by the European Parliament with “opening up the Internet in Syria and vastly extending online access and knowledge to the Syrian people.” Shortly after his detention, Bassel was named one of the top 100 global thinkers by Foreign Policy for “insisting, against all odds, on a peaceful Syrian revolution.&#8221;</p>
<p>This weekend, we’re joining with his friends around the world to continue to demand his immediate return to life as a free global citizen.</p>
<p><a href="http://freebassel.org/campaign/events/happybdaybassel/2016/05/22/birthday/">Take action at the Free Bassel campaign website.</a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/22/happybdaybassel/">#happybdaybassel</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48451
title: Uruguayan rights holders seek to roll back progressive copyright reform
uri: Uruguayan-rights-holders-seek-to-roll-back-progressive-copyright-refor
url:
https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/27/uruguayan-rights-holders-seek-roll-back-progressive-copyright-reform/

content:
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-48454" src="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/5646757752_5a4ea2ea2d_b.jpg?resize=600%2C396&#038;ssl=1" alt="5646757752_5a4ea2ea2d_b" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pamwood707/5646757752/">Law</a>, by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pamwood707/">Woody Hibbard</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC BY 2.0</a></small></p>
<p>Uruguay is in the process of updating its copyright law, and in April a <a href="media/8f21b37e.D2016050431-001563190.pdf" data-original-source="https://sip21-webext.parlamento.gub.uy/temporales/D2016050431-001563190.pdf">bill</a> was preliminarily approved in the Senate. The law introduces changes that would benefit students, librarians, researchers, and the general public by legalizing commonplace digital practices, adding orphan works exceptions, and removing criminal penalties for minor copyright infringements. University students were the original proponents of the limitations and exceptions bill.</p>
<p>But after its initial approval, collecting societies and publishers created a stir in the media to roll back the bill. And yesterday, a <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/313922501/Proyecto-Acordado-Derechos-de-Autor">document</a> was released that outlines the views of the author’s collecting society (AGADU), the organization representing book publishers (CUL), and the university students (FEUU).</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.creativecommons.uy/un-acuerdo-insuficiente/">CC Uruguay</a>, these organizations have come to an “agreement” that would remove or modify many of the positive portions of the bill. The changes would have far-reaching negative consequences for users, educational institutions, libraries, and the public. They include:</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Eliminating the exception that permits copying for personal use.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> This could make illegal everyday practices such as making personal backups or format-shifting legally-acquired content.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Retaining the possibility for criminal penalties for minor infringements. </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">This could mean that users that are technically infringing but who do not create any financial harm to the author could still be liable for monetary damages of up to 45,000 US Dollars, or even imprisonment. This could include harmless, widespread social practices like downloading files without intent to distribute or profit from them. However, it should be noted that the existing Senate bill recommends that such matters be handled via civil—not criminal—law.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Drastically limiting the scope of exceptions and limitations for education. </b><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Their recommendations seek to eliminate the ability for teachers to make translations or adaptations of copyrighted works within their educational institutions. For those uses that are permitted, they want to restrict the scope of the exemption to cover only reproducing short portions (up to 30 pages) of textbooks and “educational materials”. And the organizations say that only public educational entities should be able to take advantage of the copyright exception. Private and community educational institutions would be excluded. </span></span></span>However, the current Senate bill is more supportive of exceptions and limitations for education. It permits both translations and adaptations of copyrighted works within educational institutions. It also does not discriminate against private and community institutions. Furthermore, the Senate version does not limit reproductions to only “educational materials”. This is important in order to take into account the wide variety of resources that are necessary for instruction in higher education today, but which might not fit with a traditional definition of “educational.” For example, music students need access to musical works, and many other subject areas need to be able access and use fragments of literary, scientific, and philosophical works. Finally, the Senate bill does not impose an arbitrary page limit for how much of a copyrighted work may be reproduced. Instead, it allows for greater flexibility in how much may be used; if there is a dispute, a judge will be able to assess whether the use was reasonable—taking into account the specific context of the educational use.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Adding severe restrictions on libraries.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The recommendations seek to permit public lending only for written works. This would mean that it would restrict the public lending of musical, audiovisual, and photographic works. The Senate bill already legalizes the public lending of software.</span>The coalition suggests that the law should be changed from permitting public lending for nonprofit purposes to to lending &#8220;whose activities do not directly or indirectly involve any commercial purpose&#8221;. This change could further restricting the ability for libraries to lend materials.<span style="font-weight: 400;">Furthermore, reproductions of copyrighted works made by libraries at the request of a user would also be subject to the arbitrary 30-page limit. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, the Senate bill allows libraries to make a copy of a work for replacement purposes when the work is no longer available at a reasonable market price. The group of organizations suggesting the changes wants to eliminate this provision.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Enacting restrictions on freedom of panorama</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The Senate bill legalizes a broad freedom of panorama—which means that anyone is permitted to draw, photograph, film, or create 3D models of architectural works, monuments, and works of arts exhibited permanently in public places. However, the coalition wants to restrict freedom of panorama for only non-commercial uses. This would mean that photographers, filmmakers, or artists who want to market their own works containing public monuments and architecture would be violating the law if they didn’t get permission from the rightsholder in the underlying work.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">CC Uruguay believes that the recommended changes would be harmful for users, educational institutions, libraries, and the public. The changes would eliminate two of the most important protections in the Senate reform bill: the decriminalization of non-commercial infringement, and personal-use copying. The changes would also severely restrict other exceptions and limitations to copyright, including those for education, library lending, and freedom of panorama.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Their document recommends scaling back most of the user-friendly provisions in the bill, cuts other items that were drafted by the Council of Copyright in the Ministry of Education and Culture—and which already received unanimous political support by all parties in the Senate.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">CC Uruguay thinks that Senate policymakers should view these recommended changes as only one voice among many stakeholders. Decisionmakers must also take into account the diversity of voices from educational institutions, libraries, and civil society organizations. The laws regulating access to creativity and culture should support the needs and interests of the public, and should be reached through a broad and democratic debate among all stakeholders.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/27/uruguayan-rights-holders-seek-roll-back-progressive-copyright-reform/">Uruguayan rights holders seek to roll back progressive copyright reform</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48469
title: Council of the European Union calls for full open access to scientific research by 2020
uri: Council-of-the-European-Union-calls-for-full-open-access-to-scientific
url:
https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/27/council-european-union-calls-full-open-access-scientific-research-2020/

content:
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-48470" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/9894034145_45be21c99d_k.jpg?resize=600%2C338&#038;ssl=1" alt="9894034145_45be21c99d_k" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/9894034145_45be21c99d_k.jpg?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/9894034145_45be21c99d_k.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/9894034145_45be21c99d_k.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/9894034145_45be21c99d_k.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/petaqui/9894034145/">Science!</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/petaqui/">Alexandro Lacadena</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</a></small></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A few weeks ago we wrote about how the European Union is </span><a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/03/europe-moving-right-direction-support-open-science/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">pushing ahead</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> its support for open access to EU-funded scientific research and data. Today at the meeting of the Council of the European Union, the Council reinforced the commitment to making all scientific articles and data openly accessible and reusable by 2020. In its </span><a href="http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-9526-2016-INIT/en/pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">communication</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the Council offered several conclusions on the transition towards an open science system: </span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">ACKNOWLEDGES that open science has the potential to increase the quality, impact and benefits of science and to accelerate advancement of knowledge by making it more reliable, more efficient and accurate, better understandable by society and responsive to societal challenges, and has the potential to enable growth and innovation through reuse of scientific results by all stakeholders at all levels of society, and ultimately contribute to growth and competitiveness of Europe;</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.5;">INVITES the Commission and the Member States to explore legal possibilities for measures in this respect and promote the use of licensing models, such as Creative Commons, for scientific publications and research data sets;</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>WELCOMES open access to scientific publications as the option by default for publishing the results of publicly funded research;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>AGREES to further promote the mainstreaming of open access to scientific publications by continuing to support a transition to immediate open access as the default by 2020;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>ENCOURAGES the Member States, the Commission and stakeholders to set optimal reuse of research data as the point of departure, whilst recognising the needs for different access regimes because of Intellectual Property Rights, personal data protection and confidentiality, security concerns, as well as global economic competitiveness and other legitimate interests.</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can read the rest of the conclusions <a href="http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-9526-2016-INIT/en/pdf">here</a>. Crucially, the Council said that “open access to scientific publications” will be interpreted as being aligned to the definition laid out in the </span><a href="http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Budapest Open Access Initiative</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">: <em>free availability on the public internet, permitting any users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or technical barriers. The only constraint on reproduction and distribution, and the only role for copyright in this domain, should be to give authors control over the integrity of their work and the right to be properly acknowledged and cited.</em></span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/05/27/council-european-union-calls-full-open-access-scientific-research-2020/">Council of the European Union calls for full open access to scientific research by 2020</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48483
title: CC Australia Supports Commission Recommendations for User-friendly Copyright Reform
uri: CC-Australia-Supports-Commission-Recommendations-for-User-friendly-Cop
url:
https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/06/09/ccau-supports-australian-productivity-commissions-recommendation-copyright-reform/

