Discussion of all things related to Public Domain

[tom poe <tompoe AT amihost.com>]

Please discard previous publication.  This is the corrected issue, 
and my apologies to Anatoly

OPEN STUDIOS: RUNNING BOARD 

BEST WISHES FOR THE COMING YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!!

Remember when cars sported running boards out of practical necessity? 
Most roads back then weren't paved like our roads, today. 

The Digital Age, still in its' infancy, requires the use of electronic
running boards.  People are out there that have never used a computer. 
Most people don't understand how computers work [I just raised my hand],
let alone how to make CD's, DVD's, MP3's, OGG, WAV, and the list goes
on. 

And, in the arts and sciences, from musicians to artists to authors, the
knowledge that recordings no longer requires an expensive recording
studio is restricted to just a few.  This newsletter intends to help
musicians, artists, and authors to step out and enter the Digital Age. 
We'll provide the running board to help you avoid the "mud".  If you're
involved in the arts, we hope you'll join us each month for: 
1]  Entertainment news 
2]  The Community Scene 
3]  How They Do It 
4]  Featured Artists, Musicians, and Authors 
5]  Columns 
         a] Anatoly Volynets - Culture vs. Copyright 
6]  Commons Gallery 
- - - 
"A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval."  -- Who said that? 
- - - 
Open Studios continues its registration process with states throughout
the country.  As a nonprofit organization, we seek donations and
contributions from the public.  Many states therefore, require that we
register with them.  Some five states permit registration without fees,
or don't require registration at all at this point.  The rest,
apparently, require fees of $10, $15, up to $80 USD or more.  We view
this process as an important and necessary, if not onerous, burden.  Can
you help?  The full story is at:
http://www.ibiblio.org/studioforrecording/statereg.html .  We call it
our SPONSOR A STATE PROJECT. 
- - - 
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS: 
Each month, we'll highlight a few of the previous month's news articles
(hopefully with active links).  Subscribers and supporters are encouragd
to email us with links you found to be interesting.  We'll add them
here.  It's a good way for collecting an archive you can refer to when
you need it as part of your Internet business strategies. 
- - - 
http://media.guardian.co.uk/city/story/0,7497,1098187,00.html
Stanley Gold's letter of resignation to Walt Disney board
Tuesday December 2, 2003 
"It is with regret that I resign effective immediately from the Board of 
Directors of the Walt Disney Co. and second Roy Disney's call for the 
removal of Michael Eisner as chairman and chief executive."
- - - 
http://makeashorterlink.com/?L1BD22CB6
The File-Sharing Debates
By DAVID POGUE
Published: October 9, 2003

 Finally, this intriguing note arrived from a guy who’s both a 
software engineer and a musician in two bands: “It’s my belief that 
music CDs will soon be given away free. The CD will become 
promotional material to advertise a band’s live shows and 
merchandise for sale. Space inside the CD cover could even be sold 
for advertising.

“This will have several results: First, bands will reduce the cost 
of producing a CD by making use of the incredible capabilities of 
your average digital recording system to avoid the ridiculous hourly 
prices that professional recording studios charge. 
(Next week my band is doing this very thing.) Self-production will 
become the norm.

“Second, CDs will become shorter, more focused and released more 
frequently. (‘See us on tour next month at these locations! Hear 
these four songs performed live!’) Third, bands will perform live 
far more often and venues for live music will see a resurgence in 
popularity.”

>From your mouth to the RIAA’s ear, buddy. "
- - - 
http://onenews.nzoom.com/onenews_detail/0,1227,242862-1-7,00.html
NZ music Number One, Three, Four...
Dec 14, 2003

She says it has been a bumper year for New Zealand sounds in terms of sales, 
broadcast and performance.
But Tizard warns that while sales of local music are high, so are illegal 
copies of New Zealand albums.
She says piracy and copying of CDs and cassettes is estimated to cost the 
music industry $40 million a year.

