Legal Concepts
Read more about the fundamental concepts that inspire Creative Commons:the public domain,the commons,open content, andintellectual property conservancies.
The Public Domain
创造和创新依赖于前人丰富的知识积累。我们站在巨人的肩膀上，重新审视、重用和改造我们的同行和前辈的思想和作品。数字通信预示着这种合作创意活动的新爆发。但与此同时，扩大知识产权保护使越来越少的创作作品进入“公共领域”——即不受法律约束的创作材料主体，用最高法院法官路易斯·布兰代斯(Louis Brandeis)的话来说，“像空气一样自由地供大众使用”。
Until 1976, creative works were not protected by U.S. copyright law unless their authors took the trouble to publish a copyright notice along with them. Works not affixed with a notice passed into the public domain. Following legislative changes in 1976 and 1988, creative works are now automatically copyrighted. We believe that many people would not choose this “copyright by default” if they had an easy mechanism for turning their work over to the public or exercising some but not all of their legal rights.It is Creative Commons’ goal to help create such a mechanism.
Background on and examples of the value of the public domain
- “Cultivating the Public Domain,” Creative Commons White Paper.
- Conference on the Public Domain, Duke Law School (collected conference papers).
- “The Public Domain in Copyright LawEdward Samuels, 41 Journal of the Copyright Society 137(1993)。
- “The Public Domain in Genomics,” Rebecca A. Eisenberg (2000).
- “Making the Public Domain Public,” Robert A. Baron (revised Apr. 28, 2000).
Organizations that support the public domain
The public domain in the news
- “Other People’s Property,” Sarah Lai Stirland, Village Voice (Apr. 2002).
The Commons
与公共领域相关的是“公地”(commons)这一更为普遍的概念——资源没有被划分为个别的财产，而是共同拥有，以便任何人可以在没有特别许可的情况下使用它们。想想公共街道、公园、水道、外太空和公共领域的创意作品——所有这些东西在某种程度上都是公共的一部分。
The “tragedy of the commons” is the familiar notion that widespread public use of a commons leads to its inevitable depletion. But some resources, once created, cannot be depleted. In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine receives light without darkening me.” An idea is not diminished when more people use it. Creative Commons aspires to cultivate a commons in which people can feel free to reuse not only ideas, but also words, images, and music without asking permission — because permission has already been granted to everyone.
Background on the value of the commons
- “Public Assets, Private Profits,” David Bollier (2001).
- “Reclaiming the Commons:“是的!杂志(2001年夏季)。
- “Reclaiming a Commons,” Lawrence Lessig (May 1999).
Open Content
The free software and open source software communities have inspired what is sometimes called “open content.” Some copyright holders have made books, music, and other creative works available under licenses that give anyone permission to copy and make other uses of the works without specific permission or a royalty payment. Creative Commons hopes to build on the work of these pioneers by creating a menu of license provisions that people can combine to make their work available for copying and creative reuses.
Background
- “Open content,” Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
- “Why Open Content Matters,” Bryan Pfaffenberger, Linux Journal (Apr. 11, 2001).
- “Open Content伯克曼互联网与社会中心。
Licenses
Intellectual Property Conservancies
在我们帮助人们通过公共领域的奉献和慷慨的许可来提供他们的工作的同时，我们还将建立一个“知识产权保护协会”。与土地信托或自然保护区一样，保护委员会的作用是保护具有特殊公共价值的工程，使其免受私人独占的影响，以及防止因疏忽或技术变革而被淘汰。我们鼓励人们将自己的作品捐赠给知识共享，由公众托管;卡塔尔vs葡萄牙分析在某些情况下，我们可能会购买重要的作品，以帮助确保它们的完整性和广泛的可用性。我们的最终目标是在各种媒体上开发一个丰富的高质量作品库，并促进共享、公共教育和创造性互动的风气。
Background on intellectual property conservancies
- “Public Access to Digital Material,” Brewster Kahle, Rick Prelinger, and Mary E. Jackson (Mar. 5, 2001).
- “Intellectual Property Conservancies,” David Bearman, D-Lib Magazine (Dec. 2000).
- “May the Source Be With YouLawrence Lessig, Wired(2001年9月12日)。
