In eigener Sache: Ein kurzer Artikel zu Creative Commons Luxemburg von Patrick Peiffer (PDF, Lizenz: CC-BY 4.0) in der aktuellen Forum Nummer zum Thema “Commons“.
Author: pplux
2016, a new start
Welcome to the Creative Commons Luxembourg new website!
As you can see there’s nothing much at all on it for last few years. This is a call for help to relaunch Creative Commons Luxembourg.
There are three things that Creative Commons 
Luxembourg does: answering terribly boring legal questions for which there is usually a person on the team called a “legal lead”. Then there’s the creative use of the sharing framework that CC offers. Creative Commons Luxembourg could engage in facilitating and inspiring creation, creativity, making and learning. Finally, Creative Commons Luxembourg is unthinkable without the international partner network and creative commons central. This a network of genuinely great people who can guide with setting up projects and share know-how. It would be fantastic if Creative Commons Luxembourg could become a group of people who give back more to this network (for example translations, discussions, whatever needs doing!).
If you can contribute to any of these three facets of a new Creative Commons Luxembourg, I’d be very happy to hear from you.
I would like it to be a “slow food” project, “slow food” as in “a culture of long-term, transparent and meaningful contributions”. I’d rather not participate in a hyped, startup-type thing (although such things might spin-off eventually).
So why did this all happen now? Because ‘forum’ magazine compiled a “Commons in Luxembourg” Dossier for their first 2016 issue. Thank you FORUM!
Aktuelles forum Heft: Dossier ‘Commons in Luxemburg’
Forum 358 von Januar 2016 : Einleitung Creative Commons und Dossier ‘Commons’
Kim and Anne from FORUM are working hard to make most, if not all, of the Dossier available using CC, so we can all read and share it online. It’s a big first for them and they are very much looking forward to the CC experience over time. Stay tuned! The new issue is at newsstands 8th January and online early next week.
Update: The issue is online now!
Creative Commons, digital culture and copyright
The biggest achievement of CC is the design of six different licences (contracts) to share creations. Each of the six licences is based on copyright law. As you may know, these laws are strictly territorial for each country and very different indeed. There is no international copyright framework that would make practical sense for a creator. Even inside the European Union there is NO single market for copyright! This achievement makes CC pretty unique and useful, but this doesn’t solve the underlying problem of different copyrigth laws.
Shouldn’t that change with EU copyright reform? Well,the Juncker Commission did put copyright reform as a priority but so far is extremely timid to engage with digital culture. They may see Creative Commons and the other free and open licences as enough digital culture. My suspicion is this: CC licences are conceptually contracts (‘contract’ or ‘licence’ means exactly the same thing in Europe). This private element matches well with their individualistic, marketbased worldview. What politicians miss is to focus on digital culture as a whole and then proceed to make the law fit for purpose and in the public interest.
Two examples of digital culture policy issues: We must digitise our printed and recorded culture as well as all the things from the past (all these are safely stored in our cultural institutions). These digital copies must be somehow accessible on the internet. Think about it as just many, many, many more texts, films and sounds from our past and recent past. Remember that this culture is not available commercially in shops. Most of it is only available in cultural institutions, often in few copies.
The second goal is to allow the existing digital culture to be used and become part of new culture. How the creators have their say in this and how much money needs to be considered are big problems. Solving them would bring unprecedented digital creativity.
If both goals become reality, new and unexpected things will happen. One could think of the past becoming part of the digital present and the present mixing in the past. To put it even more pompously, a civilization only gets to digitise its past once. Yes, we could do it now.
But if we continue using the old laws, laws that were designed for analogue culture like books, records, cinemas and radios, we will miss this immense opportunity. We will be condemned to build the new using the old. Easily for another 15 years if the current glacial progress at EU level is any indication.
It took Creative Commons 10 years to build six single copyright licences that work identically in every country (more on version 4.0). But all CC licences only work when the creator (author, filmmaker, musician, …) actively gives permission, via one of the CC licences. If the creator or their heirs are unknown or unlocatable, they cannot give this permission for access and sharing.
CC simply does not work for most old culture, unless you can spend huge efforts on finding and asking each an every creator or their heirs of the past 70-150 years. And of course, if you found them, you must explain and hope they agree to Creative Commons. This is clearly impossible.
