Development of Creative Commons licenses

[Sigmascape1 AT cs.com]

I'd love to see some kind of website that could explain, in basic terms, what 
the copyright law is all about. Yes, I realize that various websites already 
exist that may satisfy this request, but I think the site also needs to 
address why culture is impacted by extreme durations of copyright protection. 
Also, without question, the public domain (the commons) needs to be addressed 
and explained on a level that anyone can understand.

Personally, I have a lot opinions on copyright law (and 
patent/trademark/publicity rights), and I don't always agree with Lessig, but 
even with the growth of CC material and the acceptance of the CC licenses, 
more needs to be done. 

Another idea I came up with involves a CC electronic newsletter that involves 
CC-related news (Magnatune, Lessig, etc), maybe showcasing content available 
under CC licenses, and also point out material available in the public domain 
(and vice versa). The newsletter could also layout a simplistic explanation 
as to why cc exists in the first place. Just an idea.


>Message: 3
>Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 14:33:09 -0500
>From: drew Roberts <zotz AT 100jamz.com>
>Subject: Re: "Creative Commons in the News"
>To: Discussion on the Creative Commons license drafts
>    <cc-licenses AT lists.ibiblio.org>
>Message-ID: <200503161433.09130.zotz AT 100jamz.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain;  charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>On Wednesday 16 March 2005 01:06 pm, Sigmascape1 AT cs.com wrote:
>> Sad but true. The general public simply doesn't understand copyright laws,
>> and I am not talking about in-depth knowledge. I am talking about basic
>> stuff. In some ways, I can attribute this general lack of knowlegge to
>> simply not caring. It's kind of like people not caring that when they go to
>> a computer store (your average Circuit City/Best Buy/Office Depot), they
>> only have one option in operating systems. No alarms go off in their heads,
>> no panic, no questioning why this is the ways things are. It's apathy like
>> this that is keeping laws like the DMCA alive and well.
>>
>> I have to say that Professor Lessig, and a few others, are helping to
>> redefine what some may see as copyrights and the alternatives, but more
>> needs to be done. It is sad that the American people (and the world at
>> large) are being force-fed laws that extend the length of copyrights,
>> tighten the grip of copyright holders and hold back intellectual
>> advancements all because of bad policy-making.
>>
>> What do you guys think? Am I right that more education for the general
>> public is needed?
>
>We definately need more education. And we need to develop interesting memes 
>to
>combat the current abuses.
>
>Try this link for an attempt at a start:
>
>http://www.infoanarchy.org/wiki/index.php/Copyright_Term_Reform/Meme_development
>
>all the best,
>
>drew
>
>