Press Releases
CREATIVE COMMONS SUPPORTING WE’RE NOT AFRAID COMMUNITY MOVEMENT
San Francisco, US, & London, UK, 1st August 2005—Creative Commons and www.werennotafraid.com (WNA) today announced a landmark partnership whereby WNA will incorporate Creative Commons licensing into the WNA site, upcoming Proud Gallery exhibit and the ‘We’re Not Afraid’ book. By using the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 license, people around the world will be able to legally copy, redistribute and adapt the images that are made available (provided that they make any adaptations available under the same license terms).
“By joining with Creative Commons, We’re Not Afraid is able to give anyone in the world access to the incredible, ever-growing content that makes up the site. So far we have more than 6000 images online and more than 25,000 waiting to be added to the site, as well as numerous songs, poems, movies, and statements that have been submitted by our visitors sharing their own artistic representations on terrorism in the world,” said Alfie Dennen, WNA founder. “With a Creative Commons license, we can give the world this amazing resource without risking the rights of its creators.”
WNA developed as an offshoot of MoblogUK, Europe’s most successful moblogging site and the site responsible for posting the first ever images of the devastating effects of the 7th July London train bombings.
To date, www.werenotafraid.com has received more than 25,000 image submissions as well as countless multimedia submissions including music, video, and written pieces all of which are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharelike 2.0 license.
The world community has been contributing a diverse range of content to the site; images showing personal views of the events such as:
As well as original and quality recordings such as this track, by Chris and John Mendelsohn:
Since its inception, the site has had over 20 million hits.
Based on the web site, the WNA Exhibition at Proud Central will launch on the 8th of September 2005 and will present a complete picture of terrorism and its effects. From stark images of terror-ravaged areas ranging from New York to Bali, to the fearless, inspired creations of WNA’s visitors, the exhibit will promote the unity of a global community that defies religion, colour, creed, or country. Through the use of Creative Commons licensing on many of the images included in the Exhibition, visitors will be able to request images from the exhibition to be delivered digitally free of charge.
Currently in the planning stages, the ‘We’re Not Afraid’ book will be a collection of the most representative images submitted to www.werenotafraid.com. interspersed with texts taken from the world’s religious and philosophical works. With its book, WNA intends to show that no matter our beliefs or backgrounds, we are all one people who need only be given a voice to be united. All images and original works used in the book will be made available using Creative Commons licensing.
About We’re Not Afraid
We’re Not Afraid is a UK not-for-profit organisation through which a global community can speak out against the acts of terror that have struck London, Madrid, New York, Baghdad, Bazra, Tikrit, Gaza, Tel-Aviv, Egypt, Afghanistan, Bali, and against terrorist activity occurring in cities around the world each and every day.
About Creative Commons
A US nonprofit corporation founded in 2001, Creative Commons promotes the creative re-use of intellectual and artistic works—whether owned or in the public domain—by empowering authors and audiences. It is sustained by the generous support of the Center for the Public Domain, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Omidyar Network Fund, and the Hewlett Foundation.
For general information, visit Creative Commons
Contact
- Wendy Brierley
- Account Director
- Idea Generation
- wendy@ideageneration.co.uk
- Tel: 020.7428.4949
- Neeru Paharia
- Executive Director
- Creative Commons
- neeru@creativecommons.org
- Tel: 415.946.3068
Press Kit
No Comments »CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSES OFFERED IN CHILE
Silicon-Valley-based NGO reinforces its activities around the globe
San Francisco, CA, USA and Berlin, GERMANY — July 1, 2005 — Creative
Commons, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building a body of creative
work free to share and build upon, announced today the launch of the Creative
Commons project in Chile.
Creative Commons copyright licenses are available free of charge from the
group’s website (http://creativecommons.org). The licenses allow authors and artists to mark their works as free to copy or transform under certain conditions—to declare “some rights reserved,” in contrast to the traditional “all rights reserved”—thereby enabling others to access a growing pool of raw materials without legal friction.
In a collaborative effort between the University of Chile and the Chilean NGO
Corporacion Derechos Digitales (CDD), Creative Commons Chile adapted the
licenses for use under Chilean law—a process headed by project leads Professor
Alberto Cerda Silva, Gabriela Oruzar and Claudio Ruiz.