Only a change of law, a copyright culture reform helps. What CC has achieved in digital culture over 10 years can at best be a guide to inform and inspire policy, but never a reason for inaction.
„Open Content – Ein Praxisleitfaden zu Creative-Commons-Lizenzen“
Die von Till Kreutzer verfasste Broschüre „Open Content – Ein Praxisleitfaden zur Nutzung von Creative-Commons-Lizenzen“ ist jetzt auf Deutsch in neuer und überarbeiteter Version erschienen. Herausgeber sind neben der deutschen UNESCO-Kommission das Hochschulbibliothekszentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen und Wikimedia Deutschland. Die neue und erweiterte Fassung stellt auch die Public-Domain-Werkzeuge von Creative Commons sowie die Version 4.0 der Lizenzen vor und zeigt einige besonders gute Fotos aus dem freien Bildarchiv Wikimedia Commons.
Zum kompletten Artikel auf iRights.info und Download des Leitfadens
CC0 official translation into French published
CC0 now has an official translation into French.
Read the whole announcement on the Creative Commons blog.
European Commission endorses CC licenses as best practice for public sector content and data
(from the Creative Commons blog)
Today the European Commission released licensing recommendations to support the reuse of public sector information in Europe. In addition to providing guidance on baseline license principles for public sector content and data, the guidelines suggest that Member States should adopt standardized open licenses – such as Creative Commons licenses:
Several licences that comply with the principles of ‘openness’ described by the Open Knowledge Foundation to promote unrestricted re-use of online content, are available on the web. They have been translated into many languages, centrally updated and already used extensively worldwide. Open standard licences, for example the most recent Creative Commons (CC) licences (version 4.0), could allow the re-use of PSI without the need to develop and update custom-made licences at national or sub-national level. Of these, the CC0 public domain dedication is of particular interest. As a legal tool that allows waiving copyright and database rights on PSI, it ensures full flexibility for re-users and reduces the complications associated with handling numerous licences, with possibly conflicting provisions.
The Commission’s recommendations warn against the the development of customized licenses, which could break interoperability of public sector information across the EU. The guidelines clearly state that license conditions should be standardized and contain minimal requirements (such as attribution-only).
In order to proactively promote the re-use of the licenced material, it is advisable that the licensor grants worldwide (to the extent allowed under national law), perpetual, royalty-free, irrevocable (to the extent allowed under national law) and non-exclusive rights to use the information covered by the licence… it is advisable that [licenses] cover attribution requirements only, as any other obligations may limit licensees’ creativity or economic activity, thereby affecting the re-use potential of the documents in question.
This is a welcome outcome that will hopefully provide a clear path for data providers and re-users. It’s great to see this endorsement after our efforts alongside our affiliate network to advocate for clear best practices in sharing of content and data. The recommendation benefits from CC’s free international 4.0 licenses, saving governments time and money, and maximizing compatibility and reuse.
Kudos to the Commission and the assistance provided by LAPSI, Open Knowledge, and others.
OpenDesign – Conference & Workshop 5th June 2014
REGISTER HERE for the conference
Program
- 17:00 – Registration
- 17:45 – Presentation of the program (Conference & Workshop) | by Rodolfo Baïz
- 18:00 – Creative Commons 4.0 | by Patrick Peiffer (luxcommons)
Patrick is a founder and current project lead of Creative Commons Luxembourg. He is the head of the digital library consortium at the National Library of Luxembourg (findit.lu) and is active in the Europeana.eu licensing and copyright teams.
His presentation will explain the key elements and changes of the new Creative Commons version 4.0 licences with examples of how they can be used in Open Design projects.
In Luxembourg, Creative Commons version 3.0 licences have been available since 2007. The 4.0 licences were launched in late 2013 with several key improvements, notably their internationalisation. The new version should boost the success of Creative Commons licenses which are already used for several hundred million works on the open web. Join the event and find out more at creativecommons.org!
Whats new in CC 4.0?
We made dozens of improvements to the licenses. Most will go unnoticed by many CC licensors and licensees, but some of them deserve particular attention.For a much more in-depth rundown of the decisions reflected in 4.0, visit the 4.0 page on the Creative Commons wiki.
