Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
permission of anyone else” [136, p. 19-20]. Examples of the commons include public
streets, parks, beaches, the theory of relativity, and the works of Shakespeare. Lessig says
that “there is a benefit to resources held in common and the Internet is the best evidence
of that benefit....TheInternetformsan
innovation commons
” [136, p. 23]. The reason
Lessig calls the Internet an innovation commons is because its control is decentralized:
one person can introduce a new application or new content without getting anyone else's
permission.
Lessig joined with Hal Abelson, James Boyle, Eric Eldred, and Eric Saltzman to
found the nonprofit corporation Creative Commons in 2001. Creative Commons pro-
vides standard copyright licenses free of charge. Every license comes in three forms:
human-readable, lawyer-readable, and computer-readable. With a Creative Commons
license, you can retain the copyright while allowing some uses of your intellectual prop-
erty under certain circumstances. Because you have published the circumstances under
which your work may be used, others do not have to ask for permission before using
your work [135].
How does the system work? Suppose you have taken a photograph and wish to
post it on your Web site accompanied by a Creative Commons license. You visit the
Creative Commons Web site (
www.creativecommons.org)
, which allows you to choose
between six different licenses, depending upon your responses to two questions (quoted
verbatim):
.
Allow commercial uses of your work?
Ye s
No
.
Allow modifications of your work?
Ye s
Yes, as long as others share alike
No
After you answer these two questions, the Web site creates HTML code containing the
appropriate Creative Commons license. You can copy the HTML code and paste it into
the appropriate Web page along with your photograph. Visitors to your Web site will be
able to see a human-readable summary of the license you have chosen (Figure 4.14).
Commercial artists may choose to use Creative Commons licenses to increase ex-
posure to their work. For example, suppose you take a great photograph of the Golden
Gate Bridge. You post it on your Web site with a Creative Commons license indicating
the photograph may be used for noncommercial purposes as long as the user gives at-
tribution to you. People from around the world think the image is stunning, and they
copy it to their own personal Web sites, giving you credit for the photo. A travel agent
in a foreign country sees the image and wants to put it on a travel poster. Since this
is a commercial purpose, she must gain your permission before using the image. At
that time you can negotiate a fair price for its use. Without the widespread distribution
of the image through a Creative Commons license, the travel agent might never have
seen it.
