An_Introduction_To_Creative_Commons

							                                                                                Briefing-32                                                                                   Briefing-32


                    An Introduction To                                                                               An Introduction To
                    Creative Commons                                                                                 Creative Commons
                                                                                                                     UKOLN: Supporting The Cultural Heritage Sector
                    UKOLN: Supporting The Cultural Heritage Sector

What is Creative Commons?                                                                     What is Creative Commons?
Creative Commons (CC) [1] refers to a movement started in 2001 by US lawyer                   Creative Commons (CC) [1] refers to a movement started in 2001 by US lawyer
Lawrence Lessig that aims to expand the collection of creative work available for others      Lawrence Lessig that aims to expand the collection of creative work available for others
to build upon and share. The Creative Commons model makes a distinction between the           to build upon and share. The Creative Commons model makes a distinction between the
big C (Copyright) meaning All Rights Reserved and CC meaning Some Rights                      big C (Copyright) meaning All Rights Reserved and CC meaning Some Rights
Reserved. It does so by offering copyright holders licences to assign to their work,          Reserved. It does so by offering copyright holders licences to assign to their work,
which will clarify the conditions of use and avoid many of the problems current               which will clarify the conditions of use and avoid many of the problems current
copyright laws pose when attempting to share information.                                     copyright laws pose when attempting to share information.

What Licences?                                                                                What Licences?
There are a series of eleven Creative Commons licences available to download from the         There are a series of eleven Creative Commons licences available to download from the
Web site. They enable copyright holders to allow display, public performance,                 Web site. They enable copyright holders to allow display, public performance,
reproduction and distribution of their work while assigning specific restrictions. The six    reproduction and distribution of their work while assigning specific restrictions. The six
main licences combine the four following conditions:                                          main licences combine the four following conditions:

              Attribution – Users of your work must credit you.                                             Attribution – Users of your work must credit you.


              Non-commercial – Users of your work can make no financial gain from it.                       Non-commercial – Users of your work can make no financial gain from it.


              Non-derivative – Only verbatim copies of your work can be used.                               Non-derivative – Only verbatim copies of your work can be used.

              Share-alike - Subsequent works have to be made available under the same                       Share-alike - Subsequent works have to be made available under the same
              licence as the original.                                                                      licence as the original.
The other licences available are the Sampling licence, the Public Domain Dedication,          The other licences available are the Sampling licence, the Public Domain Dedication,
Founders Copyright, the Music Sharing licence and the CC Zero licence. Creative               Founders Copyright, the Music Sharing licence and the CC Zero licence. Creative
Commons also recommends two open source software licences for those licensing                 Commons also recommends two open source software licences for those licensing
software: the GNU General Public licence and the GNU Lesser Public licence.                   software: the GNU General Public licence and the GNU Lesser Public licence.
Each license is expressed in three ways: (1) legal code, (2) a commons deed explaining        Each license is expressed in three ways: (1) legal code, (2) a commons deed explaining
what it means in lay person's terms and (3) a machine-readable description in the form        what it means in lay person's terms and (3) a machine-readable description in the form
of RDF/XML (Resource Description Framework/Extensible Mark up Language)                       of RDF/XML (Resource Description Framework/Extensible Mark up Language)
metadata. Copyright holders can embed the metadata in HTML pages.                             metadata. Copyright holders can embed the metadata in HTML pages.
This document is available at:                                                                This document is available at:
<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/cultural-heritage/documents/briefing-32/>                             <h ttp://www.ukoln.ac.uk/cultural-heritage/documents/briefing-32/>
International Creative Commons                                                                  International Creative Commons
The Creative Commons licences were originally written using an American legal model             The Creative Commons licences were originally written using an American legal model
but through the Creative Common international (CCi) have since been adapted for use             but through the Creative Common international (CCi) have since been adapted for use
in a number of different jurisdictions. As of April 2009 52 jurisdictions have completed        in a number of different jurisdictions. As of April 2009 52 jurisdictions have completed
licences and 7 jurisdictions licences are being developed.                                      licences and 7 jurisdictions licences are being developed.
The regional complexities of UK law has meant that two different set of licences have           The regional complexities of UK law has meant that two different set of licences have
had to be drafted for use of the licenses the UK. Creative Commons worked with the              had to be drafted for use of the licenses the UK. Creative Commons worked with the
Arts and Humanities Research Board Centre for Studies in Intellectual Property and              Arts and Humanities Research Board Centre for Studies in Intellectual Property and
Technology Law at Edinburgh University on the Scotland jurisdiction-specific licenses           Technology Law at Edinburgh University on the Scotland jurisdiction-specific licenses
completed December 2005 (version 2.5) and the Information Systems and Innovation                completed December 2005 (version 2.5) and the Information Systems and Innovation
Group (ISIG) to create the England and Wales jurisdiction-specific licenses completed           Group (ISIG) to create the England and Wales jurisdiction-specific licenses completed
April 2005 (version 2.0).                                                                       April 2005 (version 2.0).

Why Use Creative Commons Licences?                                                              Why Use Creative Commons Licences?
There are many benefits to be had in clarifying the rights status of a work. When               There are many benefits to be had in clarifying the rights status of a work. When
dealing with Creative Commons licensed work, it is known if the work can be used                dealing with Creative Commons licensed work, it is known if the work can be used
without having to contact the author, thus allowing the work to be exploited more               without having to contact the author, thus allowing the work to be exploited more
effectively, more quickly and more widely, whilst also increasing the impact of the             effectively, more quickly and more widely, whilst also increasing the impact of the
work. Also in the past clarification of IPR has taken a huge amount of time and effort,         work. Also in the past clarification of IPR has taken a huge amount of time and effort,
Creative Commons could save some projects a considerable amount of money and aid                Creative Commons could save some projects a considerable amount of money and aid
their preservation strategies. As Creative Commons offers its licence in a machine-             their preservation strategies. As Creative Commons offers its licence in a machine-
readable format search engines can search only CC licensed resources allowing users             readable format search engines can search only CC licensed resources allowing users
easier access to ‘free materials’ [2].                                                          easier access to ‘free materials’ [2].

Issues                                                                                          Issues
Although Creative Commons has now been in existence for a while there are still issues          Although Creative Commons has now been in existence for a while there are still issues
to be resolved. For example within institutions the issue of who currently holds                to be resolved. For example within institutions the issue of who currently holds
copyright is a complex one.                                                                     copyright is a complex one.
Another key area for consideration is the tension between allowing resources to be              Another key area for consideration is the tension between allowing resources to be
freely available and the need for income generation. Although use of a Creative                 freely available and the need for income generation. Although use of a Creative
Commons license is principally about allowing resources to be used by all, this does not        Commons license is principally about allowing resources to be used by all, this does not
mean that there has to be no commercial use. One option is dual licensing, which is             mean that there has to be no commercial use. One option is dual licensing, which is
fairly common in the open source software environment.                                          fairly common in the open source software environment.

References                                                                                      References
1.    Creative Commons, <http://creativecommons.org/>                                             1. Creative Commons, <http://creativecommons.org/>
2.    Creative Commons Licensing Solutions for the Common Information Environment,                2. Creative Commons Licensing Solutions for the Common Information Environment,
      Intrallect, <http://www.intrallect.com/cie-study/>                                             Intrallect, <http://www.intrallect.com/cie-study/>
Produced by UKOLN: a national centre of expertise in digital information management   Jun 209   Produced by UKOLN: a national centre of expertise in digital information management   Jun 2009
For further information see <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/>                                           For further information see <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/>