“We hope to encourage discussion about the relevance and convenience of a
balanced copyright for the artistic creations,“ says Claudio Ruiz. “In our
developing countries, the discussion about copyright and its limitations and
exemptions must be part of the public agenda. “
About the University of Chile and the Corporacion Derechos Digitales (CDD)
The University of Chile is, with its 162 years of existence, the oldest national
university in Chile. It consists of 14 Schools and 4 Interdisciplinary Institutes.
Research and creation of new knowledge is a main focus of this leading
institution.
For more information, visit University of Chile and University of Chile Library and Information Services
CDD is a Chilean NGO founded in 2003. It is an independent, non-profit
organization, located in Santiago de Chile, whose mission is to promote the respect and protection of human rights in the digital environment. Its volunteer members, from a wide range of professions related to information technologies, focus on subjects like protection of privacy or legal aspects on the use and development of free software.
For more information about Corporación Derechos Digitales, visit
CDD
About Creative Commons
A nonprofit corporation founded in 2001, Creative Commons promotes the
creative re-use of intellectual and artistic works—whether owned or in the
public domain—by empowering authors and audiences. It is sustained by the
generous support of the Center for the Public Domain, the John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Omidyar Network Fund, and the
Hewlett Foundation.
For general information, visit Creative Commons
Contact
- Claudio Ruiz (Santiago)
- Director International Affairs, Derechos Digitales
- claudio@derechosdigitales.org
- Neeru Paharia (San Francisco)
- Assistant Director, Creative Commons
- neeru@creativecommons.org
- Christiane Asschenfeldt (Berlin)
- iCommons Executive Director, iCommons
- christiane@creativecommons.org
Press Kit here
No Comments »CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSES OFFERED IN ISRAEL
Silicon-Valley-based NGO reinforces its activities around the globe and introduces its innovative copyright licenses in Israel
San Francisco, CA, USA and Berlin, GERMANY — June 9, 2005 — Creative Commons, a nonprofit organization that provides an alternative to full copyright, today unveils a localized version of its innovative licensing system in Israel.
Creative Commons’ copyright licenses, which are available free of charge from the group’s website, allow authors and artists to mark their works as free to copy or transform under certain conditions—to declare “some rights reserved,” in contrast to the traditional “all rights reserved”—thereby enabling others to access a growing pool of raw materials without legal friction.
With Israel introducing a Creative Commons license tailored for the specifics of the legal system in Israel, the number of countries where Creative Commons’ tools and licenses are available rises to a total of 19. The organization already provides copyright licenses specific to Australian, Austrian, Brazilian, Belgian, Canadian, Croatian, Dutch, English & Welsh, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, U.S., Taiwanese and Spanish law, thanks to a global network of artists, lawyers, and technologists.
Staff at Creative Commons´offices in San Francisco and Berlin worked with Dr. Michael Birnhack, co-director of the Haifa Center of Law & Technology (HCTL) and Project Leads Elad Wieder and Ohad Mayblum of the HCTL to adapt the standardized licenses for use in Israel.
Today the licenses will be launched during a ceremony at the HCLT in the Faculty of Law, University of Haifa. As part of the event at the Hecht Auditorium, Professor Lawrence Lessig, Chairman & CEO of Creative Commons will give a live video-conference lecture. In addition, a variety of works by Israeli artists that are using Creative Commons licenses will be exhibited – a body of creative work free to share and build upon. “ We are very honored and excited to be collaborating with the Haifa Center of Law & Technology. Being able to offer our licenses in Israel, a country of great creativity and dynamism means a lot to our organization” said Professor Lawrence Lessig.
About The Haifa Center of Law & Technology
The Haifa Center of Law & Technology (HCLT) is a research center based at the Faculty of Law, University of Haifa, Israel. The HCLT promotes research in fields of Law & Technology, Intellectual Property, Information Law and related areas. The HCLT’s activities date back to 1999, and in 2003 it was approved as a University Center by the Haifa University authorities. HCLT conducts workshops and conferences, awards fellowships and holds writing competitions for students. HCLT cooperates with several leading institutions in Israel and elsewhere, including George Washington University Law School, WIPO, The Center of the Study of the Information Society and other institutions.
