Creative Commons

If your a media producer and you haven’t heard of Creative Commons then now’s your time…

Creative commons is essentially a copyright issue.  It applies to most sectors of the creative industry like film, photography, music, art, and design and It’s a reaction to existing copyright laws which have an “all or nothing” policy.  Creative Commons allows for artists to open up their work to the public whilst still maintaining a degree of control over how it’s used.  It bridges the expansive gap between exclusive copyright ownership, and the public domain.

The organization was launched in 2001 with the first set of licences released towards the end of 2002.  It’s the brainchild of Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig.  Lessig is the founder of the Centre for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School and he worked on Creative Commons with a number of professionals from within the creative industries.  He also enlisted students from within the law school to work on the project.

So how does it work?

Creative Commons licences are drawn up under a combination of four basic conditions.  Lets assume that i’m an artist and i’m applying for a creative commons licence for my painting.  This is how it works…

(1) Attribution – Expressed as (BY)

This means that any person is granted permission to use my painting for whatever purpose, so long as they name me as the original author and display a link to the licence.

(2) Non Commercial – Expressed as (NC)

Non Commercial signifies that a person may use my work so long as they are not benefiting from it financially.

(3) No Derivative – Expressed as (ND)

This means that others are free to distribute and display my work only in its original form.  They are not allowed to alter it in any way.

(4) Share Alike – Expressed as (SA)

Others may produce derivatives of my work so long as they are released under the same conditions as the original work.

Combos

Usually works are licenced in line with a combination of the above conditions.  Some examples are as follows…

(BY)-(NC)-(SA)

On a simple level this licence means that you may use my work so long as you (a) cite me as the original author (b) don’t make any money from it and (c) release any derivatives under the same conditions that the original was released to you.

(BY)-(NC)-(ND)

This means that you may use the work providing that you (a) cite me as the original author (b) do not benefit from it financially and (c) only present it in it’s original form.

Once your application for a licence has been granted it is expressed in three ways.  A commons deed is issued which explains the terms of the licence along with a copy of the legal terms and an electronic translation designed to increase the licences online accessibility.

Who’s up for it?

According to the creators there are currently several million websites which are licenced under Creative Commons as well as numerous films, publications, images, music compositions and other creative works.

A notable example is the Industrial band Nine Inch Nails who released the album Ghosts I-IV under a (BY)-(NC)-(SA) licence.  Upon it’s release the album was dubbed as “remix friendly”.

So there you have it…

Now you know all about Creative commons and how it works.  All that’s left is to go out and produce something.  Any information you need to licence your work can be found At www.creativecommons.org

Useful Links

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35297-2005Mar14.html

http://icommons.org/articles/why-bloggers-should-use-creative-commons-licences

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/03/nine-inch-nails-goes.html