Lecture 5 - The Copyright Middle Ground: Creative Commons

Prior to 2003 there was no middle ground between a work being labelled 'Copyright' or the complete absence of Copyright. The term, Copyright, refers to a creator or author exercising ownership rights that prohibit any other person preparing a derivative, copying or expanding upon works that were created by him/her (Davis & Fiander, 2001). At present, copyrighting is so interwoven in our culture that creators' works are automatically assumed to possess copyright, even without written confirmation.

Prior to the Creative Commons (CC) lecture, I was oblivious to the concept. I have always held the belief that if someone has created or written something, it is their right to bar anyone else from taking, altering or plagerising the work. CC, as opposed to copyright, contains a set of guidelines that allow for creators to relax the copyright regulations to allow their work to be distributed, improved upon or altered. CC has 6 core licences, allowing the creator to select the licence that best suits their needs (Creative Commons Australia, 2011). The CC basic guidelines require the user of a work to show 'attribution', meaning that the work is still to be identified as that of the creator and the user is unable to gain financially from the work. In addition to the standard guidelines the creator is provided with the option to specify whether the user can create modified or 'derivative' works, whether the same terms for use are to be imposed on the modified work and whether the user can make commercial use of the work (Doctorow, 2007).

As was stated in the lecture, historically, the creation of computers and software was established and improved upon through the sharing of works, ideas and making modifications. The climate changed dramatically when Bill Gates began imposing strict copyright regulations and selling his creations. In my opinion, CC has led the way in taking a step back from profiteering and restrictions, and is paving the way to bring back elements of past sharing, for the good of all. As a consumer, I applaud creators who distribute their work freely for the greater good. However, I can also see the multitude of arguments that can be made to support both copyrighting and CC. The debate looks likely to continue for a long time to come!

Creative Commons Australia. (2011). Licences. Retrieved January, 21, 2011, from http://creativecommons.org.au/learn-more/licences

 Davis, T. L., & Fiander, P. M. (2001). The Digital Millennium Copyright Act: Key Issues for Serialists. In J. C. Harmon, P. M. Fiander & L. F. Griffin (Eds.), Making waves: New serials landscapes in a sea of change (pp. 85-104). San Diego, CA: University of California.

Doctorow, C. (2007). Creative commons. Locus Online. Retrieved January 21, 2011, from http://www.locusmag.com/Features/2007/11/cory-doctorow-creative-commons.html