Introduction
It’s been a while since I wrote any news of the commons. Between my recent mini-holiday, and the general spring slow-down of stories surrounding Creative Commons, and there has been little to report on. That is, until I had some time to do a bit of deep scanning on the net and came across a few interesting tidbits.
Space May Not Be Very Accessible, But SpaceX’s Photos Will Be
NASA, being a government funded institution is required to make their images available to the public. However, private corporations rarely make their photos available for public use. However, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has followed in NASA’s footsteps by releasing their photos under a CC0 license. Currently there are 109 photos available on the SpaceX Flickr page. The interesting part about this is that initally Flickr didn’t offer the CC0 license as an option, but added it in response to SpaceX’s offering.
Defending the global knowledge commons
openDemocracy has joined the Open Access Movement by recommending that authors license their works under a Creative Commons license. To quote the article:
Members are encouraged to use creative commons licensing and to join others in a pledge to be open by agreeing to review for and publish in mainly if not solely open access journals.
What Harvard Law Students Need To Know About The Commons
In a very thought-provoking article, David Bollier makes the case for the Commons. By watching the trends of what he calls the “Market/State duopoly” Bollier has concluded that there is going to be no transformative change coming from our government or businesses, and the best way to move forward is through the Commons. This is an exceptional article worth the reading.
Creative Commons Launches Special Edition Commemorative Tee
The initial order period for this Tee-Shirt expired on April 8th. However, if enough people are still interested a second run would be possible. Check out the Teespring Website for more information.
MPAA Wanted Less Fair Use In Copyright Curriculum
A couple of years ago the Center for Copyright Information (CCI), which has the MPAA and RIAA as key members, began presenting a curriculum targeted at kindgerten through sixth grade students on Copyright. The pilot of the curriculum was produced in conjunction with iKeepSafe. Well, in newly leaked memos it has come to light that the MPAA wanted less information about Creative Commons and Fair Use in the final draft of the curriculum. Gee, shocking…not.
Conclusion
I expect the slowdown in Creative Commons relevant news to be ongoing for a while now, with spring turning into summer. This will make it more difficult to produce these columns on a regular basis, however as news comes across my desk, I will do my best to bring it to you.