Version 4.0 — CC License draft ready for public comment!

We are pleased to post for public comment the first discussion draft of version 4.0. This draft is the product of an extended (and unprecedented) requirements gathering period involving input from CC affiliates, community and stakeholders. Thanks to all of you who contributed your valuable time and energy in the policy discussions and drafting sessions in support of this draft. We crafted this first draft (v4.0d1) mindful of the overarching design goals first articulated at the 2011 Global Summit:

• Producing a 4.0 suite that addresses pressing challenges of important adopters, including those in countries where localized version of CC licenses have not existed, and never may, for any number of reasons;
• Maximizing interoperability, reducing license proliferation and promoting standardization where possible; and
• Longevity and ease of use.

Read more.

Still from ARTHUR C CLARKE PREDICTS THE INTERNET
provided by Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
CC BY-SA

Australian Broadcasting Corporation releases archival news footage under CC BY-SA

CC Australia has announced that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia’s largest public broadcaster and news service, has used Wikimedia Commons to release a selection of historically significant television news stories under CC BY-SA. While other news broadcasters are also making material available under CC licenses, what makes this project significant is that the news segments that have been released aren’t obscure archival material or raw footage, but rather polished stories broadcast by some of the ABC’s premier current affairs programs about major events in Australian history. It includes, for example, news reports on the Apollo 11 moon landings, the Azaria Chamberlain case, and the floating of the Australian currency. Not to mention this 1974 footage of Arthur C. Clarke predicting the internet, with uncanny accuracy. Read more.

National Libraries of Spain and Germany, and Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt Museum open up their data using CC0

CC0 has been getting lots of love in the last couple months in the realm of data, specifically GLAM data (GLAM as in Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums). The national libraries of Spain and Germany have released their bibliographic data using the CC0 public domain dedication tool. For those of you who don’t know what that means, it means that the libraries have waived all copyrights to the extent possible in their jurisdictions, placing the data effectively into the public domain. Relatedly, the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt Museum, a major design museum in New York, has released the collection data for 60% of its documented collection into the public domain, also using CC0. Read more.

• We are hiring for a variety of positions, including Regional Project Managers for Africa and the Asia-Pacific, community support interns, Counsel, Communications Manager, and a Senior Accountant. See all of the awesome opportunities to work with Creative Commons!

• We re-launched CC Canada and established a new team for CC Argentina.

• In more CC data news, we are pleased to announce that the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research has developed an open data portal under CC BY.

• The deadline for the Why Open Education Matters video competition is June 5, 2012. Enter now for a chance to be the voice of open education and win $25,000.

• GoodSemester, a new learning platform geared toward academic productivity, enabled note sharing, copying and remixing under CC BY-SA.

• In related open educational resources (OER) news, the OER university will provide free learning with formal academic credit — thanks to Creative Commons!

• Lastly, we urge you to check out our revised CC education page, and contribute to the OER policy registry we are working hard to create. This registry will be a place for policymakers and open advocates to easily share and update OER legislation, OER institutional policies, and supporting OER policy resources.