As part of our Open Culture Program, Creative Commons actively advocates for copyright reform that could enable cultural heritage institutions to fulfill their legitimate, public interest missions.
This includes continuing to advocate for the importance of keeping non-original reproductions of public domain works in the public domain, encouraging a purposeful policy discourse celebrating open culture as a positive affirmation of the importance of open access and sharing of cultural materials to the fullest extent possible, and engaging in conversations on the respectful and ethical use of culturally-sensitive materials.
Here are some of our resources:
- Creative Commons policy guide Towards Better Sharing of Cultural Heritage – A call to action to policymakers (December 2022). This publication offers a basis for a shared vision on better sharing and makes a call for five actions:
- ACTION 1: Protect the public domain from erosion
- ACTION 2: Reduce the term of copyright protection
- ACTION 3: Legally allow necessary activities of cultural heritage institutions
- ACTION 4: Shield cultural heritage institutions from liability
- ACTION 5: Ensure respect, equity, and inclusivity
- Creative Commons policy paper Towards better sharing of Cultural Heritage — An agenda for Copyright Reform (April 2022). This document summarizes the copyright-related improvement objectives for cultural heritage institutions and their users, in order to guide them to achieve better sharing of cultural heritage, i.e., sharing that is contextualized, ethical, inclusive, sustainable, purposeful and prosocial. Thanks to the support of Creative Commons community members, this document is also available in the following languages:
- Serbian | Towards Better Sharing of Cultural Heritage – An agenda for Copyright Reform- Ка бољој размени културног наслеђа — Агенда за реформу ауторских права – Serbian translation by Gordana Trumbić.
- Italian| Towards Better Sharing of Cultural Heritage – An agenda for Copyright Reform- Verso una migliore condivisione del patrimonio culturale – Un’agenda per la riforma del diritto d’autore – Italian translation by Marisa Badini, Deborah De Angelis, Michele De Iaco, Suzanna Marazza, Laura Sinigaglia.
- French | Towards Better Sharing of Cultural Heritage – An agenda for Copyright Reform- Vers un meilleur partage du patrimoine culturel – Un programme de réforme du droit d’auteur – French translation by Camille Françoise.
- Greek | Towards Better Sharing of Cultural Heritage – An agenda for Copyright Reform –Προς μία Καλύτερη Κοινή Χρήση της Πολιτιστικής Κληρονομιάς – Μια Ατζέντα για τη Μεταρρύθμιση των Πνευματικών Δικαιωμάτων – Greek translation by Vasiliki Psaridou.
- Hindi | Towards Better Sharing of Cultural Heritage – An agenda for Copyright Reform – सांस्कृतिक विरासत के बेहतर शेयरकरण की ओर — कॉपीराइट सुधार के लिए एक कार्यसूची — Hindi translation by Dr. Gireesh Kumar T.K.
- Portuguese | Towards Better Sharing of Cultural Heritage — An Agenda for Copyright Reform – Rumo a melhorias na partilha do Património Cultural – Uma Agenda para a Reforma do Direito de Autor – Portuguese Translation by Eduarda Carvalho, Pedro de Perdigão Lana, André P. Houang.
Disclaimer: The original English version is the authoritative version on which the above unofficial translations are based. Creative Commons does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the translations.
Are you interested in getting involved in the CC Open Culture Program? Join the Creative Commons Open Culture Platform by filling out our membership form and subscribe to our Open Culture mailing list to stay informed of upcoming opportunities!