For general information, visit HCLT’s website
About Creative Commons
A nonprofit corporation founded in 2001, Creative Commons promotes the creative re-use of intellectual and artistic works—whether owned or in the public domain—by empowering authors and audiences. It is sustained by the generous support of the Center for the Public Domain, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Omidyar Network Fund, and the Hewlett Foundation.
For general information, visit Creative Commons’ website
Contact
Elad Wieder (Haifa)
Coordinator, Haifa Center of Law & Technology
Email
Neeru Paharia (San Francisco)
Executive Director, Creative Commons
Email
Leaders in Intellectual Property and Open Content from All Corners of the Globe Participating in Inaugural International Creative Commons Conference
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA—June 24, 2005
Creative Commons, a nonprofit organization that provides flexible
copyright licenses for authors and artists, is holding a conference
at Harvard Law School over the coming weekend of June 25 and 26,
2005, for all of its international collaboration partners, who are
responsible for the legal ‘porting’ of the Creative Commons
licenses and building community around the licenses.
Representatives from 37 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia,
Australia, Europe, and the Middle East will be coming together to
discuss a wide range of topics, including the experience of the
Creative Commons’ collaboration partners in ‘porting’ the Creative
Commons licenses in their local jurisdiction and their experience
in terms of the local adoption of the Creative Commons licenses. In
addition, the conference will serve as a forum to discuss global
issues faced by Creative Commons and its collaboration partners
including moral rights and collecting societies.
Creative Commons began its internationalization project in 2003. To
date, Creative Commons licenses are available in 20 different
jurisdictions with another 11 jurisdictions actively in the process
of ‘porting.’ Porting involves translating the licenses
linguistically as well as legally so that the licenses are
customized for the requirements of the specific jurisdiction. In
total, Creative Commons is in talks with representatives from 70
different jurisdictions.
Christiane Asschenfeldt, Executive Director of iCommons, Creative
Commons’ legal porting project, said: “After two years of online
collaboration it will be great for all of us to eventually meet in
person to discuss the issues facing Creative Commons and our
experiences in implementing the licenses.”
Executive Director of Creative Commons’ international community
building project, Paula Le Dieu said: “This event marks the start
of Creative Commons as a truly international organization as it
gathers together for the first time the incredible group of people
that have been responsible for the growth and success of Creative
Commons as a global phenomenon.“
About Creative Commons
A nonprofit corporation founded in 2001, Creative Commons promotes
the creative re-use of intellectual and artistic works—whether
owned or in the public domain—by empowering authors and audiences.
It is sustained by the generous support of the Center for the
Public Domain, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,
the Omidyar Network Fund, and the Hewlett Foundation.
For general information, visit Creative Commons
Contact
- Christiane Asschenfeldt (Berlin)
- christiane@creativecommons.org
- Paula Le Dieu (London)
- paula@creativecommons.org
Press Kit here
No Comments »‘Leaders of the Free World’ finally able to sing “Happy Birthday to You” to the Free Culture Movement after rights to song cleared
San Francisco, USA, June 21, 2005:
Creative Commons, a nonprofit organization that provides flexible
copyright licenses for authors and artists, released today its long-
awaited present to the Free Culture Movement, represented primarily
by FreeCulture.org, which celebrated its first birthday on April 23,
2005. The present is a recording of “Happy Birthday to You” by some
of the ‘leaders of the free world’–meaning some of the leaders in the
free culture, free software and open source software movements. The
present is now offered to the world from Creative Commons’ site in
exchange for donations to pay the licensing fees of 8.5 cents per
download, with the rest of the donations going to support the Free
Culture Movement.
The Free Culture Movement was formed at Swarthmore College,
Swarthmore, PA, by more than 100 students. These students were
organized by a group who sued Diebold and won, after Diebold sent a
cease and desist letter to the Swarthmore university administrator
alleging violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Faced
with such grave accusations, the university administrator shut down
the students’ website–that is, until they won the right to have it
reinstated. A year later, there are nine chapters across the country,
and more brewing around the world.
In keeping with tradition, Creative Commons wanted to sing “Happy
Birthday” to the Free Culture Movement and help the Free Culture
Movement on its way with donations by those supportive of its cause.
