Development of Creative Commons licenses

[rob AT robmyers.org]

Quoting Terry Hancock <hancock AT anansispaceworks.com>:

> What we're asking for, essentially, is a license that says "I'll let you
> use this pasture of mine. I'll even let you put a fence around it. But
> you have to promise to let anyone cut that fence in order to get to the
> pasture".

The problem with DRM is that you have signed a contract with FenceCorp to
install and maintain the fence around your pasture. The fence is *their*
property, you do not own it. You have no right to allow damage to the property
of other people. You therefore cannot allow anyone else to cut FenceCorp's
fence. If you say to someone "sure, go ahead, cut the fence around my 
property"
you are inciting them to criminal damage of other people's property. You are
inciting them to break the law.

Under those circumstances, Public Pastures would have to be insane to 
publish a
pasture sharing license containing a clause that says the pasture owner allows
anyone to cut the fence around their pasture.

(You can say "you can cut the fence if I myself own it". But you never own the
DRM around your work [unless you are both a DRM author and an artist], so the
analogy breaks down there.)

- Rob.