content:
<p><i>This post was contributed by <a href="https://ipsnap.wordpress.com/">Stuart Efstathis</a> for <a href="http://creativecommons.org.au/">Creative Commons Australia</a>.</i></p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-48484" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/copyright-1314155_960_720.jpg?resize=599%2C289&#038;ssl=1" alt="copyright-1314155_960_720" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/copyright-1314155_960_720.jpg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/copyright-1314155_960_720.jpg?resize=300%2C145&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/copyright-1314155_960_720.jpg?resize=768%2C371&amp;ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 599px) 100vw, 599px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small>Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/en/copyright-marketing-online-1314155/">Sierra_Graphic</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en">CC0</a></small></p>
<p>The Australian Productivity Commission has recommended important changes to Australian copyright law that support content creators and users in the digital age. On 29 April 2016, the Commission released a <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/intellectual-property/draft">Draft Report</a> on reforms to Australia’s intellectual property laws based on the principles of effectiveness, efficiency, adaptability and accountability. <a href="http://eprints.qut.edu.au/96012/">Creative Commons Australia strongly supports</a> the passage of the <a href="https://www.communications.gov.au/have-your-say/updating-australias-copyright-laws">Copyright Amendment (Disability and Other Measures) Bill 2016</a>, as recommended by the Commission. That Bill will introduce extensions to copyright safe harbours and simplify the existing statutory license provisions. We also support the Commission’s draft recommendation to introduce a fair use exception into Australian law.</p>
<h3>The Commission’s Recommendations</h3>
<p>The Productivity Commission <a href="media/b65c927b.IP-infographics-overview.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/intellectual-property/draft/IP-infographics-overview.pdf">concluded</a> that “Australia&#8217;s IP system is out of kilter, favouring rights holders over users and does not align with how people use IP in the modern era”. The Draft Report contained a number of useful recommendations that would make Australia’s outdated copyright laws relevant in the digital age:</p>
<ul>
<li>Australia should introduce a fair use exception to copyright. Fair use should replace the current fair dealing exceptions and ensure copyright laws regulate “only those instances of infringement that would undermine the ordinary exploitation of a work at the time of the infringement”;</li>
<li>Under current Australian law, copyright in unpublished works lasts forever. This should be removed, allowing full use of orphan and out of print works;</li>
<li>Circumvention of technologies designed to control geographic markets for digital content should not be unlawful. The law requires clarification;</li>
<li>All publications funded by State and Federal governments, directly or through university funding, should be free to access through an open access repository within 12 months of publication; and</li>
<li>Copyright safe harbours should be expanded to include all online service providers without an expansion of liability for copyright authorisation.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Creative Commons Australia’s Submissions</h3>
<p><a href="http://creativecommons.org.au/">Creative Commons Australia</a> made <a href="http://eprints.qut.edu.au/96012/">submissions in response</a> on 3 June 2016, supporting many of the Productivity Commission’s recommendations. CCAU’s submissions were guided by three key principles: to ensure access to and use of content is not unnecessarily restricted; that creation and innovation is encouraged; and that open access and open licensing is supported.</p>
<p><strong>Fair Use</strong></p>
<p>Australia needs a fair use exception to address the needs of consumers and creators of content in a digital market. Consumers and creators need support for new expression, which necessarily builds upon existing knowledge, culture, and expression. CCAU fully supports the implementation of the replacement of fair dealing with a fair use exception. Fair use is a flexible exception more suited to the digital age and is likely to align better with consumer and creator expectations for reasonable content use. Fair use encourages the use of content for innovative purposes, reflecting the primary objective of copyright. The Australian Law Reform Commission has issued an extensive <a href="http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/copyright-report-122">report</a> recommending the introduction of fair use and the Productivity Commission has supported this.</p>
<p><strong>Copyright Term and international law reform</strong></p>
<p>Australian copyright law has steadily increased its focus on protecting rights holders over the last two decades. The Productivity Commission suggests that this is reflected in the recent extension of copyright terms from life of the author plus 50 years, to life plus 70 years. The Commission notes that this move imposed a significant cost on consumers with no corresponding public benefit. The difficulty in reforming this area is due to an overlapping web of international agreements that entrench the minimum term of copyright protection (including the Berne Convention, TRIPS, the Australian-US Free Trade Agreement, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement). As a result, Australia does not have the ability to independently determine the appropriate extents of our national copyright law. CCAU recommends a start to the difficult process of disentangling intellectual property laws from international agreements that do not advance national interests.</p>
<p><strong>Unpublished Works</strong></p>
<p>CCAU supports the recommendations of the Productivity Commission removing the perpetual copyright protection afforded to unpublished works under Australian law. A significant amount of Australian cultural heritage remains unjustifiably locked up in unpublished work. This content cannot be digitised, archived, preserved, or reused. This can be rectified by the passage of the Copyright Amendment (Disability and Other Measures) Bill 2016.</p>
<p><strong>Geo-Blocking and the ‘Australia Tax’</strong></p>
<p>Australian consumers experience higher prices, long delays, and a lack of competition in digital content distribution markets. This is known as the ‘<a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/parliamentary_business/committees/house_of_representatives_committees?url=ic/itpricing/report.htm">Australian Tax’</a>. Under current law, it is not always clear whether Australians have the right to circumvent geoblocking technology to access media goods and services sold in other markets. CCAU recommends that Australian law be clarified in this regard, and supports an amendment to the <i>Copyright Act</i> to include exemptions for all types of media, in the encouragement of a competitive digital market in Australia.</p>
<p><strong>Open Access</strong></p>
<p>CCAU supports open access to articles, research and data. Open access improves research efficiency, provides assurance of greater scientific integrity, and reduces the overall costs of research infrastructure. For information to be useful, rights to re-use this content need to be clearly detailed through the use of open licensing. This can be achieved through the use of Creative Commons licensing.</p>
<p><strong>Safe Harbours</strong></p>
<p>Australian creators are currently disadvantaged by safe harbour exceptions that are too narrow to allow distribution of content in the digital market. Safe harbours provide the legal certainty required for content hosts to distribute creator content. Enacting laws which promote legal access and broader use of copyright content is also the most effective way to reduce infringing activity. CCAU supports the extension of safe harbours to all online service providers.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/06/09/ccau-supports-australian-productivity-commissions-recommendation-copyright-reform/">CC Australia Supports Commission Recommendations for User-friendly Copyright Reform</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48491
title: Tell the European Commission to #FixCopyright
uri: Tell-the-European-Commission-to-FixCopyright
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/06/13/tell-european-commission-fixcopyright/
content:
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">This post was remixed from the </span></i><a href="http://www.communia-association.org/2016/05/30/communia-response-ec-consultation-ancillary-copyright-freedom-panorama/"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">blog</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the Communia Association, whose content is dedicated to the </span></i><a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">public domain</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Through the </span><a href="http://www.communia-association.org/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Communia Association</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Creative Commons and several CC Europe affiliates have responded to the copyright reform consultations of the European Commission. Currently, the Commission is </span><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/public-consultation-role-publishers-copyright-value-chain-and-panorama-exception"><span style="font-weight: 400;">asking for feedback</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> on the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancillary_copyright_for_press_publishers"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“role of publishers in the copyright value chain”</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and on </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_panorama"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“freedom of panorama”</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The window for providing responses ends on June 15. Communia has already submitted its </span><a href="media/855bbe44.anversionofCOMMUNIAresponseancillarycopyrightFoPconsultation.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.communia-association.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/cleanversionofCOMMUNIAresponseancillarycopyrightFoPconsultation.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">detailed response</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. We think the</span> Commission should stop the harmful link tax and support commonsense sharing of publicly viewable cultural works.</p>
<p><b>It’s important that the Commission hears from you! Be sure to submit your responses to the survey by 15 June. There is a guide to assist you in answering the questions at </b><a href="http://youcan.fixcopyright.eu/"><b>http://youcan.fixcopyright.eu/</b></a><b>.</b></p>
<h3>Ancillary copyright = Link tax</h3>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jiBxdH4MM_0" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Commission is considering introducing a new right which would permit content publishers to extract fees from search engines for incorporating short snippets of—or even linking to—news articles. This is why the measure is called a “link tax.”  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Adopting new rights for publishers above and beyond the extensive rights they already enjoy under copyright law would be dangerous and counterproductive. </span><a href="http://www.communia-association.org/2015/09/09/research-confirms-new-spanish-ancillary-copyright-is-actually-good-for-no-one/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Spain</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><a href="http://www.communia-association.org/2015/10/19/more-evidence-from-germany-ancillary-copyright-still-not-working/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Germany</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> have already experimented with similar versions of the link tax, and neither resulted in increased revenues for publishers. Instead, it likely decreased the visibility (and by extension, revenues) of their content—exactly the opposite of what was intended.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not only is a link tax bad for business, it would undermine the intention of authors who wish to share without additional strings attached, such as creators who want to share works under Creative Commons licenses. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Adopting a new neighboring right for publishers would harm journalists who rely on information-gathering and reporting tools like news aggregators, services like Google Alerts, and social media. It would have significant negative consequences for researchers and educational institutions by adding an unnecessary layer of rights that will make it more difficult for educators and researchers to understand how they can use content as part of their education and research activities.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, the adoption of a link tax would create additional barriers for users and online information-seekers. Many users that rely on curated news aggregators like Google News, or even RSS readers or other apps that reproduce snippets of content from news articles. If an additional right for publishers is established, users would find that these existing news products and services will likely be disrupted, their prices increased, or even discontinued altogether (</span><a href="https://googlepolicyeurope.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/an-update-on-google-news-in-spain.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">as we’ve seen in Spain with Google News</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">). Popular social networking apps and websites used by hundreds of millions of people could be negatively affected too.</span></p>
<h3>Freedom of Panorama: Commonsense rules for sharing culture</h3>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wQWU48uTUd8" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_panorama"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Freedom of panorama</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> refers to the legal right to take and share photos, video, and images of architecture, sculptures and other works which are located in a public place. The sharing of photos taken in public places is an example of an everyday activity that should not be regulated by copyright. We know that the lack of harmonization around the freedom of panorama has negatively affected users who wish to share images of public architecture and sculpture on sites like Wikipedia. We support the adoption of a broad right for freedom of panorama, and it should apply to both commercial and noncommercial uses of images of architecture, sculpture, and other objects in public spaces. The exception should be mandatory across the EU, and should cover both online and offline uses.</span></p>
<h3>Make your voice heard!</h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Time is running out to tell the Commission to do the right thing: </span><b>No additional rights for publishers; protect and expand freedom of panorama.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Be sure to check out <a href="http://youcan.fixcopyright.eu/">http://youcan.fixcopyright.eu/</a> and submit your responses by June 15.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/06/13/tell-european-commission-fixcopyright/">Tell the European Commission to #FixCopyright</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48503
uri: Protected-Redefining-Open-MOOCs-and-Online-Courseware-in-the-Age-of
title:
Protected: Redefining Open: MOOCs and Online Courseware in the Age of Creative Commons and Wikipedia

url:
https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/06/15/redefining-open-moocs-online-courseware-age-creative-commons-wikipedia/

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<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/06/15/redefining-open-moocs-online-courseware-age-creative-commons-wikipedia/">Protected: Redefining Open: MOOCs and Online Courseware in the Age of Creative Commons and Wikipedia</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48446
title: New Chilean law would make it harder for authors to freely share audiovisual works
uri: New-Chilean-law-would-make-it-harder-for-authors-to-freely-share-audio
url:
https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/06/16/new-chilean-law-make-harder-authors-freely-share-audiovisual-works/