Because “Happy Birthday” is still under copyright, however, to do so,
Creative Commons needed to get a license.
The American Composers, Authors and Publishers directed Creative
Commons–because it wished to only make a single download–to Warner
Chappell Music. Warner, after discussing license terms and quoting an
applicable license fee, refused to grant a license and directed
Creative Commons to Harry Fox. Finally, through Harry Fox, Creative
Commons was able to obtain a license and sing “Happy Birthday” in
public to the Free Culture Movement, somewhat belatedly given the
delay in securing the necessary rights.
The song is now available for download and donations are welcome to
help cover the licensing fees and to assist the Free Culture Movement
click here. Performing the
song are the designated ‘leaders of the free world’–The Staff of
EFF”, Mitch Kapor, Dan Gillmor, Brian Behlendorf, Ian Clarke, Jimmy
Wales, Brewster Kahle, and Gigi Sohn.
About Creative Commons
A nonprofit corporation founded in 2001, Creative Commons promotes
the creative re-use of intellectual and artistic works–whether owned
or in the public domain–by empowering authors and audiences. It is
sustained by the generous support of the Center for the Public
Domain, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the
Omidyar Network Fund, and the Hewlett Foundation.
For general information, visit here
Contact
- Neeru Paharia
- Executive Director, Creative Commons
- neeru at creativecommons.org
- 415.946.3068
Press Kit here
No Comments »openDemocracy’s Global Network of Writers Adopts Creative Commons Licenses
San Francisco, USA & London, UK – June 14, 2005>
Creative Commons, a nonprofit organization that provides flexible
copyright licenses for authors and artists, and openDemocracy.net, an
independent online magazine for debate about global politics, today unveiled a new
partnership to bring works by the world’s leading scholars and writers into the
global commons.
openDemocracy.net is the first online publisher of its size and caliber to adopt
Creative Commons licensing. Starting today, members of the public will be free to
republish most articles on the openDemocracy.net site in any non-commercial publication in
the world. “This move embodies the democratic values we champion,” says openDemocracy’s
editor Isabel Hilton.
Since 2001 openDemocracy.net has published more than 2,600 articles by
writers from around the world on issues relating to democracy, politics and
culture. Contributors include scholars, journalists, policymakers and
politicians. openDemocracy.net today released the work of 150 existing authors
under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. All
future authors will be encouraged to publish their work under this new default
license, although they will also be free to opt for traditional “All rights
reserved” level of copyright, or an even more permissive Creative Commons
license instead.
Chairman & CEO of Creative Commons, Lawrence Lessig, said “It is exciting
that the important content published in openDemocracy will be able
to freely circulate around the globe and assist in spreading the ideas and
arguments of its contributors. Creative Commons is honored that openDemocracy
felt that Creative Commons licenses were suitable for this purpose.”
About openDemocracy.net
openDemocracy was founded in London in 2001. Its authors span the
globe, and include some of the most respected writers and scholars from across
the political spectrum. Past contributors include Todd Gitlin, Mary
Kaldor, Kofi Annan, Anne-Marie Slaughter, John le Carré, Ian McEwan, and Siva
Vaidhyanathan. Visit: opendemocracy
About Creative Commons
A nonprofit corporation founded in 2001, Creative Commons promotes the
creative re-use of intellectual and artistic works—whether owned or
in the public domain—by empowering authors and audiences. It is sustained
by the generous support of the Center for the Public Domain, the John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Omidyar Network Fund, and the Hewlett Foundation.
For general information, visit Creative Commons
Contact
Solana Larsen, openDemocracy New York Editor +1 646 220-1459
solana.larsen@openDemocracy.net
Neeru Paharia, Creative Commons Executive Director +1 415 946-3068
neeru@creativecommons.org
Press Kit: here
No Comments »Creative Commons and Science Commons Announce Open Access Law Program
Creative Commons and Science Commons Announce Open Access Law Program
San Francisco & Boston, USA — June 6, 2005
Creative Commons, a nonprofit organization that provides flexible
copyright licenses for authors and artists, and Science Commons, a
project of Creative Commons that works to encourage sharing of
scientific and academic knowledge, today unveiled their Open Access
Law Program. The Program is designed to make legal scholarship
“open access,” that is freely available online to everyone,
without undue copyright and licensing restrictions. The Open Access
Law Program is an initiative of the Science Commons Publishing
Project, which seeks to reduce the legal and logistical effort
involved in managing copyrighted scholarly publications.
