In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Creative Commons published an article titled, “Now Is the Time for Open Access Policies—Here’s Why” in March 2020. A lot has changed since then and it’s important to assess the progress made and take a hard look at the dangers ahead. In this panel, we’ll examine the fields of…

In two days, the Smithsonian will celebrate one year of Smithsonian Open Access. This initiative removed copyright restrictions from 2.8 million digital collection 2D and 3D images and nearly two centuries of data using Creative Commons’ public domain dedication tool (CC0). Launched just before many of us went into lockdown due to COVID-19, Smithsonian Open…

Today we’re excited to launch a new podcast called Open Minds … from Creative Commons. It’s CC’s 20th anniversary this year. And to celebrate, we decided to launch this show, a series of conversations with people working on the issues we’re involved with and excited about. Expect Open Minds to feature folks from the worlds of…

We’ve grown the CC Global Summit every year, with over 1300 participants and 200 presenters joining us in 2020 for discussion and debate, workshops and planning, talks and community building. After consulting with our community, we’re excited to build on the success of last year’s virtual event and host the second-ever virtual CC Global Summit…

After introducing the CC Italy Chapter to you in July, the CC Netherlands Chapter in August, CC Bangladesh Chapter in September, CC Tanzania Chapter in October, and the CC India Chapter in November, the CC Mexico Chapter in December, and CC Argentina Chapter in January, we are now travelling to Africa to introduce the CC…

There is a quiet, familiar beauty found in still life, a type of art that depicts primarily inanimate objects, like animals, food, or flowers. These comforting images offer a sense of certainty and simplicity in uncertain and complex times. This could explain why over six million Instagram users have fallen in love with still life…

"St. Valentine's Day - The Old Story in All Lands (1868)" by Harper & Bros. Cooper Hewitt (CC0)

February is the time to share virtual hugs, chocolates, and witty cards with family and friends for Valentine’s Day ♥️ (or “Friend’s Day” in Finland!)  This Valentine’s Day, we want you to share something a little different: your creative work.  In our Open Sharing is Caring challenge, we’re asking you to openly share an image, song, artwork, research paper, poem, GIF…whatever it…

In 2017, the structure of the Creative Commons Global Network (CCGN) was finalized. After two years of implementing structural changes flowing from this, it felt timely to have a conversation with CCGN members. We wanted to gather feedback and carry out research on the perspectives of network members, at a specific point in time. What…

Illustration from the book "Songs, naval and national" by Thomas Dibdin, published in London, England in 1841.

Until recently, I had never heard of the sea shanty “The Wellerman”. My sea shanty repertoire consisted of “What can you do with a drunken sailor” to sea-songs on the soundtrack of Master and Commander. However, Nathan Evans, a fellow Scot who hails, like me, from North Lanarkshire, has changed all of this. His rendition…

We are happy to introduce CC Belgium—the new CC Chapter in the heart of Europe. We have been running as an informal chapter for more than 10 years with different people as Chapter Leads. For several years, a team led by Severine Dussolier from CRID at the University of Namur, stewarded the translations of the…