content:
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-48447" src="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/4750915044_670dfc3012_b.jpg?resize=600%2C397&#038;ssl=1" alt="4750915044_670dfc3012_b" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/il_tommy/4750915044/">2° Feria Tecnológica Audiovisual DuocUC</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/il_tommy/">il_tommy</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</a></small></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In May we learned that Chile’s Chamber of Deputies approved an amendment to a bill that </span><a href="http://www.senado.cl/appsenado/templates/tramitacion/index.php?boletin_ini=9889-24"><span style="font-weight: 400;">would create a new, unwaivable right of remuneration for authors of audiovisual works</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The law would apply to all audiovisual works, even those published under open licenses. This would mean that audio and video creators are supposed to be compensated even if they do not wish to receive royalties. Creative Commons and CC Chile are concerned that the bill could create unnecessary complexity for authors who want to share their works under CC licenses. </span></p>
<p>Of course authors should be able to be paid for their work. But with over 1 billion CC licensed works on the web, we also know that many authors simply want to share their creativity freely under open terms to benefit the public. For example, educators and scholarly researchers create and share works primarily to advance education and to contribute to their field of study—not necessarily for financial remuneration.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">All CC licensors permit their works to used for at least non-commercial purposes. When an author applies a Creative Commons licenses to her work, she grants to the public a worldwide, royalty-free license to use the work under certain terms. The </span><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode"><span style="font-weight: 400;">license text</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> specifically states, “To the extent possible, the Licensor waives any right to collect royalties from You for the exercise of the Licensed Rights, whether directly or through a collecting society under any voluntary or waivable statutory or compulsory licensing scheme. In all other cases the Licensor expressly reserves any right to collect such royalties.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Creative Commons and CC Chile sent a letter [<a href="media/d2d8d020.Letter_from_Creative_Commons_on_Senate_Bulletin_9889-24.pdf" data-original-source="https://wiki.creativecommons.org/images/b/be/Letter_from_Creative_Commons_on_Senate_Bulletin_9889-24.pdf">English</a>] [<a href="media/5895a4d2.ish-_Letter_from_Creative_Commons_on_Senate_Bulletin_9889-24.pdf" data-original-source="https://wiki.creativecommons.org/images/c/c8/-Spanish-_Letter_from_Creative_Commons_on_Senate_Bulletin_9889-24.pdf">Spanish</a>] </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">to the Senate Education and Culture Committee stating our opposition to the legislation. We respectfully requested that the Senate vote against the bill, or offer an amendment so that authors may continue to share audiovisual works under Creative Commons licenses without imposing an additional burden such as having to agree to an unwaivable right for remuneration.</span></p>
<p>The bill is moving through the senate committee, and you can <strong>take action now to tell Chilean lawmakers to keep open licensing options for video creators. </strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong><a href="https://act.eff.org/action/chilean-lawmakers-don-t-kill-open-licensing">Chilean Lawmakers: Don&#8217;t Kill Open Licensing!</a> [English]</strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://act.eff.org/action/legisladores-chilenos-no-acaben-con-el-licenciamiento-abierto-de-obras-audiovisuales">Legisladores chilenos: ¡No acaben con el licenciamiento abierto de obras audiovisuales!</a> [Spanish] </strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/06/16/new-chilean-law-make-harder-authors-freely-share-audiovisual-works/">New Chilean law would make it harder for authors to freely share audiovisual works</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48397
title: Spotlight on Gage Skidmore, political photographer
uri: Spotlight-on-Gage-Skidmore-political-photographer
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/06/17/spotlight-gage-skidmore-political-photographer/
content:
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/">Gage Skidmore</a> is a photographer and freelance graphic designer living in Phoenix, Arizona whose high-quality photos of politicians and pop culture have been featured in diverse publications including The Atlantic, MSNBC, Fox News, and The World. The ubiquity of Skidmore&#8217;s photos are a testament to his extraordinary success through open licensing.</p>
<p>The 22-year-old started taking photos in 2009 during Rand Paul&#8217;s Senate campaign, uploading all of his photos under a CC BY-SA license. Since then, he has accumulated over 1 million photo credits and 1.2 million views on his page. In addition to political photography, Skidmore has been the official photographer for a variety of events and publications, uploading over 45,000 photos to his Flickr account.</p>
<p>Skidmore answered questions over email from CC&#8217;s Eric Steuer, discussing his success as a photographer, passion for politics, and how the CC license fuels his work.</p>
<p><strong>What was the first photo you made of a politician? What were the circumstances surrounding that shot?</strong></p>
<p>The first ever political event I attended was an event in Louisville, Kentucky in November 2009, when I attended a healthcare town hall being hosted by the U.S. Senate campaign of then-ophthalmologist Rand Paul. I was a big supporter of his dad, Ron Paul, in his 2008 campaign, and at the time I lived in Indiana, so I was only a couple hours from Kentucky. Over the course of that year I decided to start documenting his campaign, mostly as a supporter, and attended a couple events a month. I uploaded all of these photos onto Flickr under a Creative Commons license for people to use.</p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-48413" src="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/23954247384_598c0edb70_z.jpg?resize=599%2C399&#038;ssl=1" alt="23954247384_598c0edb70_z" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/23954247384_598c0edb70_z.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i2.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/23954247384_598c0edb70_z.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w" sizes="(max-width: 599px) 100vw, 599px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/albums/72157663315985760">Rand Paul at Volunteer Phone Bank, Manchester, NH, </a>Photo by Gage Skidmore <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC-BY-SA 2.0</a></small></p>
<p><strong>How many political photos have you published since then? What is your typical process for getting these shots?</strong></p>
<p>I&#8217;m not entirely sure on the exact amount. The two main things that I cover are politics and pop culture conventions like Comic Con. I&#8217;ve uploaded close to 45,000 photos, and most of them are probably politics related.</p>
<p><strong>When did you decide to start using CC licenses to make your photos available to the world? And why did you make this decision?</strong></p>
<p>I saw Creative Commons as a vehicle to help get my photos disseminated easily very early on. Through my involvement with projects like the Wikimedia Commons, I learned about Creative Commons licensing, and chose the license that I thought best fit my desire for my photos to be used in the proper manner. Attribution was very important to me, and still is.</p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-48402" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/25982537325_e7cf5d4c0f_z.jpg?resize=605%2C403&#038;ssl=1" alt="Hillary Clinton with supporters" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/25982537325_e7cf5d4c0f_z.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/25982537325_e7cf5d4c0f_z.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/sets/72157666107103751">Hillary Clinton with supporters,</a> Photo by Gage Skidmore <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC-BY-SA 2.0</a></small></p>
<p><strong>Since then, your photos have been used in a variety of ways. Do you notice that they&#8217;re mostly used by media outlets? What other ways have you noticed people using your work?</strong></p>
<p>My photos have been used by a lot of different websites, news sites, and sites like Wikipedia, and I&#8217;m very happy to see this. I really enjoy seeing my photos being used, especially if they comply with the CC-BY-SA license and attribute me.</p>
<p><strong>Do people typically contact you to let you know they&#8217;ve used your work? Have there been any particularly interesting conversations (or stories or even commissions?) that have come out making your work available to the world?</strong></p>
<p>I&#8217;ve had people email me just to make sure that I am attributed properly, or to ask permission to use my photos. I was involved with documenting the 2016 campaign, so I did have interactions with some of the campaigns who wanted to use my photos while also abiding by the photo license.<br />
One misconception that a lot of people have asked me about is in regards to the main photo on Donald Trump&#8217;s website. It is one of my photos, and his campaign actually attributed me at the bottom of his website. Many people assumed from this that I was a supporter of his, or worked for him in some way, neither of which is true. The Trump campaign simply found my photo, used it on their website, and attributed me for my work.</p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-48405" src="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Screen-Shot-2016-05-19-at-1.26.52-PM.png?resize=640%2C269&#038;ssl=1" alt="Screen Shot 2016-05-19 at 1.26.52 PM" srcset="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Screen-Shot-2016-05-19-at-1.26.52-PM.png?resize=300%2C126&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Screen-Shot-2016-05-19-at-1.26.52-PM.png?resize=768%2C323&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Screen-Shot-2016-05-19-at-1.26.52-PM.png?resize=1024%2C431&amp;ssl=1 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small>Donald Trump Campaign Website Banner, Photo by Gage Skidmore <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC-BY-SA 2.0</a></small></p>
<p><strong>At CC, we&#8217;re specifically interested in how creators contribute to a culture of sharing and gratitude by making their work available under CC. What&#8217;s been your experience as someone who puts a lot of high value work out there under CC licenses? Do you find that people are grateful for your contributions?</strong></p>
<p>I&#8217;ve had a great amount of positive reception from people thanking me for providing quality images of certain people over the years under a Creative Commons license. Wikimedia Commons is one such community that I believe truly embraces its contributors and tries to create a library of images that are Creative Commons or public domain. I&#8217;m very much glad to be a participant in this project.</p>
<p><strong>Has the approach you employ helped create any opportunities that might not have been available to you otherwise?</strong></p>
<p>Since I started I&#8217;ve had people recognize my name and actually get in contact with me to offer photography gigs, mostly in the Phoenix area where I live now. Getting my name out there helped people get a sense of my work, and that has translated into a lot of paid opportunities to be an official photographer for various events. Some of these include the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, Western Journalism, Conservative Review, Reason Magazine, the Mises Institute, Campaign for Liberty, the Iowa GOP, several different centers at Arizona State University, and some freelance work that has allowed me to photograph people like the President of the United States.</p>
<blockquote><p>I&#8217;m always excited to see what presents itself day by day, and it really all goes back to my involvement with Creative Commons that first allowed me to get my name out there and break into a field that is constantly changing and evolving.</p></blockquote>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-48415" src="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/25879021931_b955bc5e31_z.jpg?resize=567%2C378&#038;ssl=1" alt="25879021931_b955bc5e31_z" srcset="https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/25879021931_b955bc5e31_z.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i1.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/25879021931_b955bc5e31_z.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w" sizes="(max-width: 567px) 100vw, 567px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">Bernie and Jane Sanders,</a> Photo by Gage Skidmore <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC by SA 2.0</a></small></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/06/17/spotlight-gage-skidmore-political-photographer/">Spotlight on Gage Skidmore, political photographer</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://blog.creativecommons.org/?p=48520
title: Open Innovation and the Creation of Commons
uri: Open-Innovation-and-the-Creation-of-Commons
url: https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/06/21/open-innovation-creation-commons/
content:
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">In March we hosted the second Institute for Open Leadership, and in our </span></i><a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/03/28/reporting-back-institute-open-leadership-2/"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">summary of the event</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> we mentioned that the Institute fellows would be taking turns to write about their open policy projects.</span></i><b><i> Below is a guest post by IOL Fellow </i></b><a href="http://homepage.univie.ac.at/katja.mayer"><b><i>Katja Mayer</i></b></a><b><i>, a postdoctoral researcher in Science, Technology and Society at the </i></b><a href="http://rri.univie.ac.at/en/"><b><i>University of Vienna</i></b></a><b><i>. </i></b></p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone size-full wp-image-48523" style="line-height: 1.5;" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/25988294296_ae0d9a0e87_z.jpg?resize=640%2C640&#038;ssl=1" alt="25988294296_ae0d9a0e87_z" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/25988294296_ae0d9a0e87_z.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/25988294296_ae0d9a0e87_z.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/25988294296_ae0d9a0e87_z.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/42511880@N03/25988294296/">IOL2 at work</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/42511880@N03/">Cable Green</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC BY 2.0</a></small></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a sociologist of science, I am interested in how scientific research, technological innovation, and society are linked together. I was always fascinated by the open source movement, and this fascination grew into a strong advocacy when I started to use free and open source software myself to collaborate with fellow scientists. When I first heard about the open science movement several years ago, I was immediately convinced that it not only makes an interesting object of research (I’m currently working on open research data practices), but also that I would like to help to spread open science practices to my communities. In addition to integrating open science related topics and methods into my teaching, I joined collective efforts to </span><a href="http://era.gv.at/object/document/2279"><span style="font-weight: 400;">push for open science in national and European science and research policies</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. I am an active member of the open science workgroup of </span><a href="http://okfn.at/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Open Knowledge Austria</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and became a member of the </span><a href="http://www.oana.at/en/home/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Open Access Network Austria</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> as a member of the steering group for implementing a </span><a href="http://zenodo.org/record/34079#.V2kAsulCRyU"><span style="font-weight: 400;">national open access strategy</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Being able to join the Institute for Open Leadership in March 2016 boosted both my professional development and my confidence in working on a transition to open science. The wonderful feedback I got from this group of inspirational individuals from all over the world still resonates, and continually helps me to shape my vision for the project that I’ll start in September: Exploring best practice examples of </span><b>Open Innovation</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and the creation of </span><b>Commons.</b></p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone size-full wp-image-48522" style="line-height: 1.5;" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/25848374292_9219f71686_z.jpg?resize=640%2C623&#038;ssl=1" alt="25848374292_9219f71686_z" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/25848374292_9219f71686_z.