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JOI ITO NAMED CHAIRMAN OF CREATIVE COMMONS; LAWRENCE LESSIG TO REMAIN  
CEO AND BOARD MEMBER
Announcement Coincides With Final Call for Contributions to CC’s  
Annual Fundraising Campaign, Ending December 31

San Francisco, CA — December 18, 2006

Today, Creative Commons announced that Lawrence Lessig will step down  
as the organization’s chairman. He will be replaced by Joi Ito, a  
renowned Japanese entrepreneur and venture capitalist, who has been a  
Creative Commons board member since 2003. Lessig will remain as CC’s  
CEO and as a board member.

The change in board leadership, which takes place immediately, is a  
reflection of Creative Commons’ growing interest in supporting the  
use of CC principles and copyright licenses in commercial applications.

“This is a very happy moment for Creative Commons,” Lessig said. “We  
are a movement, and it is important that movements have leaders. We  
are extremely fortunate to work with Joi, who is one of the key  
leaders in building the sharing economy. Creative Commons’ next big  
challenge is to figure out how the sharing economy can better  
interact with a traditional commercial economy. Joi is the perfect  
person to lead the thinking on this.”

Lessig reaffirmed his commitment to Creative Commons in an email  
message sent to members of CC’s international community. “I’m not  
going anywhere,” he said. “CC will continue to get everything I can  
give.”

Ito is the founder of Digital Garage, PSINet Japan, and Infoseek  
Japan. He is also the CEO of Neoteny; chairman of iCommons and Six  
Apart Japan; and on the boards of Technorati, ICANN, and the Mozilla  
Foundation.

“I'd like to emphasize that this change is not about Larry doing  
less, but about another step in Larry's plan to make other people do  
more,” Ito said. “As the organization and the movement continue to  
grow, it makes sense for my role to grow too. I appreciate the  
confidence and the opportunity to contribute more to Creative Commons.”

Lessig and Ito made the announcement to the Creative Commons  
community during the organization’s fourth birthday party in San  
Francisco this past Friday, December 15. Although unable to attend  
the party in person, Lessig and Ito delivered the announcement via a  
torch passing ceremony in the virtual world of Second Life. Video of  
the online gathering, which was attended by CC board members and  
supporters, was projected against a large wall at the real world event.

This announcement coincides with a final call for contributions to  
Creative Commons’ annual fundraising campaign, which ends on December  
31.

“You can look at this change in leadership in two ways, each of which  
gives some of you a reason for one last push,” Lessig said. “Some of  
you have been loyal supporters of me. To you, please show that  
support one more time. Others of you have been loyal critics, with a  
strong hope that CC move beyond the particular vision I’ve offered.  
Now you have your chance: please celebrate the change by supporting  
us in this final two weeks of our drive.”

Quotes about the change in board leadership:

Hal Abelson, Creative Commons co-founder and board member:
“A few of us started CC six years ago as a modest idea about  
licensing. Under Larry's leadership, we've now grown into a worldwide  
movement encompassing science and culture, and we have plans for even  
more activities. It's great that we're able to expand CC's top  
leadership, and thrilling that Joi will be part of it.”

James Boyle, Creative Commons co-founder and board member:
“Larry is a tough act to follow. He is the visionary who has made CC  
what it is today. But as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and digital  
visionary, Joi has an unparalleled breadth of vision about the tasks  
that face CC. I think we have the best of both worlds going for us  
with Joi taking over as chairman and Larry continuing as CEO.”

Eric Saltzman, Creative Commons co-founder and board member:
“The Wizard of Oz isn’t yet under CC license, so instead of a short  
clip, just a reference:  Larry had the brains to imagine Creative  
Commons and the heart and courage to build it into the influential  
global model and successful, practical resource it is today. It has  
been a great pleasure and an education to work with him on CC’s board  
these past four years. Luckily for CC, Larry will continue as CC’s  
CEO to do what he likes best, building the future. We’re all looking  
forward to our colleague, Joi Ito’s tenure as Board Chair. His  
breadth of knowledge and deep commitment to the expanding potential  
for sharing knowledge and creative work promise an exciting,  
productive next few years at Creative Commons.”

About Creative Commons

Creative Commons is a not-for-profit organization, founded in 2001,  
that promotes the creative re-use of intellectual and artistic works— 
whether owned or in the public domain. Creative Commons licences  
provide a flexible range of protections and freedoms for authors,  
artists, and educators that build upon the "all rights reserved"  
concept of traditional copyright to offer a voluntary "some rights  
reserved" approach. It is sustained by the generous support of  
various organizations including the John D. and Catherine T.  
MacArthur Foundation, Omidyar Network, the Hewlett Foundation, and  
the Rockefeller Foundation as well as members of the public. For  
general information, visit http://creativecommons.org.

Contact

Francesca Rodriquez
Chief Operating Officer and Project Manager, Creative Commons
415.946.3069
francesca AT creativecommons.org

Eric Steuer
Creative Director, Creative Commons
eric AT creativecommons.org

Press Kit

http://creativecommons.org/presskit