We are thrilled to announce that Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects have now adopted version 4.0 of the Creative Commons BY-SA license! The project first began using version 3.0 of the CC licenses in 2009 following a community process, having previously used the GNU Free Documentation License. This decision, made as part of a Terms…

Yesterday, China blocked the ad-hoc accreditation of the Wikimedia chapters of France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Sweden, and Switzerland as official observers to the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Previously, China rejected the Wikimedia Foundation’s application for observer status to this UN agency. The WIPO SCCR…

Yesterday, we were disappointed to learn that the Wikimedia Foundation’s application for observer status at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) was blocked due to opposition by China for the second time after its initial application in 2020. Creative Commons has been an accredited observer at WIPO since 2005. WIPO is the UN agency that…

One of our roles at Creative Commons involves influencing policy making at the international level. This is a role we can fulfill notably thanks to our permanent observer status with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the UN agency that shapes international intellectual property (IP) law. However, a few days ago, the Wikimedia Foundation’s application…

By ZMcCune (WMF) [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

Melody Kramer is a news and public media expert with a special gift for uplifting open knowledge and demonstrating the power of the Commons.

This week Wikipedia is urging users in Australia to tell their government representatives to champion fair use. The campaign, organised alongside Electronic Frontiers Australia and the Australian Digital Alliance, advocates for policy makers to update copyright law to include fair use, thus providing a progressive legal framework to support creators and remixers, educational activities, and…

In support of the #FreeBassel Day Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at the EFF, the Creative Commons Arab World will organize a virtual Arabic Wikipedia Edit-a-thon to translate and expand pages that cover topics of interest to him. Updating Arabic Creative Commons Wikipedia Page Updating Arabic Creative Commons Licenses Wikipedia Page Creating a Wikipedia Page about Copyright law…

Bassel / Joi Ito / CC BY Bassel Khartabil (also known as Bassel Safadi) is a computer engineer who, through his innovations in social media, digital education, and open-source web software, played a huge role in opening the Internet in Syria and bringing online access and knowledge to the Syrian people. Many people reading this blog…

WikiProject Open is an online School of Open training program for new and seasoned Wikipedia volunteers to collaborate on improving Wikipedia articles related to openness. The aim of the project is two-fold: in addition to improving Wikipedia articles related to openness (such as open access publishing and open educational resources), volunteers seek to improve Wikimedia…