Article Slashdotted, here:
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/12/14/0137243
- - - 
http://www.computan.com/~fusco/
fusco AT computan.on.ca
"The Visits to Summer: A Christmas Story is an online story with RealAudio 
stereo orchestral music excerpts and full-color art illustrations that you 
can link to anytime - before you read, during [using the embedded links], 
or after."

"For listening to the orchestral music, watch for the Click Here to Hear! 
links. You'll need a RealAudio player, which you can download at 
http://www.real.com/, and a 28.8 bps modem. You can also see the 
illustrations before reading the story or during; the links are here on 
the title page and index, and also at locations within the story. And 
finally, there is a collection of Thematic Links from this story which 
take you to similar or related sites on the web that you can enjoy."
- - - 
http://makeashorterlink.com/?D249123D6
Canada to Charge Music Royalties on MP3s
By COLIN McCLELLAND Associated Press Writer
Friday, Dec. 12, 2003

"TORONTO (AP) - The cost of an MP3 player will increase in Canada after 
the government's copyright agency decided Friday to charge a tax of up 
to $19 per unit to reimburse singers and songwriters."
- - - -
http://www.mediareform.net/news.php?id=2052
Court rejects music industry subpoenas
>From Washington Post
December 19, 2003
By David McGuire
"In the decision issued today, the appeals court said that the RIAA's 
campaign oversteps the bounds of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 
which Congress approved in 1998."
- - - 
http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section=10&screen=news&news_id=29324
http://makeashorterlink.com/?A3A613FD6
The ‘Wal-Marting’ of CDs    
Commentary by Tom Neff
December 22, 2003

"Case in point: Jack says Wal-Mart, the 800-pound gorilla of the retail 
market, has apparently circulated a memo to the music industry that they 
will sell compact discs only in the $8 to $10 price range."
- - - -
Village Voice: The Sound of the Industry 
by Douglas Wolk
No Trust
Congress and movie star dance the anti-download bolero
December 24 - 30, 2003

"The Copyright Board of Canada ruled on December 12 that making personal 
copies of music files—no matter where they came from—is legal, although 
manufacturers of MP3 players will be required to charge a tariff of up 
to $25 a 'Pod to compensate songwriters and performers. In the meantime, 
the Canadian music publishing organization SOCAN is agitating for 
Canadian ISPs to pay them a flat annual royalty, on the grounds that, well, 
everybody downloads music anyway."
- - - -
http://makeashorterlink.com/?E25B14BE6
Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2003
U.S. Ends Online Music Antitrust Probe
By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press Writer
"Consumers now have available to them an increasing variety of authorized 
outlets from which they can purchase digital music and consumers are using 
those services in growing numbers," said R. Hewitt Pate, assistant attorney 
general for the antitrust division."
- - - -
*** AND POSSIBLY THE BEST ARTICLE OF 2003 ***
http://www.musicandfilmnetwork.com/eraseyourharddrive.htm
Erase your hard-drive!
Get a new operating system
(Adopting a new mindset for success as an independent)
- - - -
THE COMMUNITY SCENE: 
Open Studios works with communities around the country and around the
world to build and operate community-based recording studios.  You can
keep up with the latest happenings by checking this section each month. 
Learn what others are doing, and get ideas for your community. 

. . . . . .

Send your ideas on what communities that have short revenue sharing
periods can do.
- - -
COLUMNS: 
A]  Anatoly Volynets - Culture vs. Copyright 
On Licensing in Culture Affairs

Table of Contents

1 Synopsis of Previous Issues
2 Introduction
3 First Graders on The Magic Planet
4 Back to Licensing
    4.1 List of Possible License Features.
    4.2 Effects of License Features.
    4.3 Legal Standing
    4.4 List of Some Known Licenses



1 Synopsis of Previous Issues

One of the basic points I stand for is that culture and 
copyright clash completely. This month, I interrupt the 
sequence of articles about the nature of arts to 
present the first draft on the licensing issue in 
cultural affairs.

