Abstract: Mr. Rens is the Legal Lead for Creative Commons South Africa, and currently resides in San Francisco where he works on issues around access to knowledge, collaborative creative works and the Digital Divide.
Abstract: Bodo Balazs, economist, assistant lecturer, researcher at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Sociology and Communications, Center for Media Research and Education since 2001. Fulbright Visiting Researcher at Stanford Law School. Project lead for Creative Commons Hungary.
His academic interests include sociocultural impacts of new media, media regulation, online communities. Leader of the development of several commercial internet applications as well as numerous academic research projects dealing with digital archives, e-learning and online communities.
Abstract: The Berkman Center is a research program founded to explore cyberspace, share in its study, and help pioneer its development. We represent a network of faculty, students, fellows, entrepreneurs, lawyers, and virtual architects working to identify and engage with the challenges and opportunities of cyberspace.
We investigate the real and possible boundaries in cyberspace between open and closed systems of code, of commerce, of governance, and of education, and the relationship of law to each. We do this through active rather than passive research, believing that the best way to understand cyberspace is to actually build out into it.
Abstract: Brewster Kahle is on a mission. He wants the whole planet to have access to human knowledge. All human knowledge. And he's striving to make that possible--one byte at a time.
Ten years ago, Kahle founded the nonprofit Internet Archive, with the goal of preserving the hitherto ephemeral pleasures of the Net for posterity. But, unsatisfied with limiting himself to the saving of Web sites, Kahle decided to broaden his scope and include existing collections of books, television programs, movies and music in the archive's massive digital repository.
Abstract: This document is a code of best practices that helps educators using media literacy concepts and techniques to interpret the copyright doctrine of fair use. Fair use is the right to use copyrighted material without permission or payment under some circumstances—especially when the cultural or social benefits of the use are predominant. It is a general right that applies even in situations where the law provides no specific authorization for the use in question—as it does for certain narrowly defined classroom activities.
This guide identifies five principles that represent the media literacy education community’s current consensus about acceptable practices for the fair use of copyrighted materials, wherever and however it occurs: in K–12 education, in higher education, in nonprofit organizations that offer programs for children and youth, and in adult education.
Subject:
Arts, Business, Humanities, Mathematics and Statistics, Science and Technology, Social Sciences
Abstract: copyrighteous is where I post scraps of text on a variety of topics. It's a grab bag of short reflections and ideas (usually humorous) and longer reviews and responses to things I read or have been thinking about. The more critical pieces tend to focus on issues of free software, intellectual property and copyright, and issues of free access to knowledge.
Abstract: This toolkit provides a variety of resources designed to assist trainers in preparing and offering a workshop that introduces participants to copyright as it relates to distance education. It describes the basic features of copyright, identifies institutional issues and concerns, and outlines ways to deal with them. It is appropriate for academic staff involved in writing and presenting course materials; administrative staff involved in publishing, purchasing, selling, and presenting courses and course materials; and institutional staff involved in setting up procedures and policies on courses and course materials through central administration, the library, or a learning resources centre.
Abstract: A blog on the website of The Center for Social Media and the Washington College of Law, American University. Fair use is the right, in some circumstances, to quote copyrighted material without asking permission or paying for it. It is a crucial feature of copyright law and what keeps copyright from being censorship. You can invoke fair use when the value to the public of what you are saying outweighs the cost to the private owner of the copyright.
Abstract: A blog entry that discusses and shares video from a Web seminar entitled "Yes, You Can Use Copyrighted Materials! Conquering Copyright Confusion." The Web seminar covered the NCTE Code of Best Practices for Fair Use in Media Literacy Education.
Abstract: This brief concept paper seeks to identify and interrogate some of the assumptions that underlie most media stories about copyright. The greatest success of the concept of copyright has been its successful elevation to the status of myth through the constant rendering of certain familiar figures (the poor struggling author), arguments (people deserve to own the fruit of their labour) and rhetorical data (billions of dollars lost due to piracy). By specifically labelling these assumptions myths, we seek to question their truth premise. This is, however, a task that has just begun and we shall have to work collectively to strive towards making arguments that go beyond merely providing counter-facts if we are to effectively counter the totalising rhetoric of copyright.
Abstract: Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that offers flexible copyright licenses for creative works.
We use private rights to create public goods: creative works set free for certain uses. Like the free software and open-source movements, our ends are cooperative and community-minded, but our means are voluntary and libertarian. We work to offer creators a best-of-both-worlds way to protect their works while encouraging certain uses of them to declare "some rights reserved."
Thus, a single goal unites Creative Commons' current and future projects: to build a layer of reasonable, flexible copyright in the face of increasingly restrictive default rules.
Abstract: Intuitively, the Creative Commons model seems an attractive instrument for public sector bodies that seek to enhance transparent access to their information, be it for purposes of democratic accountability or re-use for economic or other uses. This study examined that hypothesis and highlights the major opportunities and pitfalls of the Creative Commons model for public sector information.
Abstract: This paper addresses some of the licensing issues raised by creating and licensing Open Educational Resources. Flexibility and ease in accessing educational resources, remixing and embedding them in other, more culturally specific materials, is central to the OER movement. Flexibility can only achieved through a combination of resource design and licensing models. The most popular licensing model for OER content is the Creative Commons suite of licenses and most OER providers either use licenses taken from the Creative Commons suite or have developed a license closely modeled on a CC original but adapted to suit their needs, for example the Creative Archive in the UK.
Abstract: This foundational white paper reports on a year-long study by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, examining the relationship between copyright law and education. In particular, we wanted to explore whether innovative educational uses of digital technology were hampered by the restrictions of copyright. We found that provisions of copyright law concerning the educational use of copyrighted material, as well as the business and institutional structures shaped by that law, are among the most important obstacles to realizing the potential of digital technology in education.
Abstract: A not-for-profit organisation with the mission to "promote continuing successful development, deployment and use of Digital Media that respect the rights of creators and rights holders to exploit their works, the wish of end users to fully enjoy the benefits of Digital Media and the interests of various value-chain players to provide products and services.
Abstract: This manual provides practical advice to producers and users in selling, transferring, purchasing and acquiring materials. It is designed to facilitate the inter-institutional negotiation processes between producers and users and to identify the roles that COL may play in specific transfer and accreditation situations. Issues addressed include: types of transfer arrangements; copyright and intellectual property; adaptation and translation; costs, pricing, and remuneration; quality; and accreditation. (84 pages)
Abstract: Founder of Textbook-Download Site Says Offering Free Copyrighted Textbooks Is Act of 'Civil Disobedience'
Publishers see Web sites like Textbook Torrents, which offer free downloads of textbooks without authorization, as part of a growing problem of piracy that could potentially threaten their industry. But the founder of Textbook Torrents calls his actions "civil disobedience" against "the monopolistic business practices" of textbook publishers.
Abstract: The FSFE was launched on 10 March 2001 and supports all European aspects of Free Software; especially the GNU Project. We are actively supporting development of Free Software and furthering GNU-based Operating Systems such as GNU/Linux. Also, we provide an assistance centre for politicians, lawyers and journalists in order to secure the legal, political and social future of Free Software.