As part of their Open Access Law Program, Creative Commons and
Science Commons are working with a large number of law journals to
encourage the open access archiving of the articles that they
publish. Science Commons has created a set of resources to promote
open access in legal publishing, including its Open Access Law
Journal Principles and an Open Access Law Model Publication
Agreement. The Principles and the Agreement encourage open access
to legal scholarship, by encouraging law journals to post their
published articles to the Internet, or allowing authors to do so.
They protect the basic interests of both journal and author by
ensuring that the journal is given a license to use the work, and
is always attributed as the place of first publication. Law
journals can adopt the Open Access Principles or can develop their
own policies consistent with the Principles. Journals can also
adopt the Science Commons Open Access Law Model Publication
Agreement as their standard agreement with all authors. Both
documents are available at the Science Commons’ Open Access Law
webpage
Staff at Science Commons’ offices in Boston worked with program
leads Professor Dan Hunter of the Wharton School, University of
Pennsylvania and Professor Mike Carroll of Villanova Law School,
who serves on the Board of Creative Commons, to produce the
Principles and the Agreement.
Professor Hunter said “Open access to law articles is an idea
whose time has come. All of the players in US scholarly legal
journal publishing have an interest in the widest possible audience
for their material. The authors benefit, the journals benefit, and
law schools benefit. And more importantly, the public benefits.
Everyone walks away a winner.”
Already 21 law reviews have adopted the Open Access Principles, or
have policies that are consistent with them. Leading journals such
as Animal Law, Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, Indiana Law
Journal, Lewis & Clark Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Michigan
State Law Review, New York Law School Law Review, Texas Law Review,
Vanderbilt Law Review, and Wayne Law Review have signed on, as have
all of the journals published by Duke Law School and Villanova Law
School.
Heidi Bond, the Executive Articles Editor of the Michigan Law
Review, one of the first journals to have policies consistent with
the Principles, said “Law reviews do not need to demand ownership
of their author’s manuscripts. We think our publication policies
should contribute to the free exchange of ideas among legal
academics. Open access policies make for happier authors and better
scholarship. After all, law review articles are like software:
they’re best when they’re free for others to learn from and build
on.”
Creative Commons became involved in supporting open access to law
scholarship through Professor Lawrence Lessig, Stanford Law
professor and Chair of Creative Commons. In March this year he
signed away his copyright in an article to a law review and vowed
never to do it again. He has since thrown his weight behind efforts
to make legal scholarship open to all. Professor Lessig said “When
I drew my line in the sand, I knew of only one journal that was
open access. Today there are at least 21. I’m not sure that more
law review articles by me is a benefit to society, but at least
there are journals where I can publish and know that everyone can
read my work online, for free.”
Professor Lessig is the first signatory on the Open Access Law
Author Pledge, where law professors can agree to support open
access principles. This support includes encouraging journals to
become open access and promising to publish only in journals that
are open access.
Through its Open Access Law Program, Science Commons will work with
law schools, authors, libraries and journals to encourage open
access to legal journals and articles, and plans to expand the
Program into other areas of law publishing. Although the program’s
initial focus is on legal publishing in the United States, Science
Commons is also supporting international efforts to make legal
material freely available to all.
About Creative Commons
A nonprofit corporation founded in 2001, Creative Commons promotes
the creative re-use of intellectual and artistic works—whether
owned or in the public domain—by empowering authors and audiences.
It is sustained by the generous support of the Center for the
Public Domain, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,
the Omidyar Network Fund, and the Hewlett Foundation.