2 Introduction

License, generally speaking, has two faces. The first 
one is to assure that the licensee is able to provide a 
high level of service for society. Its other, often 
hidden face has always been to provide incentives for 
the licensor. This quite natural course of things 
reverses when it comes to a book, a painting, music, 
any work of art, or any other cultural phenomena. What 
could be called "quality of work" depends on the author 
only. Licnses issued by an author to others is commonly 
viewed as a source of incentives for the issuer. My 
major question is, whether this is true and, if yes, - 
in what sense, degree,under what circumstances, et cetera.

How can the artist get money? There are plenty of 
sources, indeed. Let's take a song writer, for example. 
He may perform live concerts and get a share from the 
ticket sales. He may license others to perform his 
songs and get royalties. He may publish it and get a 
share of sales. He may have it used in another work of 
art. He finally may sell all of his rights and get paid 
from the buyer.

He may... who knows, what else he may? However--

All these work fine in one case only, -- when the 
artist is famous!

In other words, when the artist is widely exposed! 
Another question is, "how does this relate to licensing?"

3 First Graders on The Magic Planet

I was sleeping once and saw a dream. There was a 
strange planet. Something magical happened there every 
time an artist created a new work. At the very moment 
the artist took his work out of his house, it became as 
widely known as it was talented. There was a specific 
law working there also: nobody was required to pay the 
artist while using his work in any imaginable way. 

Amazed, I woke up and tossed and turned the rest of the 
night, trying to grasp if there was any way for an 
artist to make money there. I couldn't wait until 
morning to bring the problem to my first grades. They 
do love magic! So I did, and look, what I got.

Alpha. There is nothing to discuss here. If nobody is 
required to pay an artist, then nobody will, no matter 
how famous he is. I say, the more famous an artist is, 
the more money he loses on that stupid planet.

Beta. He ain't losin' money, because nobody gets money there.

Gamma. How come?

Beta. If nobody's required to pay for use of an 
artwork, then everybody may copy it and have for free.

Delta. Yeah, except for money spent on copying.

Gamma. So, somebody does get money? Those who provide 
copying, right? Sell or rent copy machines and other 
equipment, right? By the way, if copying takes money 
and time, then publishers may come along and do it for 
others, right? And publishers will also get money, 
right? 

Alpha. So what? The artist still gets nothing. Only 
publishers and other suppliers do. That's not fair!

Beta. Hmm, this is interesting... The planet makes a 
work known in the degree of its talentness, right?

Delta. Right. So?

Beta. If it is known, then people want it...

Delta. Hey-hey, I'm start to get where you're heading. 
The more people want it, the more publishers get, right?

Beta. Right, and they start to compete.

Alpha. What baloney! How can they compete, if the work 
is the same for everybody?

Beta. How? How do they always compete? Some market 
their services better than others -- that's how they 
compete. Some find ways to lower their costs. Everybody 
understands this

Alpha. Okay, okay. Publishers get money. They compete, 
undercut each other's business... all right, who cares? 
They don't bother me. What about the artists?

Beta. What about them? Use your imagination, Alpha.

Alpha. Use yours.

Beta. I am. They all live there and know how it works...

Alpha. We know too. So?

Beta. So? Publishers know: the very moment a work pops 
out of the house, it becomes available for everybody.

Alpha. Yes, and you don't understand, Beta. That's the 
catch -- the artist loses it right away!

Delta. Careful there! To become famous for your work 
does not mean to lose it! It is the best thing that can 
happen to an artist!

Alpha. I love it! Everybody gets money and the artist 
gets famous and hungry! What luck! Thank you sooo much!

Gamma. Hold on. Let Beta finish his train of thought. 
He was up to something.

Beta. I still am. And we are close...

Delta. I know, I know! I used my imagination! I get it 
-- the publishers will line up in front of the artist's 
house to get next work first and have any advantage on 
the market!