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/25848374292_9219f71686_z.jpg?resize=300%2C292&amp;ssl=1 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/58154873@N04/25848374292/">IOL2 Fellows</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/58154873@N04/">bella_velo</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/"> CC BY 2.0</a></small></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The idea for this project was developed in Cape Town as a reaction to European policy </span><a href="http://stcsn.ieee.net/e-letter/stcsn-e-letter-vol-3-no-1/from-science-2-0-to-open-science"><span style="font-weight: 400;">rhetoric</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> at the time appropriating terms such as “open science” and “open innovation”. We heard pronouncements like, “Europe is not productive enough. In Europe we are not succeeding in transforming research into innovation. Our knowledge is commercialized elsewhere.” These and </span><a href="https://rio.jrc.ec.europa.eu/en/library/science-research-and-innovation-performance-eu-2016"><span style="font-weight: 400;">similar</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> descriptions of Europe&#8217;s problematic standing with regard to innovation form the main narratives in policy strategy documents that suggest the solution lies in the “open”. In other words, open innovation and open science should help to create jobs, spur economic growth, and make Europe competitive in terms of the </span><b>commercialization of knowledge production</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. What was so alarming in this rhetorical policy move was its </span><b>monopolization of the term “open”</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and its one-eyed description of knowledge circulation and sharing. It is one-eyed because its focus rests on a specific economic theory of open innovation, rather than the diverse and longstanding types of openness already practiced by countless people around the globe.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s a worthwhile idea that we should enable broad access to knowledge by fostering a stronger culture of entrepreneurship that can lead to the development of new products and services. But this approach lacks an understanding of the </span><b>potential interplay of traditional and alternative markets</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and new and unusual forms of </span><b>value creation beyond the typical exploitation</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of intellectual property rights. Also, this framework for “openness” remains vague in its description of the </span><b>relationship between science and business</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and in how collaboration could result in forms of value capture that benefits all relevant stakeholders, especially those who funded the research. </span><b>Open licenses and open policies</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> are only rarely mentioned. When they are, it’s only in the context of best practices of others such as the Gates Foundation (see i.e. </span><a href="http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/open-innovation-open-science-open-to-the-world-pbKI0416263/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Moedas 2016</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">)</span></p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone size-full wp-image-48521" style="line-height: 1.5;" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/25270559943_870ee0fee9_z.jpg?resize=640%2C480&#038;ssl=1" alt="25270559943_870ee0fee9_z" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/25270559943_870ee0fee9_z.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/25270559943_870ee0fee9_z.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sixteenmilesofstring/25270559943"> Cape Town present for IOL2 Fellows</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sixteenmilesofstring/">tvol</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC BY 2.0</a></small></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The objective of my open policy project is to crowdsource the collection of best practices of the </span><b>creation of common goods and shared resources</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">—beyond the one-eyed economic vision currently used to describe open innovation. I wish to investigate how such projects and models have created </span><b>new markets and new opportunities</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. By end of September 2016 I will launch a website with a form to input basic information and media of open projects that would </span><b>widen our understanding of what is possible in support of open innovation</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Besides a database where such best practices are stored, I hope to create an interactive diagram with the help of other IOL participants. The diagram will depict selected open projects in relation to each other and across core characteristics of open innovation and the open movement. This way, politicians, administrators, and scientists can have a good sense of the existing open innovation ecosystem today. If you are interested in collaborating, please send me a short email at </span><a href="mailto:commons.innovation@gmail.com"><span style="font-weight: 400;">commons.innovation@gmail.com</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<blockquote><p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;New knowledge is created through global collaborations involving thousands of people from across the world and from all walks of life.&#8221; &#8211; </span></i><a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-15-5243_en.htm">Commissioner Carlos Moedas, May 2015</a></p></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Envisioning an interactive diagram as a tool for understanding the potential of the open innovation movement results from my wish to make it more coherently visible in teaching. To counter a uniform narrative of open innovation, it’s important to show the </span><b>manifold dimensions of the open movement</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Furthermore, I am particularly interested in the multiplicity of dimensions of openness, including which forms of openness are realized depending on the kind and scope of resources, projects, or works. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In his 2003 book </span><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=OeLIH89YiMcC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=isbn:9781422102831&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjh_rq-0rfNAhUW22MKHZ02A3YQ6AEIHjAA#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology</span></i></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Henry Chesbrough defined “open innovation” as innovation </span><b>transcending the boundaries</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the organization conducting it and hence as motor of productivity and growth. His notion of openness argues against the characterization that innovation is a linear process. Instead, open innovation introduces new forms of cross-sector and cross-organizational collaboration in knowledge production and design processes. (Note: We still see a linear innovation model today because of current measurement methods and statistical indicators. See </span><a href="ftp://ftp.ige.unicamp.br/pub/CT010/aula%202/GODIN-The%20Linear%20Model%20of%20Innovation-STHV2006.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Godin, 2006</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for more).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today, a broader conceptual framework for </span><b>open innovation</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is embedded in an </span><b>integrated approach to openness</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. It is a vital element of the open movement and should not be taken out of this context.</span></p>
<p><img class="img-responsive alignnone wp-image-48535" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/open_model.jpg?resize=641%2C459&#038;ssl=1" alt="open_model" data-recalc-dims="1" /><small>Graphic by Katja Mayer, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY 4.0</a></small></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Open innovation is transcending the boundaries of traditional knowledge production and fosters </span><b>cross-fertilization of knowledge</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. It can serve both as a trigger for change towards openness and a cross-connector of multiple segments of the open movement.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In an ideal interpretation of open innovation, we would follow the </span><a href="http://opendefinition.org/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Open Definition</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which means that anyone can freely access, use, modify, and share the content for any purpose (while preserving provenance and openness). But in practice, openness—in its </span><a href="http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/6360/5460"><span style="font-weight: 400;">many shades</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">—cannot be reduced to a singular definition. However, we can emphasize its main characteristics:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The open movement rests on common principles such as </span><b>sharing</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><b>collaboration</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><b>transparency</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><b>participation</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><b>quality improvement</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><b>enhancement of positive societal impact</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by </span><b>co-created shared values</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Its core focus is on the actors and communities of openness, their skills and their mind-sets, and their abilities to openly innovate. Without an open ecosystem comprising important elements such as open policies and open licenses, open education, open source, open standards, and open science, open innovation would not be possible. Although it can create and shape markets, fostering the diversity of open business models, open innovation is offering more than just economic impact: it has the potential for </span><b>structural change</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in open societies (which goes far beyond the idea of rapid adoption of new technologies).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Similarly, the </span><b>open science</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> movement is based on the idea that scientific knowledge of all kinds </span><a href="https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2011/10/nielsen"><span style="font-weight: 400;">should be openly shared</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> as early as is practical in the research process. The future of scholarly communication &#8211; as envisioned by the </span><a href="http://viennaprinciples.org/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vienna Principles</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> &#8211; is based on open access to scientific publications and research data. Even more radically, it calls for the </span><b>participation of all relevant stakeholders</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in research design and evaluation. Open scientific methodology enables new forms of participation and interaction in order to build and maintain sustainable </span><b>eco-systems for co-creation</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. In an innovation context, emphasis should not only be put on the traditional commercialization of research outcomes. Open innovation in science should enable </span><b>new public spheres</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the creation of </span><b>common goods</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and other benefits enabled by an information commons—as explored by Ostrom in her 1990 book </span><a href="media/de2cf757.ostrom_1990.pdf" data-original-source="http://wtf.tw/ref/ostrom_1990.pdf"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action</span></i></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Open science and the knowledge commons are already highly impacting innovation in society through the development of initiatives such as the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Genome_Project"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Human Genome Project</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Collective efforts to </span><a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/aaft-gsc021016.php"><span style="font-weight: 400;">study the Zika virus</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> or the US presidential call for an </span><a href="http://www.cancer.gov/research/key-initiatives/moonshot-cancer-initiative"><span style="font-weight: 400;">open cancer research initiative</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> will foster new forms of open knowledge production and dissemination, as will any science policy with a strong mandate for open access and open research data. I think it will be of utmost importance to make the case for </span><b>multiple knowledge markets</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">—where open knowledge practices and commercialization can work in tandem for the benefit of rights holders and the broader public. Therefore, policy urgently needs to address open licensing models. Open innovation should strive to achieve the </span><b>synergy of commercial and alternative markets</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and support new, participatory forms of knowledge production and dissemination. By collecting past and present best practices (and also failures) from the open movement, I hope we can come to a better understanding about open innovation in service of a collaborative and productive commons in the future. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Please join us in our effort to make the open innovation and open science multiple more visible by collecting infos on best practices. If you are interested please send a short notice to </span><a href="mailto:commons.innovation@gmail.com"><span style="font-weight: 400;">commons.innovation@gmail.com</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and you will receive updates about the project kickoff in September.</span></p>
<p>Katja Mayer<br />
<a href="http://homepage.univie.ac.at/katja.mayer">http://homepage.univie.ac.at/katja.mayer </a><br />
Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/@katja_mat">@katja_mat</a></p>
<hr />
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Further reading:</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fecher, B., &amp; Friesike, S. (2014). Open science: one term, five schools of thought. In Opening science (pp. 17-47). Springer International Publishing. </span><a href="http://book.openingscience.org/basics_background/open_science_one_term_five_schools_of_thought.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://book.openingscience.org/basics_background/open_science_one_term_five_schools_of_thought.html</span></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chesbrough, H. (2003). Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology. Harvard Business School Press.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Godin, B. (2006). The Linear model of innovation the historical construction of an analytical framework. Science, Technology &amp; Human Values, 31(6), 639-667.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mayer, K. (2015). Open Science Policy Briefing. ERA Austria </span><a href="http://era.gv.at/object/document/2279"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> http://era.gv.at/object/document/2279</span></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mayer, K. (2015). From Science 2.0 to Open Science: Turning rhetoric into action? STCSN-eLetter, 3(1). </span><a href="http://stcsn.ieee.net/e-letter/stcsn-e-letter-vol-3-no-1/from-science-2-0-to-open-science"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://stcsn.ieee.net/e-letter/stcsn-e-letter-vol-3-no-1/from-science-2-0-to-open-science</span></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nielsen, M. (2011). Doing science in the open. </span><a href="http://michaelnielsen.org"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://michaelnielsen.org</span></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge University Press.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Have a look at the diagram by the P2P foundation:</span><a href="https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Everything_Open_and_Free_Mindmap"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Everything_Open_and_Free_Mindmap</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/06/21/open-innovation-creation-commons/">Open Innovation and the Creation of Commons</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.creativecommons.org">Creative Commons blog</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://staging.creativecommons.org/?p=50270
title: Open Innovation and the Creation of Commons
uri: 2016-06-24-Open-Innovation-and-the-Creation-of-Commons
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/21/open-innovation-creation-commons/
content:
<p>In March we hosted the second Institute for Open Leadership, and in our summary of the event we mentioned that the Institute fellows would be taking turns to write about their open policy projects.Below is a guest post by IOL Fellow Katja Mayer, a postdoctoral researcher in Science, Technology and Society at the University of &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/21/open-innovation-creation-commons/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Open Innovation and the Creation of Commons"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/21/open-innovation-creation-commons/">Open Innovation and the Creation of Commons</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://staging.creativecommons.org/?p=50277
title: Spotlight on Gage Skidmore, political photographer
uri: 2016-06-24-Spotlight-on-Gage-Skidmore-political-photographer
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/17/spotlight-gage-skidmore-political-photographer-2/
content:
<p>Gage Skidmore is a photographer and freelance graphic designer living in Phoenix, Arizona whose high-quality photos of politicians and pop culture have been featured in diverse publications...</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/17/spotlight-gage-skidmore-political-photographer-2/">Spotlight on Gage Skidmore, political photographer</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://staging.creativecommons.org/?p=50288
title: Redefining Open: MOOCs and Online Courseware in the Age of Creative Commons and Wikipedia
uri: Redefining-Open-MOOCs-and-Online-Courseware-in-the-Age-of-Creative-Co
url:
https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/15/redefining-open-moocs-online-courseware-age-creative-commons-wikipedia/

