Unit 2: Additional resources
2.1 Public domain
- ‘Copyright term and the public domain in the United States’ [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] by Cornell University Library Copyright Information Center (CC BY. 3.0): information on when resources fall into the public domain, depending on the circumstances under which they were written:
- Out of Copyright: Determining the Copyright Status of Works: a website to help determine the copyright status of a work and whether it has fallen into the public domain.
- The Public Domain Manifesto by Communia (GNU General Public License): a website with information about the public domain, the values of some of its supporters, and some recommendations on how to use the public domain.
- Center for the Study of Public Domain by Duke Law School: contains information and events regarding the public domain.
- Bound by Law by Keith Aoki, James Boyle, and Jennifer Jenkins (CC BY 2.5): a comic book about intellectual property law and the public domain.
- Public Domain Review: an online journal and not-for-profit project that showcases works which have entered the public domain. The journal is dedicated to the exploration of curious and compelling works from the history of art, literature, and ideas:
- ‘It’s time to protect the public domain’ by Wikimedia Foundation (CC BY 3.0): this blog post provides information on some of the important details of the public domain, its legal backing, and the public interest.
2.2 The story of Creative Commons
More information about CC history
- ‘How I lost the big one’ by Lawrence Lessig, where he describes the details of the Eldred case.
- An extract from Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig (CC BY-NC 1.0), which provides more background on the Eldred case.
2.3 Creative Commons today
More information about CC and open licensing
- ‘Why open education matters’ by David Blake @ Degreed (CC BY 3.0), a brief video that explains how open education is enabled by the internet, why it is valuable for the global community, and how Creative Commons licences enable open education.
- We copy like we breathe’ by Cory Doctorow, a keynote address that explains copying and how the internet has changed the space of copying. This frames the need for adequate licensing as we copy and share online
- ‘We need to talk about sharing’ by Ryan Merkley @ Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0): a brief discussion about the value of sharing, how sharing can improve communities, and how Creative Commons enables sharing.
More information about the commons
- ‘How does the commons work?’ by The Next System Project, adapted from Commoning as a Transformative Social Paradigm(CC BY 3.0): a video explaining how a commons works, adapted from economist David Bollier’s explanation of what a commons is, and threats to the commons.
- ‘The commons short and sweet’ by David Bollier (CC BY 3.0): a brief blog post explanation of a commons, some problems of a commons, and what enables a commons to occur.
- The Wealth of the Commons: A World Beyond Market and State by David Bollier and Silke Helfrich (CC BY-SA 3.0): a book that seeks many voices to gather descriptions of what types of resources exist in the commons, geographic circumstances relating to the commons, and the political relevance of the commons.
- ‘Enclosure’ (CC BY-SA 3.0): a Wikipedia article describing enclosure, which is an issue that presents itself in a commons.
- ‘The political economy of the commons’ by Yochai Benkler (CC BY 3.0): a brief article that explains how common infrastructure can sustain the commons.
- ‘Debunking the tragedy of the commons’ by On the Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0): a short article describing how the tragedy of the commons can be overcome.
- ‘Elinor Ostrom’s eight principles for managing a commons’ by On the Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0): a short history of economist Elinor Ostrom and the eight principles for managing a commons that she has established.
More information about other open movements
- Free Culture Game by Molle Industria (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0), a game to help understand the concept of free culture.