Beta. And?

Delta. And they will pay to access it before it gets 
out of the house! They will fight and try to kill each 
other to get it today, because it will be for everybody tomorrow!

Beta. Well, not quite. Remember, it gets known only to 
the degree of its talentness.

Delta. Yes, yes, I got it. The more talented it is, the 
more fierce competition it ignites!

Alpha. Oh yah, exactly! I wouldn't stay in this line. 
No publisher would! What are the conditions for the 
business here! No, thank you!

Gamma. Nobody would do publishing?

Alpha. Nobody!

Beta. Great! Does anybody know, where to buy a ticket 
to fly there?

Alpha. Are you that stupid? What are you going to do there?

Delta. I know -- he is going to be the very first and 
the only publisher there! Right, Beta?

Beta. You bet.

Delta. He will become a multibillionaire in one month 
and hire all of us! Hey, Beta, do I deserve a good salary?

Beta. You bet. Everybody does, even Alpha.

Gamma. What's he for?

Beta. What for? Who was igniting all of the talk? It's 
worth to pay!

Alpha. You are all crazy. I'm not going.

Kappa. All right, get serious. 

Delta. Yeah, I'm also wondering whether the artist 
really gets paid.

Gamma. Wasn't it convincing -- that long line of 
publishers under the artist's window?

Delta. It actually was... They will line up, one 
hundred percent... after they learn that Beta bought a 
ticket and is going to cut them off.

Alpha. Hey, we wanted to be serious, didn't we?

Beta. We are, Alpha. And we haven't finished yet...

Gamma. Hold on, all of you. I want to ask Alpha what 
was wrong with the picture? Can you put forward some 
argument and save exclamations for yourself?

Beta. I don't mind exclamations, but I would like to 
get some more logical ignition as well.

Delta. Me too. Say something, Alpha.

Alpha. Can't you remember anything? I told you -- 
nobody will pay an artist, all right?

Gamma. But how about a fat publisher that can pay to be 
the first?

Alpha. I don't buy it.

Gamma. That's all?

Alpha. All right. But he won't pay much, because all of 
the advantage expires at the moment that the work gets out!..

Beta. Hey, Alpha, if you understand business so well, 
why don't you use your imagination a bit more?

Alpha. I take that as an insult.

Kappa. Cool down, guys.

Delta. Hey, hey, I understood! He may pay the artist 
very well, so that he keeps the work inside!

Alpha. So what? It gets outside when it gets published anyway!

Delta. So what? The first is the first! Customers value 
that! This is how a brand develops! It pays, all right.

Alpha. So what? So your fat publisher develops a brand. 
Oh, he makes money alright, but what about the artist?

Delta. Are you nuts? Who can't remember a thing now? 
How does the publisher gain all these things? He has to 
pay the artist, remember?! He has to very well pay, remember?!

Kappa. Cool down, guys.

Beta. I have some more for the artist.

Alpha. More baloney, I am sure.

Kappa. We are listening, Beta.

Beta. Yeah, and you judge. First of all, that fat 
publisher will put on the cover that he paid for it; 
that he didn't get it for free, like others did...

Delta. I know! I know! Hurray! Beta, you are genius! 
All artists of all ages and nations have to pool money 
to raise a monument for you! I will personally donate a 
few bucks.

Alpha. Oh, yes. I'll put in few more to have all of 
your names carved in the postament along with the 
slogan "This is for few stupid thugs, who wanted artists 
to starve and art to die."

Kappa. Delta, why don't you step down from your desk? 
Alpha, you are complaining, but you are the first to 
insult others.

Gamma. Delta, what did you want to say?

Delta. Don't you get it? Any publisher can pay to the 
artist and have it mentioned on the cover!

Gamma. Why should they? They have it for free!