content:
<p>The guest post below was written by Peter B. Kaufman of Intelligent Television. — When the Open Courseware movement first started – its Big Bang probably took place in mid-June 2001, when Mellon Foundation president William G. Bowen, Hewlett Foundation’s president Paul Brest, and MIT president Charles M. Vest announced the initiative at MIT – &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/15/redefining-open-moocs-online-courseware-age-creative-commons-wikipedia/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Redefining Open: MOOCs and Online Courseware in the Age of Creative Commons and Wikipedia"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/15/redefining-open-moocs-online-courseware-age-creative-commons-wikipedia/">Redefining Open: MOOCs and Online Courseware in the Age of Creative Commons and Wikipedia</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://staging.creativecommons.org/?p=50135
title: CC Australia Supports Commission Recommendations for User-friendly Copyright Reform
uri: 2016-06-24-CC-Australia-Supports-Commission-Recommendations-for-User-friendly-Cop
url:
https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/09/cc-australia-supports-commission-recommendations-user-friendly-copyright-reform/

content:
<p>This post was contributed by Stuart Efstathis for Creative Commons Australia. Image by Sierra_Graphic, CC0 The Australian Productivity Commission has recommended important changes to Australian copyright law that support content creators and users in the digital age. On 29 April 2016, the Commission released a Draft Report on reforms to Australia’s intellectual property laws based &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/09/cc-australia-supports-commission-recommendations-user-friendly-copyright-reform/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "CC Australia Supports Commission Recommendations for User-friendly Copyright Reform"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/09/cc-australia-supports-commission-recommendations-user-friendly-copyright-reform/">CC Australia Supports Commission Recommendations for User-friendly Copyright Reform</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://staging.creativecommons.org/?p=50141
title: Uruguayan rights holders seek to roll back progressive copyright reform
uri: 2016-06-24-Uruguayan-rights-holders-seek-to-roll-back-progressive-copyright-refor
url:
https://creativecommons.org/2016/05/27/uruguayan-rights-holders-seek-roll-back-progressive-copyright-reform/

content:
<p>Law, by Woody Hibbard, CC BY 2.0 Uruguay is in the process of updating its copyright law, and in April a bill was preliminarily approved in the Senate. The law introduces changes that would benefit students, librarians, researchers, and the general public by legalizing commonplace digital practices, adding orphan works exceptions, and removing criminal penalties &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/05/27/uruguayan-rights-holders-seek-roll-back-progressive-copyright-reform/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Uruguayan rights holders seek to roll back progressive copyright reform"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/05/27/uruguayan-rights-holders-seek-roll-back-progressive-copyright-reform/">Uruguayan rights holders seek to roll back progressive copyright reform</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://staging.creativecommons.org/?p=50138
title: Council of the European Union calls for full open access to scientific research by 2020
uri: 2016-06-24-Council-of-the-European-Union-calls-for-full-open-access-to-scientific
url:
https://creativecommons.org/2016/05/27/council-european-union-calls-full-open-access-scientific-research-2020/

content:
<p>Science! by Alexandro Lacadena, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 A few weeks ago we wrote about how the European Union is pushing ahead its support for open access to EU-funded scientific research and data. Today at the meeting of the Competitiveness Council of the European Union, the Council reinforced the commitment to making all scientific articles and &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/05/27/council-european-union-calls-full-open-access-scientific-research-2020/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Council of the European Union calls for full open access to scientific research by 2020"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/05/27/council-european-union-calls-full-open-access-scientific-research-2020/">Council of the European Union calls for full open access to scientific research by 2020</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50452
title: Supporting Open Collaboration to Achieve Cancer Cures
uri: Supporting-Open-Collaboration-to-Achieve-Cancer-Cures
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/29/open-collaboration-cancer-cures/
content:
<p>Photo: Cancer Immunotherapy by National Institutes of Health, CC BY 2.0 Under the direction of Vice President Joe Biden, the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative seeks to make ten years of progress on cancer research in half that time, with a goal to end cancer in our lifetime. Today, Creative Commons will participate in Biden’s Cancer &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/29/open-collaboration-cancer-cures/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Supporting Open Collaboration to Achieve Cancer Cures"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/29/open-collaboration-cancer-cures/">Supporting Open Collaboration to Achieve Cancer Cures</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50465
title: Tell the European Commission to #fixcopyright
uri: Tell-the-European-Commission-to-fixcopyright
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/15/tell-european-commission-to-fixcopyright/
content:
<p>This post was remixed from the blog of the Communia Association, whose content is dedicated to the public domain. Through the Communia Association, Creative Commons and several CC Europe affiliates have responded to the copyright reform consultations of the European Commission. Currently, the Commission is asking for feedback on the “role of publishers in the &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/15/tell-european-commission-to-fixcopyright/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Tell the European Commission to #fixcopyright"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/15/tell-european-commission-to-fixcopyright/">Tell the European Commission to #fixcopyright</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50487
title: ICYMI: a June #OER roundup
uri: ICYMI-a-June-OER-roundup
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/05/icymi-june-oer-roundup/
content:
<p>June was a big month for OER in the United States, so here&#8217;s a quick roundup of some highlights, including a new open copyright policy from Hillary Clinton&#8217;s campaign, the launch packet for districts incorporating open educational resources into their curriculum, and new funding for OER degrees in California! US Department of Education: #GoOpen Launch Packet &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/05/icymi-june-oer-roundup/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "ICYMI: a June #OER roundup"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/05/icymi-june-oer-roundup/">ICYMI: a June #OER roundup</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50545
title: النسخة النهائية من الترجمة العربية لرخص المشاع الابداعي متاحة للمشاورة العامة الآن CC4.0
uri: 2016-07-13-
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/12/50545/
content:
<p>استطاعت منظمة المشاع الابداعي من خلال العمل مع المؤسسات غير الحكومية، الجامعات، الهيئات العامة، و المؤسسات التابعة وأصدقاء المشاع الابداعي في العالم العربي ترك اثر كبير على المجال العام كماً و نوعاً في مختلف القطاعات من التعليم والبحث حتى مجالات الإرث الثقافي, البيانات, التصميم, و المعدات التقنية  كانت السنتين الماضيتين مفعمة بالنشاط و الحيوية خصوصا &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/12/50545/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "النسخة النهائية من الترجمة العربية لرخص المشاع الابداعي متاحة للمشاورة العامة الآن CC4.0"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/12/50545/">النسخة النهائية من الترجمة العربية لرخص المشاع الابداعي متاحة للمشاورة العامة الآن CC4.0</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50534
title: CC 4.0 Arabic Translation Draft Open for Public Consultation
uri: CC-4-0-Arabic-Translation-Draft-Open-for-Public-Consultation
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/12/cc-4-0-arabic-translation-draft-open-public-consultation/
content:
<p>Working alongside non-governmental institutions, universities, and public agencies, Creative Commons affiliates and community in the Arab World have been impacting the growth and quality of the commons across all sectors...</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/12/cc-4-0-arabic-translation-draft-open-public-consultation/">CC 4.0 Arabic Translation Draft Open for Public Consultation</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50553
title: “It’s music for the people”: Monk Turner on defying genre and the open community
uri: It-s-music-for-the-people-Monk-Turner-on-defying-genre-and-th
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/13/monk-turner-music-for-the-people/
content:
<p>Monk Turner is a concept musician who has benefitted greatly from his collaborative, collective approach to music making and performance. </p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/13/monk-turner-music-for-the-people/">&#8220;It&#8217;s music for the people&#8221;: Monk Turner on defying genre and the open community</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50576
title: Big win for CC in Italy
uri: Big-win-for-CC-in-Italy
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/13/big-win-for-cc-in-italy/
content:
<p>Last year, Festival delle Resistenze 2016 in Trentino-Alto Adige misused a photo of the journalist Federico Rampini that had been uploaded to Wikimedia Commons under a CC-by-SA-4.0 license by a professional photographer named Federico Caranti.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/13/big-win-for-cc-in-italy/">Big win for CC in Italy</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50611
title: “Let’s do this together”: an interview with Letters for Black Lives
uri: Let-s-do-this-together-an-interview-with-Letters-for-Black-Li
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/15/letters-for-black-lives/
content:
<p>"We need to talk," begins the first letter from the organizers of "Letters for Black Lives," a new writing project aimed at opening up intercultural and inter-generational dialogue about the Black Lives Matter movement. </p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/15/letters-for-black-lives/">&#8220;Let&#8217;s do this together&#8221;: an interview with Letters for Black Lives</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50594
title: Meeting debrief and next steps: The Challenge of Attribution, or “View Source,” in 3D Printing
uri: Meeting-debrief-and-next-steps-The-Challenge-of-Attribution-or-Vi
url:
https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/15/meeting-debrief-next-steps-challenge-attribution-view-source-3d-printing/

content:
<p>In April, we posed a question to our community, "How should we attribute 3D printed objects?" and announced our intent to explore the challenge as it aligned with our new strategy, focusing on discovery and collaboration. </p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/15/meeting-debrief-next-steps-challenge-attribution-view-source-3d-printing/">Meeting debrief and next steps: The Challenge of Attribution, or “View Source,” in 3D Printing</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50613
title: Creative Commons and Museu da Imigração: notes on a Brazilian experience
uri: Creative-Commons-and-Museu-da-Imigração-notes-on-a-Brazilian-experi
url:
https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/19/creative-commons-museu-da-imigracao-notes-brazilian-experience/