A more global license
In the past six years, Creative Commons has worked with hundreds of volunteers around the world – literally, some of the best minds in copyright law and open licensing on the planet – to translate and adapt the 3.0 and earlier licenses to local laws in over 60 jurisdictions (what we call “porting”). In the process, we’ve learned a lot about how our licenses work internationally and how they’re impacted by the nuances of copyright law in various jurisdictions.
We drew on this experience in the process of developing 4.0. We’ve worked closely with our wide international network of affiliates and countless other experts and stakeholders to make 4.0 the most internationally enforceable set of CC licenses to date. The 4.0 licenses are ready-to-use around the world, without porting.
The new licenses have improved terminology that’s better understood worldwide. With the release of 4.0, we’re also introducing official translations of the CC licenses, so that users of CC-licensed material around the world can read and understand the complete licenses in their local languages.
Rights outside the scope of copyright
Other rights beyond copyright can complicate the reuse of CC-licensed material. To the extent that those rights are not addressed directly in a copyright license, the situation for users of works can be even more confusing. Version 4.0 addresses this challenge through an open-ended but carefully tailored license grant that identifies categories of rights that could (if not licensed) interfere with reuse of the material. Accounting for these and other unenumerated rights will more fully enable users of CC-licensed works to use the work as they expect and as intended by licensors.
In particular, the fact that sui generis database rights are not explicitly covered by the 3.0 unported licenses has led to confusion in jurisdictions that recognize those rights. Version 4.0 removes any doubt, pulling applicable sui generis rights squarely within the scope of the license unless explicitly excluded by the licensor. It also allows database providers to use the CC licenses to explicitly license those rights.
The 4.0 license suite uniformly and explicitly waives moral rights held by the licensor where possible to the limited extent necessary to enable reuse of the content in the manner intended by the license. Publicity, privacy, and personality rights held by the licensor are expressly waived to the same limited extent. While many understand these rights to be waived when held by the licensor in 3.0 and earlier versions, version 4.0’s treatment makes the intended outcome clear.
Common-sense attribution
Version 4.0 includes a slight change to attribution requirements, designed to better reflect accepted practices. The licenses explicitly permit licensees to satisfy the attribution requirement with a link to a separate page for attribution information. This was already common practice on the internet and possible under earlier versions of the licenses, and Version 4.0 alleviates any uncertainty about its use.
Enabling more anonymity, when desired
Version 3.0 included a provision allowing a licensor to request that a licensee remove the attribution from an adaptation, if she did not want her name associated with it. Version 4.0 expands that provision to apply not only to adaptations but also to verbatim reproductions of a work. Licenses now account specifically for situations where licensors wish to disassociate themselves from uses of their works they object to, even if their work hasn’t been modified or published in a collection with other works.
30-day window to correct license violations
All CC licenses terminate when a licensee breaks their terms, but under 4.0, a licensee’s rights are reinstated automatically if she corrects a breach within 30 days of discovering it. The cure period in version 4.0 resembles similar provisions in a some other public licenses and better reflects how licensors and licensees resolve compliance issues in practice. It also assures users that provided they act promptly, they can continue using the CC-licensed work without worry that they may have lost their rights permanently.
Increased readability
The 4.0 license suite is decidedly easier to read and understand than prior versions, not to mention much shorter and better organized. The simplified license structure and use of plain language whenever possible increases the likelihood that licensors and reusers will understand their rights and obligations. This improves enforceability of the licenses and reduces confusion and disagreement about how the licenses operate.
Clarity about adaptations
The BY and BY-NC 4.0 licenses are clearer about how adaptations are to be licensed, a source of confusion for some under the earlier versions of those licenses. These licenses now clarify that you can apply any license to your contributions you want so long as your license doesn’t prevent users of the remix from complying with the original license. While this is how 3.0 and earlier versions are understood, the 4.0 licenses make it abundantly clear and will help remixers in understanding their licensing obligations.
Creative Commons 4.0 is here!
The new version of the Creative Commons licences are launched today!