Delta. They sure do. But why does the first pays then? 
Who wants it for free, can use it for free. Who wants 
to develop a brand, can pay! Get me?
They pay for marketing, anyway. Payment to the author 
will be just one out of many marketing strategies. I 
would even say that every publisher would want to pay 
the author to have it on the cover. Only those who 
cannot afford it, won't pay the author. Get me?

Gamma. Look, what we have here! All of the publishers 
can publish the same work and will pay for this to the author?

Delta. And the work gets spread like crazy. The author 
gets exposed to an unimaginable degree!

Alpha. Yeah, unimaginable. That's the word. Good fantasy.

Kappa. I like that magic.

Beta. Actually, now I do not understand why that magic 
was even necessary?

Gamma. Why? Beta, what's come over you? How was that 
artist initially exposed? Remember, all the good stuff 
we just got! All the riches, the champagne pouring from 
the sky! If it were not for the magic, then there would 
be no publishers in a line, no money for the first 
sale, not the slightest interest in proudly putting on 
the cover "I sponsored this author!" Nothing, Beta, 
nothing, just empty pockets!

Delta. ...Well, actually, if an artist is not known to 
the public, there is no way for him to get paid on any planet...

Alpha. How do they get rich then?

Beta. Frankly, I don't care, how it happens here... By 
the way, I heard many times that only a handful of 
artists get considerable money. The great majority of 
them are starving artists, no matter what.

Alpha. So? A talented one gets money, untalented -- 
does not. What's wrong with that?

Delta. What's wrong with it is that it ain't true. As 
simple as that. My farther says that it is a rare 
coincidence when real talent gets real money.

Gamma. This is not the case on the Magic Planet! I am 
dying to learn, how Beta was going to provide the magic 
without magic! 

Alpha. I'm not. All you fantasized before wouldn't 
work! And anyway, it's impossible.

Delta. Oh, that's clever. You do not want to hear what 
Beta is up to, because you think it wouldn't work?

Kappa. It is too early to judge. Beta, what was it you 
wanted to tell us?

Beta. Look, can you imagine that publishers and others, 
who use a work of art are free to do so...

Delta. Like on the Magic Planet!

Kappa. Delta, do not interrupt, please! You'll never 
hear the answer!

Beta. OK, I'm continuing. Everybody is free to use it, 
but is obliged to attribute the work to its author...

Alpha. So?

Delta. Ah... The author gets exposed with every single 
use of his work...

Gamma. Hmm. Let me see... As far as it is free to use, 
no publisher feels safe with his portfolio and has to 
search continually for more good stuff...

Alpha. So?

Beta. So, any new release gets attention, no matter what!

Delta. Yes, yes! If it is really talented, there is 
always someone to grab it and show it off!

Kappa. Delta, get down, please. Why are you getting 
excited so easily?

Alpha. I fail to understand why they are free to use a 
work? Why shouldn't they to pay to the author? It is so 
simple and reasonable.

Gamma. Is it? It was yesterday, for me. Not any more.

Beta. To pay? Who will force them?

Alpha. An author can be granted exclusive rights for 
publishing and trade them off...

Beta. And how does he get exposed then?

Alpha. Listen, Beta, I'm not calling you nuts now, but 
you do not understand the simplest things: the author 
sells his rights, the buyer advertises and sells the 
work. Is this so complicated to you?

Beta. It isn't, except it won't work for the author!

Alpha. Why on the Earth won't it?!

Beta. Because, within your scenario the author depends 
entirely on that one buyer, his capabilities, 
intentions and good will. The author's exposure is 
limited and cannot be anywhere near to the exposure he 
can enjoy from the entire competing publishing community!

Alpha. I don't buy it!

Kappa. It is easy to say, Alpha.

4 Back to Licensing

Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Kappa had done a very 
good job for me (thank you, kids!) and made it really 
easy to analyze existing licenses and their features. 
Let's do so now.