content:
<p>I had the privilege of participating in the second Institute for Open Leadership (IOL), held in Cape Town and hosted by Creative Commons and the Open Policy Network. The institute was attended by people from various places around the world, all with incredible projects. For the last nine years I&#8217;ve been active in the area of &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/19/creative-commons-museu-da-imigracao-notes-brazilian-experience/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Creative Commons and Museu da Imigração: notes on a Brazilian experience"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/19/creative-commons-museu-da-imigracao-notes-brazilian-experience/">Creative Commons and Museu da Imigração: notes on a Brazilian experience</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50716
title: CC is Awesome!
uri: CC-is-Awesome
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/21/cc-is-awesome/
content:
<p>‘Awesome’ by Sam Howzit, CC BY 2.0 on Flickr One of the greatest strengths of the Creative Commons organization is the dedicated volunteers worldwide who help build openly licensed projects and educate the public about CC in their local communities and internationally. A few months ago, we provided mini grants to these communities through The &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/21/cc-is-awesome/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "CC is Awesome!"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/21/cc-is-awesome/">CC is Awesome!</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50520
title: Let’s make some clothes: Joost de Cock on Make my Pattern
uri: Let-s-make-some-clothes-Joost-de-Cock-on-Make-my-Pattern
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/27/makemypattern/
content:
<p>The delightfully quirky sewing site Make my Pattern.com is the work of self-proclaimed &#8220;sewcialist&#8221; Joost de Cock, a Belgian designer with a flair for fashion. When he started Make my Pattern, de Cock set out to solve a major issue for amateur sewers: patterns fit best when hand-drafted, but hand-drafting is inaccessible to most hobbyists. &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/27/makemypattern/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Let&#8217;s make some clothes: Joost de Cock on Make my Pattern"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/27/makemypattern/">Let&#8217;s make some clothes: Joost de Cock on Make my Pattern</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50757
title: Creative Commons e Museu da Imigração: notas sobre uma experiência brasileira
uri: Creative-Commons-e-Museu-da-Imigração-notas-sobre-uma-experiência
url:
https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/19/creative-commons-e-museu-da-imigracao-notas-sobre-experiencia-brasileira/