For general information, visit here
About Science Commons
Science Commons is a project of the nonprofit corporation Creative
Commons that works to ease unnecessary legal and logistical
barriers to the flow of scientific and academic knowledge. It was
launched in 2005 with the generous support of the HighQ Foundation
and Creative Commons. Science Commons is housed at and receives
generous support from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
where Science Commons shares space, staff, and inspiration with the
Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
For general information, visit Science Commons
Contact
- Dan Hunter
- Assistant Professor of Legal Studies, Wharton School, University of
- hunterd@wharton.upenn.edu
- John Wilbanks
- Executive Director, Science Commons
- wilbanks@creativecommons.org
Press Kit
No Comments »CREATIVE COMMONS COPYRIGHT LICENSES LAUNCH IN SOUTH AFRICA
San Francisco, USA, and Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA, June 1, 2005 –
Creative Commons, a non-profit organization that offers free copyright
licenses and tools to creators to make their works available on more
flexible terms, unveiled a localized version of its innovative
licensing system in South Africa last week.
With South Africa offering Creative Commons licenses tailored for the
specifics of the legal system in South Africa, Creative Commons
licenses and tools are now available a total of 18 jurisdictions. The
organization already provides copyright licenses specific to
Australian, Austrian, Brazilian, Belgian, Canadian, Croatian, Dutch,
English & Welsh, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish,
U.S., Taiwanese and Spanish law, thanks to a global network of
artists, lawyers, and technologists.
Staff at Creative Common’s offices in San Francisco and Berlin worked
with Project Leads Heather Ford and Andrew Rens as well as the LINK
Centre at the University of Witwatersrand to adapt the standardized
licenses for use in South Africa. Heather Ford is a former Reuters’
fellow at Stanford Law School and the director of the Creative Commons
South Africa project. Heather has already built an energetic creative
community in South Africa around the Creative Commons licenses.
Andrew Rens is a South African attorney, who previously taught both
intellectual property and information and communications technology
law at the University of the Witwatersrand, and led the license
drafting process.
The launch of the South African Creative Commons licenses occurred in
conjunction with a conference sponsored by the LINK Centre entitled
“Commons Sense: Towards an African Digital Information Commons.”
Project leads from Creative Commons Brazil, Ronaldo Lemos, and
Creative Commons India, Lawrence Liang, presented on the topic of
“Open Content for the Developing World.” Creative Commons CEO &
Chairman, Lawrence Lessig also presented at the conference on the
topic of the “Global Momentum towards the Commons.”
“South Africa, along with Brazil, will prove to be the one of the most
important opportunities for the spread of Creative Commons,” said
Lawrence Lessig of the South African launch, “Already the energy and
awareness is far beyond anything we could have expected.”
About the LINK Centre:
The LINK Centre is the leading research and training body in the field
of information and communications technology (ICT) policy, regulation
and management in Southern Africa.
LINK focuses on capacity building in the public sector and development
arenas through quality training, applied research and consultancy
services necessary to maximize the benefits of the Information Society
and the Knowledge Economy. In addition to hosting the South African
chapter of Creative Commons, LINK is a founding partner in Research
ICT Africa!
For general information, visit here
For information about Creative Commons, South Africa, visit
here
About Creative Commons:
A nonprofit corporation founded in 2001, Creative Commons promotes the
creative re-use of intellectual and artistic works — whether owned or
in the public domain — by empowering authors and audiences. It is
sustained by the generous support of the Center for the Public Domain,
the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Omidyar Network
Fund, and the Hewlett Foundation.
For general information, visit Creative Commons
Contacts:
- Andrew Rens (San Francisco)
- Legal Lead
- Creative Commons, South Africa
- andrewrens@yahoo.com
- Heather Ford (Johannesburg)
- Director
- Creative Commons, South Africa
- heather@creativecommons.org
- Neeru Paharia (San Francisco)
- Executive Director
- Creative Commons
- neeru@creativecommons.org
- Christiane Asschenfeldt (Berlin)
- Executive Director
- iCommons
- christiane@creativecommons.org
Press Kit here
No Comments »Creative Commons Content Sought for Innovative New Pilot of Mobile Television in Finland
San Francisco, USA, and Helsinki, Finland – May 19, 2005 – Creative Commons, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building a body of creative works free to share and build upon, announced today that Creative Commons licensed content is being sought as part of a pilot of an innovative new content service – mobile television.