4.1 List of Possible License Features.

In the current legal framework, a work of art can 
theoretically be:

* Forbidden to use without permission

* Allowed for non-commercial use without permission

* Allowed for any use without permission

* Mandatory attribution to its author while being used

* Allowed to use without attribution

* Allowed to use with notification of its owner

* Allowed to use without notification of the owner

* Sold

* Not sold

Any license in the fields of culture known to me 
consists of different features from the above stated list.

4.2 Effects of License Features.

Thanks to the dialogue between the first graders I got 
a pretty clear understanding of the real effects of the 
features listed above...

* Restrictions in use of a work (in real life either 
  via censorship, or via publishing monopolies) shrink 
  the market for it, put its author in a completely 
  dependent position, limit the work's spread, and 
  twist its normal function in culture and society. All 
  these are equally applicable to the situation when an 
  author and his publisher are the same entity.

* Non-commercial use, if allowed, does provide some 
  spread of the work. However, the degree to which it 
  can do so is naturally far smaller than that of 
  commercial use.

* Unrestricted use of a work of art provides the most 
  possible exposure to it. In order to translate this 
  exposure to its author's fame, it must be combined 
  with mandatory attribution.

* I must state this about attribution: in my view, it 
  is the one general rule that must be kept forever and 
  supported by law, for it is a natural and unalienable 
  right of an author.

* One last thing about attribution: use without it is 
  an absolutely ugly practice. It is the only real 
  stealing which may happen in the field of culture. It 
  is neither normal, nor fair, regardless its legality 
  and all other circumstances, including material 
  incentives to the author.

* Requirement of notification of use is just a light 
  form of restriction to use.

* Authorship cannot be sold.

* All of the licensing features (so-called rights), 
  except that of authorship (a natural right), only 
  make sense when they can be sold.

4.3 Legal Standing

Virtually all known licenses are claimed by their 
authors to be based on copyright laws. These laws are 
extremely restrictive in terms of the use of a work of 
art. Hence, the working idea here is that a 
rights-holder, having all restrictive rights provided 
by a copyright law, can relinquish some of them. Thus, 
any use of a work under an open license in a way causes 
the user to enter into a contract with the 
rights-holder on somewhat different terms than 
copyright. There are some weak points in said legal positioning:

1. Any license based on a copyright law lasts as long 
  as the copyright does.

2. Copyright laws provide quite a different scope of 
  rights and restrictions in different countries.

3. Cultural affairs are not regulated only by 
  copyrights. I believe I encountered about a dozen of 
  related laws, acts, and rulings in US only.

Hence, an open license should somehow adjust to all 
these discrepancies in order to function. In my view, 
the best way to provide legal backing for a license 
today, is to put some legal flexibility in the very 
license body. This idea is reflected in the Authoright license.

4.4 List of Some Known Licenses

The above text provided a logical framework for 
analyzing licenses to manage cultural affairs. There 
are few licenses listed below worthy of analysis and use:

* Open Art License, at http://artlibre.org/licence.php/lalgb.html

* Open Audio License, at 
  http://www.eff.org/IP/Open_licenses/eff_oal.php

* GPL, at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html

* Open Publication License, at 
  http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/

* Creative Commons Licenses, at 
  http://creativecommons.org/license/

* Authoright, at http://www.culturedialogue.org

It is important to note that all above licenses, except 
for Authoright, cover some limited fields: software, 
visual arts, music in the digital age (!), etc. In my 
view, there are no principle differences between 
cultural phenomena in terms of their functioning within 
culture and society. All of these have some common 
fundamental features, which should have been reflected 
in one basic law. Because of the lack of the thereof, 
Authoright was created.

Anatoly Volynets, Board member of Open Studios, and President of 
Total-knowledge.com, will continue his thoughts next month about the 
copyright implications on culture.  You can contact Anatoly at: 
av AT total-knowledge.com
*** 
This article licensed under Authoright: 
http://www.culturedialogue.org/ 
*** 
Literary editing by Alexandra Volynets 
*** 

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