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  • From: Alex Gakuru <gakuru AT creativecommons.org>
  • To: CC Africa mailing list <ccafrica AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc: ccafrica-oer AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [ccAfrica] DRAFT 3 - statement from Creative Commons on copyright reform
  • Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 09:19:42 +0300



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Timothy Vollmer <tvol AT creativecommons.org>
Date: Mon, Jun 10, 2013 at 11:42 PM
Subject: [cc-affiliates] DRAFT 3 - statement from Creative Commons on copyright reform
To: cc affiliates <cc-affiliates AT lists.ibiblio.org>, cc staff all <cc-staff AT lists.ibiblio.org>


Hi all:

We've now further revised this statement, incorporating feedback from the previous version. This includes suggestions from members of the CC Board of Directors. 

Here is Draft 3 (at top of Google doc, and also attached as .odt):


We ask for any final comments you have to be submitted by 22 June 2013.

Thanks again, 
timothy 




On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 3:11 PM, Timothy Vollmer <tvol AT creativecommons.org> wrote:
Over the last few weeks we've worked on revising and clarifying the CC statement in support for copyright reform. Thank you to everyone who provided thoughts and suggestions to the first draft. Here is Draft 2: https://docs.google.com/a/creativecommons.org/document/d/1_HgAoGfAR1KjZDW-p-CKIB-lbYJK8Dq1oCLy8PiT6SE/edit

If you have comments on this new version we would like to receive them by COB 5 April. Cathy Casserly is also sharing this updated version with the Board of Directors to get their feedback. You'll recall that a few board members joined our 6 February conference call to discuss options for how we might respond. 

After any comments are received, we will incorporate suggested changes and produce a final version. We will post this version on the CC website and do a blog post. If you have ideas of proper venues to share and promote it when ready, please let us know. 

It is also attached (.odt) if you'd prefer to read and make comments that way. 

Thank you, 

timothy


On Wed, Feb 13, 2013 at 12:08 PM, Timothy Vollmer <tvol AT creativecommons.org> wrote:
Dear all:

A next step from last week's call on "CC & copyright reform" was for CC HQ to create a first draft of a statement--this statement would signal a baseline of support for the broader copyright reform agenda and explain a bit more how CC fits into this. The statement is meant to communicate an accurate, positive, and respectful message that is aligned with our mission and vision, and which might be used as a foundation for a more in-depth analysis such as a white paper. 

I've taken a stab at a first draft, and would really appreciate your comments and feedback so we can create this together. I put it into a Google doc so the commenting is easier than on Etherpad. 

Here it is (text also below in this email):


------
as of 13 Feb 2013

Creative Commons was established as a practical tool to help reduce the transaction costs of sharing creative works online, and has become the de facto standard mechanism to enable creators to voluntary share creative content on more open terms than "all rights reserved." CC licenses and legal tools are incredibly useful to help build a vast digital commons of freely reusable resources (see: Wikipedia). But these CC tools to support voluntary sharing of creative content did not appear out of thin air. The reason such tools were felt necessary was because the founders uniformly believed that copyright law interfered with the highest possible use of the Internet, and they chose one pathway to address that problem. But at its core the work of Creative Commons is rooted in the broader work to reform copyright to eventually ensure it is more aligned to its original purpose.

At the core of copyright is the public domain--a vast and rich trove of creativity that can be used by anyone for any purpose without restriction. One layer out from this core are the works under copyright, to which exceptions and limitations (such as fair use/dealing, exceptions for the visually impaired, etc.) provide a necessary a check on the exclusive rights of the rights holder. CC licenses build on top of existing law--by extension they build on top of the limitations and exceptions to copyright provided for by that law.

Open content licensing can be a very powerful tool for creating a commons, and there's an increasing interest and opportunity for embedding open licensing in policy to help increase the impact of educational, scientific, cultural investments. Nevertheless, while open content licensing is a useful tool, it is not the only solution. Open content licenses are not always sufficient to provide the full range of protections and freedoms that are necessary for a fully functioning copyright system.

But the push for increasing adoptions of open content licensing should not be interpreted as a perfect substitute for broad reform of the existing copyright law. Quite the contrary: the widespread adoption of CC licenses indicates that the public interest is not being served adequately by copyright, and that change in the underlying laws is necessary for creativity to thrive.

Creative Commons is a part of this reform. To be sure, for Creative Commons to realize its vision--universal access to research and education and full participation in culture--it needs to continue to act as dedicated steward of its licenses and tools, and educate users, institutions, and policymakers about the positive benefits of adopting CC. But this doesn't mean we think the baseline to sharing should never be raised. For CC to realize its ambitious vision, it will necessarily require supporting the work to protect and extend limitations and exceptions to copyright.

Creative Commons is now 10 years old, and has cultivated a broad international network steeped in the explanation and adoption of voluntary licensing mechanisms. We've observed the amazing benefits that open content licensing creates for creative communities who wish to freely share knowledge. Simultaneously, we recognize the limits of licensing to promote sharing, complicated by an increasingly protectionist and enforcement-focused copyright agenda that does not support users.

Open content licensing and support for expanded exceptions and limitations are two sides of the same coin. Educating users about Creative Commons necessarily involves educating them about copyright, and sometimes advocating for more robust user rights.  We wish to continue to contribute our expertise and efforts alongside others in this important work in support of the public interest.
-----


On Thu, Feb 7, 2013 at 8:10 PM, Timothy Vollmer <tvol AT creativecommons.org> wrote:
Hello all--

Thanks to everyone who was able to join and productively participate in the conference call yesterday. Here are the notes for now (beginning line 50). 


timothy


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--
Alex Gakuru, Regional Coordinator - Africa,
Creative Commons creativecommons.org
e-mail: gakuru AT creativecommons.org

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Attachment: DRAFT 3 - CC and copyright reform.odt
Description: application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text



  • [ccAfrica] DRAFT 3 - statement from Creative Commons on copyright reform, Alex Gakuru, 06/11/2013

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