The pilot is being conducted in Finland, a country renowned for its leading mobile technology innovation. Several Finnish companies, including Nokia and Elisa Oyj are participating in the trial with the support of Finnish authorities. The trial pilots IP Datacasting over DVB-H, which uses mobile broadcasting technology to deliver TV-like services to mobile devices. The aim of the pilot is to test mobile TV services and consumer experiences, as well as the underlying technology, with 500 users in the Helsinki capital region.
As part of the pilot, the Finnish experimental mobile television channel IndicaTV is seeking Creative Commons’ licensed video content. Initially, IndicaTV will be linking to Creative Commons licensed content that is submitted at an Internet archive site. From June 1, 2005, IndiciaTV will then select content that is submitted to the site and is of a high quality and suitable for the small screen, for broadcast via its mobile TV service. The pilot will run until June 20, 2005.
“The Nokia platform could inspire a different kind of television.” said Stanford Law Professor and Creative Commons Chairman Lawrence Lessig. “The Web is filled with content producers who are willing to share their work with the world. Creative Commons provides the tools to let people know it.”
Jonas Kronlund, project manager and representative of Elisa, one of the companies participating in the trial, explained the advantages of using Creative Commons licensed content on mobile television: “We are exited about using Creative Commons content because of the flexibility offered by Creative Commons licenses. People can instantaneously download Creative Commons licensed programs to their phone after they see it on mobile TV and share that content with their friends legally.”
Justin Cone, who created the winning entry “Building on Past” to
Creative Commons’ Moving Image contest, has already submitted his video to be used in the pilot. The Moving Image contest was held by Creative Commons in 2003 and invited people to remix content to produce a 2-minute video that explained Creative Commons’ mission. “Building on the Past” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.
Creators who have applied a Creative Commons license to their video or those who are interested in doing so in order to participate in the pilot can find more information about how to submit their content here
About the Mobile Television Pilot
On 8 March 2005, Digita, Elisa, MTV, Nelonen, Nokia, TeliaSonera and YLE (the Finnish Broadcasting Company) started a unique mobile TV pilot in Finland.
Selected from TeliaSonera and Elisa mobile phone customers, the test users are able to view real-time TV and radio programs on a Nokia 7710 smartphone equipped with a special accessory to receive mobile TV broadcasts. The Nokia smartphone also enables direct links to the Internet for access to background information on TV programs or sports results. Test users have access to MTV, YLE and Nelonen programs as well as international theme channels such as CNN, BBC World, Euronews, Eurosport, ViVa Plus and Fashion TV. The pilot continues until 20 June 2005.
Elisa and TeliaSonera are responsible for customer service, invoicing and connections to the new interactive supplementary services. Digita has designed and built the digital TV network needed for the distribution of mobile TV services and will manage the network, while Nokia will develop the mobile TV service management and smartphones that can receive mobile TV broadcasts.
For more information about the pilot, visit
this page.
About Elisa
Elisa is a provider of a variety of telecommunication services
including versatile voice and data services, connections to the
Internet and content services, telephony solutions, customized
communication and ICT solutions, international communication solutions
and network operator services. Elisa is one of the pioneer companies
in mobile communication. In 1991 the world’s first GSM phone call was made on Elisa’s network.
- Contact
- Jonas Kronlund (Helsinki)
- Project Manager
- jonas.kronlund@elisa.fi
About Creative Commons
A non-profit founded in 2001, Creative Commons promotes the creative
re-use of intellectual and artistic works – whether owned or in the
public domain – by empowering artists and audiences. It is sustained
by the generous support of the Center for the Public Domain, the John
D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Omidyar Network Fund and
the Hewlett Foundation.
For general information, visit
Creative Commons
- Contact
- Neeru Paharia (San Francisco)
- Executive Director, Creative Commons
- neeru@creativecommons.org
- Herkko Hietanen (San Francisco)
- Creative Commons Finland Project Lead
- herkko.hietanen@hiit.fi
Creative Commons and Magnatune Announce Lisa DeBenedictis Remix Contest -– Winners to Receive Magnatune Recording Contract
Be creative, be open, and give it your best shot. “Let your imagination run wild and get creative,” is the slogan from Magnatune and Creative Commons on their latest venture. Online record label Magnatune and non-profit creative licensing organization Creative Commons announce that they will co-host a digital music remix contest beginning in May of 2005 and will begin accepting entries on June 15, 2005. The contest will be hosted at ccMixter and features the music of Magnatune rock artist Lisa DeBenedictis, who will voluntarily have her work sliced, diced and mixed by contestants. Music samples and contest rules are currently posted at ccMixter, which will begin accepting remix submissions as of May 13, 2005. Among the prizes for the remix contest is the opportunity for the winner to appear on the Lisa DeBenedictis Remix Compilation album and be eligible for an assortment of cash prizes.