content:
<p>Tive a grata oportunidade de participar do segundo Institute for Open Leadership (IOL), realizado na Cidade do Cabo e promovido pelo Creative Commons e pela Open Policy Network. Além de mim, o instituto recebeu pessoas de vários lugares do mundo, todos com projetos incríveis. Nos últimos nove anos, tenho atuado na área de documentação em museus &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/19/creative-commons-e-museu-da-imigracao-notas-sobre-experiencia-brasileira/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Creative Commons e Museu da Imigração: notas sobre uma experiência brasileira"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/07/19/creative-commons-e-museu-da-imigracao-notas-sobre-experiencia-brasileira/">Creative Commons e Museu da Imigração: notas sobre uma experiência brasileira</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50752
title: The future of housing is here: CC Talks with the Open Building Institute
uri: The-future-of-housing-is-here-CC-Talks-with-the-Open-Building-Institu
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/02/open_building_institute/
content:
<p>What if the future of eco-housing is remixable, inexpensive, collaborative, open sourced, freely licensed, and accessible to all?</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/02/open_building_institute/">The future of housing is here: CC Talks with the Open Building Institute</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50769
title: The changing role of the publisher in the age of plenty
uri: The-changing-role-of-the-publisher-in-the-age-of-plenty
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/03/changing-role-publisher-age-plenty/
content:
<p>In March we hosted the second Institute for Open Leadership, and in our summary of the event we mentioned that the Institute fellows would be taking turns to write about their open policy projects. By way of some background, I am currently the digital publishing manager at the African branch of Cambridge University Press (CUP), &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/03/changing-role-publisher-age-plenty/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "The changing role of the publisher in the age of plenty"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/03/changing-role-publisher-age-plenty/">The changing role of the publisher in the age of plenty</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50832
title: Show your support for Diego Gomez this week!
uri: Show-your-support-for-Diego-Gomez-this-week
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/09/show-support-diego-gomez-week/
content:
<p>Final arguments in the case against Diego Gomez will be presented on August 10. Gomez is a Colombian graduate student who shared an academic paper without permission online and received a criminal copyright complaint from the author. If convicted, Gomez faces a 4-8 year prison sentence and a significant monetary fine. Over the last year, we’ve highlighted &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/09/show-support-diego-gomez-week/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Show your support for Diego Gomez this week!"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/09/show-support-diego-gomez-week/">Show your support for Diego Gomez this week!</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50821
title: Exploring open textbooks to improve education in Uganda
uri: Exploring-open-textbooks-to-improve-education-in-Uganda
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/11/exploring-open-textbooks-improve-education-uganda/
content:
<p>In March we hosted the second Institute for Open Leadership. In our summary of the event we mentioned that the Institute fellows would be taking turns to write about their open policy projects. As a Ugandan science educator with a background in computer science, I have witnessed thousands of kids dropping out of school because &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/11/exploring-open-textbooks-improve-education-uganda/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Exploring open textbooks to improve education in Uganda"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/11/exploring-open-textbooks-improve-education-uganda/">Exploring open textbooks to improve education in Uganda</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50873
title: U.S. Moves Ahead with Limited Code Sharing Policy
uri: U-S-Moves-Ahead-with-Limited-Code-Sharing-Policy
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/16/u-s-moves-ahead-limited-code-sharing-policy/
content:
<p>Image by Ilya Pavlov, CC0. Last week the White House finalized the Federal Source Code Policy to improve access to software code developed by or for the federal government. The policy is a step in the right direction toward making software accessible and reusable across U.S. government agencies, as well as for the general public. &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/16/u-s-moves-ahead-limited-code-sharing-policy/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "U.S. Moves Ahead with Limited Code Sharing Policy"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/16/u-s-moves-ahead-limited-code-sharing-policy/">U.S. Moves Ahead with Limited Code Sharing Policy</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50843
title: “This is my time and I’m recording it”: Carol Highsmith and the nature of giving
uri: This-is-my-time-and-I-m-recording-it-Carol-Highsmith-and-the
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/18/carol-highsmith/
content:
<p>Photographer Carol Highsmith has donated her life’s work of tens of thousands of photos to the Library of Congress during her decades long career. </p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/18/carol-highsmith/">&#8220;This is my time and I&#8217;m recording it&#8221;: Carol Highsmith and the nature of giving</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50885
title: ‘Reclaim Invention’ for the benefit of everyone
uri: Reclaim-Invention-for-the-benefit-of-everyone
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/18/reclaim-invention-benefit-everyone/
content:
<p>The vision of the Creative Commons project is universal access to research and education, and full participation in culture to drive a new era of development, growth, and productivity. Collaboration, sharing, and co-operation are in our nature — building community, co-operating towards common goods, and creating shared benefits are at the heart of who we &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/18/reclaim-invention-benefit-everyone/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "‘Reclaim Invention’ for the benefit of everyone"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/18/reclaim-invention-benefit-everyone/">‘Reclaim Invention’ for the benefit of everyone</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50908
title: Open Access to Research Critical to Advance Progress Against Cancer
uri: Open-Access-to-Research-Critical-to-Advance-Progress-Against-Cancer
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/22/open-access-research-critical-advance-progress-cancer/
content:
<p>The National Cancer Moonshot Initiative seeks to make ten years of progress on cancer research in half that time, with a goal to end cancer in our lifetime. The project—led by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden—recently called for ideas to help shape the cancer research priorities for the Moonshot. They received over 1,600 comments and &#8230; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/22/open-access-research-critical-advance-progress-cancer/" class="more-link">Read More<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Open Access to Research Critical to Advance Progress Against Cancer"</span></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/22/open-access-research-critical-advance-progress-cancer/">Open Access to Research Critical to Advance Progress Against Cancer</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50530
title: A politics of cooperation: Caroline Woolard on free culture, fine art, and everyday life
uri: A-politics-of-cooperation-Caroline-Woolard-on-free-culture-fine-art
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/23/caroline-woolard/
content:
<p>The interdisciplinary artist Caroline Woolard engages with political economy and activism through radically innovative collaborative projects. </p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/23/caroline-woolard/">A politics of cooperation: Caroline Woolard on free culture, fine art, and everyday life</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50973
title: Free the Reviews: Why Free Culture Needs Free Opinions
uri: Free-the-Reviews-Why-Free-Culture-Needs-Free-Opinions
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/29/free-reviews-free-culture-needs-free-opinions/
content:
<figure id="attachment_50978" style="width: 840px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-large wp-image-50978" src="media/3acece74.Screen-Shot-2016-08-29-at-12.29.28-PM-1024x767.png" data-original-source="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screen-Shot-2016-08-29-at-12.29.28-PM-1024x767.png" alt="Free Your Stuff screencap by Erik Moeller, CC-BY" width="840" height="629" srcset="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screen-Shot-2016-08-29-at-12.29.28-PM-1024x767.png 1024w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screen-Shot-2016-08-29-at-12.29.28-PM-300x225.png 300w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screen-Shot-2016-08-29-at-12.29.28-PM-768x575.png 768w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screen-Shot-2016-08-29-at-12.29.28-PM-53x40.png 53w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screen-Shot-2016-08-29-at-12.29.28-PM-50x37.png 50w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screen-Shot-2016-08-29-at-12.29.28-PM-207x155.png 207w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screen-Shot-2016-08-29-at-12.29.28-PM-1200x899.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Free Your Stuff screencap by Erik Moeller</figcaption></figure>
<p><em>This guest post is by <i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://twitter.com/xirzon">Erik Moeller</a>, former</span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Deputy Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization behind Wikipedia, from 2008 to 2015. He co-organized the migration of Wikipedia to the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA license, co-authored the Definition of Free Cultural Works, and instigated the world’s largest repository of exclusively freely licensed media, Wikimedia Commons. </span></i></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thanks to the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_culture_movement"><span style="font-weight: 400;">free culture movement</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, vast knowledge repositories like Wikipedia and StackExchange allow content to be re-used freely and built upon, and many major sites offer Creative Commons licensing as part of their user interfaces.</span></p>
<p>Yet there’s one area in which free culture has made very little progress to date: online reviews. Sites like Yelp, IMDB, Amazon.com, TripAdvisor, Goodreads, and others rely on millions of users to review products and services, but the resulting text and media are licensed only to the operating companies and not available for re-use, which means reviews are stuck in silos.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">They may disappear at a moment’s notice. They can’t be translated, remixed or built upon, outside the narrow exemptions granted by fair use. Reviews could be the glue that connects a lot of existing free and open information, including </span><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wikidata</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><a href="http://openstreetmap.org/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">OpenStreetMap</span></a> <a href="http://openstreetmap.org/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">if only they were freely licensed</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I believe that we can begin to change the status quo. To that end, I created an open source browser extension, </span><a href="https://freeyourstuff.cc/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">freeyourstuff.cc</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which lets you download your reviews for supported sites and, optionally, release them under CC-0, CC-BY or CC-BY-SA, the three Creative Commons licenses consistent with the </span><a href="http://freedomdefined.org/Definition"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Definition of Free Cultural Works</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. freeyourstuff.cc is not limited to reviews and is easy to </span><a href="https://freeyourstuff.cc/plugins"><span style="font-weight: 400;">extend</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Here’s a </span><a href="media/156498e4.recording.webm" data-original-source="https://freeyourstuff.cc/static/misc/osb-presentation-2016/recording.webm"><span style="font-weight: 400;">quick video</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (</span><a href="https://youtu.be/vj1nIxD2Knk"><span style="font-weight: 400;">YouTube version</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">) that shows how it works.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I am also working on a project to build a free and open source community around reviews (of anything!): </span><a href="https://lib.reviews/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">lib.reviews</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. We’re still in the early stages (</span><a href="media/e1e2c57a.screencast1.webm" data-original-source="https://lib.reviews/static/uploads/screencast1.webm"><span style="font-weight: 400;">video walkthrough</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> / </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyRiAYp1Nn4&amp;feature=youtu.be"><span style="font-weight: 400;">on YouTube</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">), but if you want to get involved, </span><a href="http://twitter.com/lib_reviews"><span style="font-weight: 400;">follow us on Twitter</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, send us a message, and we’ll send you an invite code to get started.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">By building these tools, we hope to go beyond the transactional consumer culture of online review sites, and make it easy to investigate other facets of a product or experience, such as the environmental impact or labor practices associated with it. </span></p>
<p><a href="http://wiki.freeculture.org/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Free culture</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> already enriches our world in immeasurable ways. Let’s take a step closer to a world in which sharing freely is the norm, not the exception.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/29/free-reviews-free-culture-needs-free-opinions/">Free the Reviews: Why Free Culture Needs Free Opinions</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=51061
title: “This had the potential to be big”: an interview with #wocintechchat
uri: This-had-the-potential-to-be-big-an-interview-with-wocintechch
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/31/this-had-the-potential-to-be-big/
content:
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The shiny glass and metal world of the average technology stock photo too often displays a homogenous representation of tech workers. When the Women of Color in Tech chat (#wocintechchat) began last year, its founders, the NYC-based technologists Stephanie Morillo and Christina Morillo (no relation) knew that they needed to widen that lens.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the last year, <a href="http://www.wocintechchat.com/">#wocintechchat</a> has provided Twitter chats, community dialogue, scholarships, and partnerships to provide more opportunities for women of color working in technology. The nearly 500 CC licensed photos have been used in a variety of media, providing positive representations of women of color working in tech. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The widespread acclaim and adoption of the photos has been exciting, though not entirely surprising to Morillo and Morillo, who credit the CC license as one of the reasons for its success. The photos can be found on </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wocintechchat/?"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Flickr,</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and the </span><a href="http://www.wocintechchat.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">#wocintechchat</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> organization welcomes women and non-binary people of color to join their community.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_51062" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wocintechchat/22359007740/in/album-72157658101276193/"><img class="size-full wp-image-51062" src="media/aca27972.22359007740_443dbf3447_z-1.jpg" data-original-source="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/22359007740_443dbf3447_z-1.jpg" alt="WOC in Tech Stock Photos CC-BY-SA" width="640" height="427" srcset="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/22359007740_443dbf3447_z-1.jpg 640w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/22359007740_443dbf3447_z-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/22359007740_443dbf3447_z-1-60x40.jpg 60w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/22359007740_443dbf3447_z-1-50x33.jpg 50w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/22359007740_443dbf3447_z-1-232x155.jpg 232w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wocintechchat/22359007740/in/album-72157658101276193/">WOC in Tech Stock Photos</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC-BY-SA</a></figcaption></figure>
<p><b>The #wocintechchat and stock photos grew out of a need for better representation of women of color working in tech. How do you feel that CC-licensed stock photos can help meet that need?<br />
</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">Our main goal was to get these photos disseminated and used as widely as possible. Accessibility was our number one priority, and we knew by making these photos available under a CC license, people would be more inclined to use them. We felt that a CC license helped accomplish our goal to make these photos free while ensuring that our organization would be acknowledged as the creators of these photos.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_51063" style="width: 428px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wocintechchat/25392369273/"><img class="size-full wp-image-51063" src="media/f6a80d9d.25392369273_8a39896576_z.jpg" data-original-source="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25392369273_8a39896576_z.jpg" alt="WOC in Tech stock photos CC-BY 2.0" width="428" height="640" srcset="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25392369273_8a39896576_z.jpg 428w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25392369273_8a39896576_z-201x300.jpg 201w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25392369273_8a39896576_z-27x40.jpg 27w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25392369273_8a39896576_z-33x50.jpg 33w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25392369273_8a39896576_z-104x155.jpg 104w" sizes="(max-width: 428px) 85vw, 428px" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wocintechchat/25392369273/">WOC in Tech stock photos</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC-BY 2.0</a></figcaption></figure>
<p><b>Have you seen any particularly cool or creative uses of the photos? Have you been surprised to see them pop up in any unexpected places?<br />
</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">We&#8217;ve seen them in more places than we can count! The company </span><a href="https://www.invisionapp.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">InVision </span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">uses them frequently in newsletters, and we recently worked with Buffer to make the photos available in their new social image tool, </span><a href="https://pablo.buffer.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Pablo</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Colleagues and friends will usually ping us whenever </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wocintechchat/22359007740/in/album-72157658101276193/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">this image</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> pops up because both of us (Christina and Stephanie) are in the photo and we&#8217;re both the founders of the initiative. Our photos have also ended up in places like TechCrunch, in social media images for tech firms, and recently to promote tech scholarships.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_51064" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wocintechchat/25388897014/"><img class="wp-image-51064 size-full" src="media/e1f22a73.25388897014_2f17bdae54_z.jpg" data-original-source="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25388897014_2f17bdae54_z.jpg" alt="WOC in Tech CC-By-2.0" width="640" height="428" srcset="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25388897014_2f17bdae54_z.jpg 640w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25388897014_2f17bdae54_z-300x201.jpg 300w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25388897014_2f17bdae54_z-60x40.jpg 60w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25388897014_2f17bdae54_z-50x33.jpg 50w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25388897014_2f17bdae54_z-232x155.jpg 232w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wocintechchat/25388897014/">WOC in Tech Stock Photos</a>  <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC-BY-2.0</a></figcaption></figure>
<p><b>Were you expecting the photos to have such wide acclaim and adoption? Do you think that the use of the CC license contributes to this?<br />
</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">We knew this had the potential to be big because the concept was both novel and obvious: of course we need more images of women of color technologists, but no one has done it before. And the use of the CC license was certainly key. It&#8217;s not every day that people make stock images free to use and we know that sometimes people don&#8217;t use images because they&#8217;d have to pay for them. </span></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We wanted the images to be used in creative ways, and having them available with a CC license has meant they&#8217;ve been used by large companies, small companies, college professors, conference speakers, bloggers, and journalists. </span></p></blockquote>
<p><strong>Why did you choose to use CC for these photos? Did you consider sharing the photos in any other manner?<br />
</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">We were certain that we wanted to use CC for these photos and didn&#8217;t consider any other manner. We knew that Flickr was the best platform for both ease of use and searchability, and we also liked that the platform displays the CC license with the photos. So it was a no-brainer for us.</span></p>
<p><strong>What&#8217;s next for #WOCinTechChat? What kinds of future projects are you looking forward to accomplishing?<br />
</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">We have lots of ideas floating around and we&#8217;re both still active in the tech scene and frequently use the #WOCinTechChat Twitter handle to share industry opportunities and news. We&#8217;re taking things as they come and are just as excited as everyone else to see where we head to next!</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_51066" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wocintechchat/22344392878/in/dateposted/"><img class="size-full wp-image-51066" src="media/dd4d46f6.22344392878_eff85b5527_z.jpg" data-original-source="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/22344392878_eff85b5527_z.jpg" alt="WOC in Tech Stock Photos CC-BY" width="640" height="427" srcset="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/22344392878_eff85b5527_z.jpg 640w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/22344392878_eff85b5527_z-300x200.jpg 300w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/22344392878_eff85b5527_z-60x40.jpg 60w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/22344392878_eff85b5527_z-50x33.jpg 50w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/22344392878_eff85b5527_z-232x155.jpg 232w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wocintechchat/22344392878/">WOC in Tech Stock Photos</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC-BY</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/31/this-had-the-potential-to-be-big/">&#8220;This had the potential to be big&#8221;: an interview with #wocintechchat</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=51048
title: Defending Noncommercial Uses: Great Minds v Fedex Office
uri: Defending-Noncommercial-Uses-Great-Minds-v-Fedex-Office
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/30/defending-noncommercial-uses-great-minds-v-fedex-office/
content:
<figure id="attachment_51057" style="width: 427px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrpetersononline/4947833965/"><img class="wp-image-51057" src="media/8f873167.4947833965_419056414b_z.jpg" data-original-source="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/4947833965_419056414b_z.jpg" alt="&quot;Classroom images&quot; by Jeff Peterson, CC-BY-2.0" width="427" height="320" srcset="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/4947833965_419056414b_z.jpg 640w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/4947833965_419056414b_z-300x225.jpg 300w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/4947833965_419056414b_z-53x40.jpg 53w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/4947833965_419056414b_z-50x38.jpg 50w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/4947833965_419056414b_z-207x155.jpg 207w" sizes="(max-width: 427px) 85vw, 427px" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrpetersononline/4947833965/">Classroom images</a> by Jeff Peterson, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC-BY-2.0</a></figcaption></figure>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Diane Peters and Michael Carroll<br />
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">August 30, 2016</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Creative Commons has </span><a href="media/048d8e50.CC-EDNY-Letter.pdf" data-original-source="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/CC-EDNY-Letter.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">requested permission</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to file an amicus brief in </span><a href="https://creativecommons.org/documents-great-minds-v-fedex-office-and-print-services-case/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">litigation</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> between Great Minds and FedEx Office and Print Services, Inc.  At the center of the litigation is the proper interpretation of the CC </span><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> license, known as BY-NC-SA. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York before Judge Hurley. While we rarely file amicus briefs, we feel strongly that the correct interpretation of the legal code here is essential to the utility of the NC licenses for both licensors and licensees, including those using any of the more than </span><a href="https://stateof.creativecommons.org/2015/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">370 million works</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that are licensed under one of CC’s NC licenses.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this case, Great Minds claims that FedEx Office violated the terms of the BY-NC-SA license Great Minds applied to educational materials when FedEx Office copied material at the direction of school districts for non commercial use in classrooms. While it is undisputed that the use of these materials by public school districts is non commercial (as defined in the CC license), the claim against FedEx Office is that it cannot make copies for the school districts—even if it does so at the direction of the school districts and solely in service of that permitted NC use. CC disagrees with this interpretation and has requested permission to explain to the court why the license clearly allows this activity under these circumstances.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Entities using CC-licensed works must be free to act as entities do—including through employees and the contractors they engage in their service. To preclude an entity from using contractors to carry out otherwise-authorized work is not supported by the law, and is not prohibited by the terms and conditions of the NC license. A contrary understanding would mean that in many cases, a </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">bona fid</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">e noncommercial licensee could not engage any service that charged a standard fee in the course of the non commercial user’s exercise of its legitimate rights under the license. Instead, only those with the means and resources to own all points in the reproduction and distribution chain could use NC-licensed material.  If that were so, the value of the license would be significantly diminished.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a result, we believe this litigation is important to the usability of the NC licenses, which feature prominently in the OER ecosystem at present. Moreover, we pledged to our community during the 4.0 versioning process we would do more to clarify how the NC limitation works in the practical world. We will continue to work closely in collaboration with CC United States as this litigation unfolds. Watch here for updates as this case progresses.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/30/defending-noncommercial-uses-great-minds-v-fedex-office/">Defending Noncommercial Uses: Great Minds v Fedex Office</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=50991
title: Leaked European Commission Copyright Plans Ignore the Public Interest
uri: Leaked-European-Commission-Copyright-Plans-Ignore-the-Public-Interest
url:
https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/30/leaked-european-commission-copyright-plans-ignore-public-interest/

