CreativeCommons

From MashupCamp

Larry Lessig led a session on what to consider when mashing up data, what Creative Commons considerations exist, how copyright and Creative Commons differ, how mashup makers might use data with CC licensing in it or what to do with databases where the owners want to share for reuse.

Here are the notes taken on the board behind him as he talked. Also, a number of folks took notes and Emily Chang recorded the session for a podcast. Please add links here as they become available.

Emily Chang's notes on Lessig and the direct link to the MP3 audio of Lawrence Lessig discussing Creative Commons (32.4 MB mp3, 1 hour 10 minutes)

Creative Commons and Mashups

• Mashups aren't new; they've been going on forever
• What's new: everything "written down" is by default copywritten
• Now, you need permission to engage in a remix
• How do we navigate this?

Creative Commons

• Creative Commons is a hack to try to resolve this problem

• • 2 points about CC:
    • Enforcing copyright freedoms are expensive to enforce
      • The law of fair use <– CC doesn't try to modify this
    • Median for CC is "some rights reserved"
      • Means there are complexities for using them and reuse

• • CC is somewhat like the GPL license <– but many creators don't feel like their work is collaborative

• • CC makes tools to encourage this kind of collaboration and creativity

• Architecture: users / creators choose the type of license they want their work to have

• • CC license is expressed in three ways:
    • human readable
    • legalese
    • machine readable

• • Search for CC: some exists

• Questions about CC: What is NonCommercial Reuse:
  • Range between
    • reuse for website?
    • advertisements on page with reuse?
    • commercial reuse for sale?
  • The advertisement on pages that reuse other's work licensed with CC for non-commercial reuse is the big question.. what does this mean.. under debate now..

• Tools
  • CC Mixter: CMS for remixing

• Tension: these issues aren't binary like code
  • There are gradation for licensing, reuse, fair use, copyright isn't simple
• CC attempts to make this more rational
  • CC needs better marketing to make this more clear to people

• Audience Questions:
  • What about Databse remixing? Questions to answer:
    • Is the underlying data copywritten
    • Compilation: is that copywritten in and of itself?
    • Mashup? Is that fair use?

• • • Example: are parts of a video/music mashup copywritten?

• • Is anyone doing this right Internationally?
    • EU: cares most about Moral Rights: keeping the art in tact over the disparagement of the creator
    • US: attribution and control by artists is very important

• Possible Solutions:
  • Catalog of uses and social norms and practices to document and show others real world behavior
  • Become more active about updating the law to the 21st Century

• Mashup makers should:
  • Live within the law of fair use and good faith
  • Golden rule: if you remix, let others do the same with your work