Diane Peters writes:
We had ambitious goals in mind when we embarked on the versioning process coming out of the 2011 CC Global Summit in Warsaw. The new licenses achieve all of these goals, and more. The 4.0 licenses are extremely well-suited for use by governments and publishers of public sector information and other data, especially for those in the European Union. This is due to the expansion in license scope, which now covers sui generis database rights that exist there and in a handful of other countries.
Among other exciting new features are improved readability and organization, common-sense attribution, and a new mechanism that allows those who violate the license inadvertently to regain their rights automatically if the violation is corrected in a timely manner.
You can find highlights of the most significant improvements on our website, track the course of the public discussion and evolution of the license drafts on the 4.0 wiki page, and view a recap of the central policy decisions made over the course of the versioning process.
The 4.0 versioning process has been a truly collaborative effort between the brilliant and dedicated network of legal and public licensing experts and the active, vocal open community. The 4.0 licenses, the public license development undertaking, and the Creative Commons organization are stronger because of the steadfast commitment of all participants.
With the 4.0 licenses published, we will be turning our attention to official translations of the legal code in partnership with our affiliate network and larger community. Translations of our new deeds are also underway, with a significant number already completed.
Thank you and congratulations to everyone who participated in making 4.0 a reality!
Where’s 4.0? CC Summit presentations
Update on the 4.0 version of the Creative Commons Licences by Diane:
http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/39390
If you are interested in what got discussed at the CC Summit last week in Buenos Aires, the presentations are now online.
New Annual Report and Strategy Document
Book launch of ”The Digital Public Domain: Foundations for an Open Culture”, Brussels, June 18th
From the Communia-Association’s blog:
More information about the book can be found on the Communia Association’s website.
On Monday, June 18, MEP Amelia Andersdotter, along with her colleague MEP Ioannis Tsoukalas, is inviting you to attend the launch of the book ”The Digital Public Domain: Foundations for an Open Culture”, edited by Melanie Dulong de Rosnay and Juan Carlos De Martin as an output of the Communia Thematic Network.
The book is under a CC Attribution license and the PDF can be downloaded here.
”The Digital Public Domain: Foundations for an Open Culture”
18 June 2012
18:30 – 20:00
European Parliament, Brussels, ASP Main Hall
(Ground Floor, in front of the Newspapers Quiosque)
18:30 Welcome: MEP Amelia Andersdotter
18:35 Introduction: MEP Prof. Ioannis Tsoukalas
18:45 The Digital Public Domain – presentation by editors: Melanie Dulong & Juan Carlos De Martin
19:00 Q&A and Discussion / Cocktails
19:45 Closing remarks: MEP Amelia Andersdotter
If would like to attend the event and require access to the Parliament, please register with amelia.andersdotter-office@europarl.europa.eu before June 14, indicating your full name, date of birth and ID number.
Link to the invitation on Amelia Andersdotter’s blog.
A video interview of Anne-Catherine Lorrain, Juan Carlos De Martin and Melanie Dulong de Rosnay during the book launch event is available on YouTube. Thanks to Amelia Andersdotter’s team members Julia Reda, Edvinas Pauza and Tess Lindholm.
Fablab Luxembourg 16 May Co-Design Masterclass
CC clarification – UK House of Lords misinformation about CC licence for UK Open Access policy
Timothy Vollmer writes on the CC Blog:
In the UK, the House of Commons has asked for feedback on their Open Access Policy. One provision of that policy requires that articles funded through the Research Councils UK (RCUK) must be released under a CC BY license. Last year, CC submitted a short comment in support.
And just last month, the House of Lords completed a consultation period which has generated some misinformationabout how the CC BY license operates. So, in order to clarify some of these misconceptions, Creative Commons and Creative Commons UK submitted a joint response to the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee to set the record straight.
We’ve pulled together some clarifications to some of the uncertainty lobbed at the CC BY license provision in the Open Access Policy. Some of the reasons given that CC BY should not be retained include:
- it would promote “misuse of research or would cause authors to “lose control of their work”
- third party rights negotiations for content that authors wish to include within an openly licensed article would prove too difficult
- open licensing provides less protection against plagiarism
- CC BY is not widely used in OA publishing
- authors should choose licensing conditions, not funders
These claims are confusing, misguided, or not backed up by evidence. We offer our responses and support here.
Luxcommons asbl 