content:
<p><img class="wp-image-51000 aligncenter" src="media/81b22d71.final-1021x1024.png" data-original-source="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/final-1021x1024.png" alt="final" width="500" height="502" srcset="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/final-1021x1024.png 1021w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/final-150x150.png 150w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/final-300x300.png 300w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/final-768x771.png 768w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/final-40x40.png 40w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/final-50x50.png 50w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/final-350x350.png 350w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/final-154x155.png 154w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/final-1200x1204.png 1200w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/final-32x32.png 32w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/final-64x64.png 64w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/final-96x96.png 96w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/final-128x128.png 128w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/final.png 1222w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 85vw, 500px" /></p>
<p><b></b><span style="font-weight: 400;">Creative Commons has been actively engaged in efforts to support copyright reforms aligned with the commons and the public interest, including the copyright reform consultations in the European Union. Via the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="http://www.communia-association.org/">Communia Association</a>, CC Europe affiliates are</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> at the center of this debate, providing education and advocacy for forward-thinking reforms to the copyright framework. We know the CC vision will not be realized through licensing alone, and our experience has reinforced our belief that to ensure the maximum benefits to both culture and the economy in this digital age, </span><a href="https://creativecommons.org/about/program-areas/policy-advocacy-copyright-reform/reform/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">the scope and shape of copyright law need to be reviewed</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is why we’re disappointed in the leaked draft of the Commission’s </span><a href="media/974ccb81.eu-com-copyright-draft.pdf" data-original-source="http://statewatch.org/news/2016/aug/eu-com-copyright-draft.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“impact assessment”</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the proposed changes to EU copyright law. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The document confirms some of our worst fears about the forthcoming copyright proposal: it introduces few and mostly superficial changes to copyright in support of users and the public interest, while doubling down on policy interventions benefiting rights holders and incumbent industries. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s just a few of the problematic policy options contained in the report. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The impact assessment shows that the Commission is planning on introducing a new copyright-like right for news publishers despite the <a href="https://savethelink.org/">wide opposition</a></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">. These types of rights would permit publishers to try to extract fees from search engines for incorporating short snippets of—or even linking to—news articles. The link tax </span><a href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/06/13/tell-european-commission-fixcopyright/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">doesn’t work</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. It would create additional burdens on researchers and educational institutions, it undermines the intention of authors who wish to share without additional strings attached (such as creators who want to share under Creative Commons licenses), and it would have a negative impact on access to information online. </span><b>This Commission should decide against pursing this policy option.</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Regarding access to copyrighted content for teachers, the impact assessment recommends that there be a “mandatory exception with a cross-border effect covering digital and online uses in the context of illustration for teaching, with the option for [Member States] to make it (partially or totally) subject to the availability of licences.” The policy option will cover a broad spectrum of works in the service of teaching and learning, but  it’s disappointing that the proposal would permit member states to continue to push for a licensing approach. This would be in opposition to the intention of the exception—which is to facilitate improved access to education and research materials. Licensing can’t solve all problems—especially when licensing limits what can be done with the content—or when it would impose high access and use fees. It’s also troubling that the exception would only benefit formal educational establishments, and only cover the sharing of copyright-protected works within closed online networks (such as a school’s learning management system). </span><b>The exception that should be introduced would allow anyone in the service of teaching and learning to use and share content online for educational purposes (at least non-commercially), without the additional burden of having to acquire a license to use it. </b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The impact assessment describes the possibility of introducing an exception that would enable the practice of text and data mining (TDM) for both noncommercial and commercial activities. However, the policy option described here would only be available to “public interest research organisations”. This would artificially restrict the incredible potential for TDM discoveries and innovation by excluding the private sector. In addition, the recommendation limits the scope of the TDM activity to only “scientific research purposes”. This constraint would decrease the potential impact of novel TDM uses, such as for  journalism-related investigations, market research, or other types of activities not strictly considered scientific research. </span><b>The exception that should be introduced would allow anyone to undertake text and data mining of all lawfully accessible materials for any purpose.</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition to the policy options mentioned above, there are several other proposed interventions that would </span><a href="http://www.communia-association.org/2016/08/29/copyright-reform-european-commission-rightsholders-bidding/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">benefit large rights holders over the public</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. It’s also telling what is </span><b><i>not</i></b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> discussed in the impact assessment. For example, the issue of freedom of panorama is not addressed in a similar fashion as the other possible changes. This is a relevant policy area in which the Commission asked for feedback, and the </span><a href="http://www.communia-association.org/2016/05/19/freedom-panorama-can-satisfied-non-commercial-use/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">public responded</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> with a resounding call to </span><a href="https://www.change.org/p/european-parliament-save-the-freedom-of-photography-savefop-europarl-en"><span style="font-weight: 400;">protect the sharing of photos taken in public places</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span><b>We support the inclusion of a broad right for freedom of panorama, and it should apply to both commercial and noncommercial uses of images of architecture, sculpture, and other objects in public spaces. The exception should be mandatory across the EU, and should cover both online and offline uses.</b></p>
<p>The leaked impact assessment clearly shows the Commission’s preference to prop up the rent-seeking interests of entrenched rights holders peddling fading business models. We’re disappointed in the impact assessment—both the anemic policy recommendations as well as the opaque process that has apparently disregarded most of the feedback from the public. It’s not too late for the Commission to include policy proposals that would truly empower users in the digital age. It’s high time the Commission start engaging in transparent, consultative policy making that champions the broad interests of the many instead of the narrow demands of the powerful few.</p>
<p><small><a href="https://thenounproject.com/term/screwdriver-and-wrench/426544">Screwdriver And Wrench</a> by <a href="https://thenounproject.com/milindacourey10">To Uyen</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/">CC BY 3.0 US</a><br />
<a href="https://thenounproject.com/term/copyright/60824">Copyright</a> by <a href="https://thenounproject.com/marekpolakovic">Marek Polakovic</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/">CC BY 3.0 US</a></small></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/08/30/leaked-european-commission-copyright-plans-ignore-public-interest/">Leaked European Commission Copyright Plans Ignore the Public Interest</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


feed_id: https://creativecommons.org/?p=51075
title: Cultivating a Culture of Knowledge Sharing
uri: Cultivating-a-Culture-of-Knowledge-Sharing
url: https://creativecommons.org/2016/09/01/cultivating-culture-knowledge-sharing/
content:
<p><i><span>In March we hosted the second Institute for Open Leadership. In our </span></i><a href="https://blog.creativecommons.org/2016/03/28/reporting-back-institute-open-leadership-2/"><i><span>summary of the event</span></i></a><i><span> we mentioned that the Institute fellows would be taking turns to write about their open policy projects. This week&#8217;s post is from Fiona MacAlister, OER Specialist at <a href="http://www.wits.ac.za/">Wits University</a> in Johannesburg, South Africa.</span></i></p>
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<p>I was privileged to attend the second Institute for Open Leadership (IOL2), held in Cape Town, in March of this year. It was an amazing experience, during which I worked with various mentors and a small group of fellow open colleagues from around the world. One of the plusses of the Institute was hearing about the challenges that everyone faced and how they had gone about, or were going about overcoming them albeit, in some cases, with what many would consider relatively small wins. That, however, is the nature of the OER world. Lots of small wins are what ultimately lead to the big wins.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-51082" src="media/697f7eb4.25340477113_7f4118846c_z.jpg" data-original-source="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25340477113_7f4118846c_z.jpg" alt="25340477113_7f4118846c_z" width="640" height="480" srcset="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25340477113_7f4118846c_z.jpg 640w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25340477113_7f4118846c_z-300x225.jpg 300w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25340477113_7f4118846c_z-53x40.jpg 53w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25340477113_7f4118846c_z-50x38.jpg 50w, https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25340477113_7f4118846c_z-207x155.jpg 207w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px" /><br />
<small><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/58154873@N04/25340477113/">IOL Fellows atop Table Mountain</a>, by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/58154873@N04/">bella_velo</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC BY 2.0</a></small></p>
<p>One issue that emerged is that there are no quick fixes when it comes to promoting the concept of open educational resources (OER). Tertiary institutions are a particularly difficult nut to crack, as the concept of knowledge sharing is not a popular one in what is, more often than not, an environment in which research ideas are cultivated and jealously guarded in the safe spaces of minds and offices. Not surprisingly, this does not make for fertile ground in which to plant the idea of knowledge sharing, but we persevere.</p>
<p>The fact that the OER movement has not quite taken off has been a cause of frustration for many of us for some time now. To those of us involved in the movement, the benefits of sharing would appear be a ‘no brainer’. However, over the course of my time as an OER Specialist at my current institution, I have had time to reflect on why the concept of OER is such a difficult one to communicate, even on a basic level.</p>
<p>To put things into perspective: We are on the brink of finalizing a joint Open Access/Open Educational Resources policy. We have been working on an internal online OER course and a booklet on Creative Commons licensing and OER, both of which will soon be released. We are also currently in the process of developing a range of courses together with the Office of Student Support in the Faculty of Health Sciences, which are intended to support the first year experience and will be released with an open license. I should be elated by these wins but, in my opinion, the impetus created by them will be difficult to maintain without a larger mindset change—that goes well beyond the reach of our current two-year project.</p>
<p>Many people become rather uncomfortable when you start to talk about openness in this somewhat esoteric vein, which is why I suspect so many OER projects are expected to produce facts, stats, quantity and research. What I think mitigates against the full success of projects which use this sort of approach, and structure, is that the concept of openness is not, at its heart, a purely quantitative or researchable one. True openness, and a willingness to share, will not flourish in an environment that is dominated, primarily, by a production line or microscopic analysis. It seems to me that we have become too cautious about addressing the real face of openness which is, in essence, an altruistic project which should ultimately benefit the world at large. In my opinion, it is the main reason why so many open initiatives disappear into the ether once the funding dries up. We have lost sight of the real spirit of the open movement because we are reluctant to admit that it doesn’t lend itself readily to the commercial, quantitative structures of our world.</p>
<p>We have been conditioned to believe that by being truly open to the world and people around us that we will lose something of ourselves and gain nothing in return. In some circumstances this may be true but, in reality, the world will gain something from us and something of our unique perspective on the world. All of us have knowledge to share, openly and freely, that will be of benefit to others and that can be repurposed in a way that will communicate that benefit across a range of cultures.</p>
<p>Openness and trust go hand-in-glove. Trust can only come from a willingness to share which, in the final analysis, stems from a concern for the common good. It really is as simple as that. That, in my opinion, is the foundation upon which the future of the open movement lies. If we don’t come from that starting point, we will remain trapped in theoretical frameworks, and the initial impetus of the movement will eventually be relegated to the world of academic research. Is that something we really want, or do we still believe that the open movement will ultimately be of benefit to the world at large?</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/2016/09/01/cultivating-culture-knowledge-sharing/">Cultivating a Culture of Knowledge Sharing</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org">Creative Commons</a>.</p>