“Remixed music is an exciting new kind of musical art form emerging in the open environment of internet file sharing,” said Magnatune founder and CEO, John Buckman. “Anyone with a creative urge can take existing music tracks and change them into something completely new and different. “This kind of event helps artists to stretch their limits and gain access to a wider variety of great music” explained Magnatune founder and CEO, John Buckman “ and we expect some really fantastic remix arrangements to come out of the contest.”
Contest entrants will have the opportunity to use Magnatune music to create their own remix compositions and submit their best works. Music samples will be posted on the CCMixter Web site beginning in mid-May. The contest will officially open on May 16 and will begin accepting entries, through July 31, 2005. More details regarding contest rules are available at ccMixter.
Lisa DeBenedictis is one of Magnatune’s more than 175 artists who enjoys 50-50 profit splitting and full rights to her music. A “one-woman operation,” she plays a variety of instruments including piano, guitar, keyboard, violin, oboe and mandolin. DeBenedictis is the sole writer, performer and producer of all her music. Her songs have been described as ethereal, fresh and original, earning her the comparisons other well-known female soloists including Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan. Prior to going solo, DeBenedictis performed in a rock duo called “Ring of Nine” and California Avant Rock duo “DirtyDirtyRockStar.” In addition to writing songs, Lisa composes instrumental music for film.
The concept of “open source” file-sharing originated in the computer software world, and has moved into music. Individual tracks, a drum or bass line within a recording, can be taken and remixed with other tracks to create a completely new composition. Other musicians can then modify, improve or add to the “source” without worrying about obtaining permission from the original artists. Unlike other illegal music remix contests where an artist’s work has been taken and sold without the artist’s permission, Magnatune and Creative Commons have partnered with Lisa DeBenedictis for this effort. Contest participants will be allowed to freely copy selected Magnatune music to produce their works.
Fellow Magnatune recording artist and CC Mixter contest manager Victor Stone, of the group “Four Stones,” has been remixing music for several years. “It is incredibly fun and inspiring to be able to use the best music and make it your own,” said Stone. “It makes remixing a natural extension of what composers have been doing for thousands of years.”
Producers often work for months to build their multi-layered remix compositions. Remix tracks can be highly sophisticated with limitless musical sound samples and layers.
Magnatune music is available for sharing through use of Creative Commons licensing. The Creative Commons license allows for free sharing and building upon existing works, be it musical, written, or images. “We have been using the Creative Commons copyright licensing very successfully,” reports Magnatune’s founder and CEO,said John Buckman. “Through open-source licensing we are able to offer a fair deal to our customers and musicians.” Unusual in the music industry, Magnatune splits profits from album sales with the artists and allows them to keep the rights to their music.
About Creative Commons
A nonprofit founded in early 2002, Creative Commons promotes the creative re-use of intellectual and artistic works—whether owned or in the public domain—by empowering authors and audiences. It is sustained by the generous support of the Center for the Public Domain, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Omidyar Network, and the Hewlett Foundation. For more information, visit Creative Commons’ website or contact Neeru Paharia at neeru@creativecommons.org.
About Magnatune
Founded in 2003, Magnatune is an independent, online record label that hand selects its own artists, sells its catalog of music through online downloads and print-on-demand CDs and licenses music for commercial and non-commercial use. Based on the principle that “we are not evil,” the company offers fair-trade music to consumers by equally sharing all revenue from the sale of albums with artists and allowing artists to retain full rights to their music. All music can be previewed free of charge with a “try before you buy” philosophy. Customers can also choose how much they want to pay for the music with pricing ranging from $5-18 for a downloadable album or print-on-demand CD. Magnatune is a music business where everybody wins. For further information, please visit the Magnatune website or contact Teresa Malango at tmalango@magnatune.com or 510.289.3781.
