Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

ccafrica - Re: [ccAfrica] Fwd: [Afro-IP] The Sugar Man without the sugar coat

ccafrica AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Creative Commons Jurisdiction Teams in Sub-Saharan Africa

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Andrew Rens <andrewrens AT gmail.com>
  • Cc: CC Africa mailing list <ccafrica AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ccAfrica] Fwd: [Afro-IP] The Sugar Man without the sugar coat
  • Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2012 13:37:54 -0400

Historically copyright maximalists have sent somewhat mixed messages about Creative Commons and open licences.

 Famously Jack Valenti, former head of both the RIAA and MPAA gave a message of support to Creative Commons at the launch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjGtx9Ka7co
I think it is fair to describe Valenti as a copyright maximalist because if he wasn't then no-one is.

OTOH Andrew Keen attacked Creative Commons, along with almost everything else made possible by the Internet. ASCAP also attacked Creative Commons. Here is an article written by Lawrence Lessig about the attack:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lawrence-lessig/ascaps-attack-on-creative_b_641965.html

Steve Balmer of Microsoft famously called open source a cancer but he is now CEO of Microsoft and Microsoft is using the GPL for some software. I think that I might characterise Ballmer as an IP maximalist without fear of reasonable contradiction.

In Africa the South African record company association demanded an assurance from Creative Commons South Africa that we would ensure that no-one would use a Creative Commons license on any works which they controlled. Of course we refused.

This unstable attitude exhibited towards Creative Commons and open licences seems characteristic of the cognitive dissonance generated by the internal contradictions of IP maximalism. It can be rather confusing for everyone else.

Aurelia of course you wouldn't participate in an IP maximalist blog.
As a contributor you may wish to consider why there is a perception amongst some readers that Afro-IP is IP-maximalist.

Andrew



On 9 October 2012 12:31, Aurelia J. Schultz <aurelia AT creativecommons.org> wrote:
Dick,

Thanks for sharing the post.

I have to disagree with your categorization of Afro-IP as an IP maximalist blog.  First, the blog is licensed under a CC-BY license.  " Afro-IP licenses the use of this website and extracts from it under this Creative Commons Attribution License. Content must be attributed to Afro-IP and its author."
Second, the two IP specialists who founded the blog, Darren Olivier and Jeremy Phillips are CC fans.  And third, Paul Asiimwe and I both write for this blog, and I can assure we've written positively about both Creative Commons and open access before. :)

Aurelia

On Tue, Oct 9, 2012 at 1:10 AM, Dick Kawooya <dkawooya AT gmail.com> wrote:

I suspect several of us are subscribed to and follow Afro-IP (see below). Creative Commons is mentioned in the blog post below. This is significant because to my knowledge, and I stand to be corrected, this IP maximalist blog has never portrayed CC in positive light.

dk

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Darren" <darrentrentolivier AT gmail.com>
Date: Oct 9, 2012 3:59 AM
Subject: [Afro-IP] The Sugar Man without the sugar coat
To: <afro-ip AT googlegroups.com>

Remember him!

Afro-IP has come across an inspiring tale of an American musician whose songs had become the fabric of South African society during the 1970s and 80s. The musician was not only oblivious to his fame and following on the African continent, his modest lifestyle and anonymity (many thought him to be dead) in his home country were in stark contrast to the iconic image he had created (and not exploited). Apparently he did not receive a single cent in royalties for the numerous record sales he had made. In fact, by all accounts he was financially very poor. Yet, after watching the short documentary by 60 Minutes, one wonders whether he (and us) are in fact richer for his experience especially if one compares him to the lifestyles and images of his contemporaries.

In a sense Rodriguez's story also contributes to the evangelism of creative commons and open access for it is an example of under exploitation (by Rodriguez anyway) and a resultant greater good that, in many ways, also elevates the individual, his image legacy and original creations. At the same time IP (copyright, reputational rights and trade marks) are extremely important as they are crucial to protecting and enhancing his legacy even beyond his lifetime, if they are used appropriately. It is an illustration, amongst many others, of why it is important to consider how IP is used and not focus on whether it should exist, if used inappropriatelty, as is so often the case in Africa.

The story also highlights why artists have such a dim view of collection societies and production companies. Rodriguez apparently did not receive a cent from his record sales as this post elaborates.

Here’s the clip to the “Sugar Man” - unfortunately with adverts - how else could content like this be worthwhile -  I Wonder (sorry I could not help myself).

If the links do not work please try:

Preview: Rodriguez - 60 Minutes - CBS News http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7424316n



--
Posted By Darren to Afro-IP on 10/09/2012 09:58:00 AM --
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Afro-IP" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to afro-ip-unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.uk/group/afro-ip?hl=en-GB

_______________________________________________
ccAfrica mailing list
ccAfrica AT lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ccafrica




--
------------------------
Aurelia J. Schultz (Miss), Counsel
Creative Commons 
+1 650 294 4732 x487
Skype: aurelia.schultz

Please note: the contents of this email are not intended to be legal advice nor should they be relied upon as, or represented to be legal advice.

_______________________________________________
ccAfrica mailing list
ccAfrica AT lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ccafrica




--
Andrew Rens

ex africa semper aliquid novi (http://aliquidnovi.org)





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page