Creative Commons kicks off its global case studies effort. Share your story. Discover new works and new models.

With upwards of 150 million CC-licensed works published from every corner of the world, no single use case can tell the whole story. Creators and users come to CC for different reasons, and for many, CC solves different problems. We’re trying to capture the diversity of CC creators and content by building a resource that inspires new works and informs free culture.

Creative Commons Case Studies 2009 kicks off today – and we want to hear your story! We’re collecting cases big and small on our re-launched Case Studies wiki, an online portal to upload and discover documentation about CC-licensed projects.

The top community curated stories will be featured on our website and in the next printed volume of Creative Commons Case Studies. You’ll also collaborate with our CEO, Joi Ito, whose doctoral work focuses on select case studies about CC and the sharing economy.

How to get involved

• Visit the Case Studies wiki and learn about how people are using CC licenses around the world. Browse existing studies and download Building an Australasian Commons: Creative Commons Case Studies Volume I, a stunning publication edited by Rachel Cobcroft and supported by CC Australia. The book highlights 60 exemplary CC-licensed users in Australasia and worldwide. Source files and PDFs are available for the entire book and easily digestible booklets covering particular fields.
• Curate a collection of case studies with PediaPress, a service that builds an OpenOffice document, PDF, or printed book from selected wiki pages. Publish your collection on a site that supports CC licenses such as Scribd. Tailor the material to meet your needs and add your entry to list of case study collections.
• Teach with real-life examples. We’re encouraging educators to follow CC Australia’s lead and integrate the CC Case Studies into their curricula. Teaching with case studies is compelling and instructive. Have your students analyze existing studies or write their own.
• Most importantly, add your CC story, or one you’re familiar with. Improve, categorize, and assess existing case studies. We’re particularly interested in the addition of data relevant to the cases.

Not sure what a good case study looks like? Check out these featured submissions: Blender Foundation, SomeRightsReserved, and the African Sleeping Sickness Test.

Whether you’re looking for inspiration, business models, or precedents, the CC Case Studies are a perfect place to start. Help us expand this resource by sharing your work and telling your story.