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Michael J. Fox Foundation

Community Training

22 April 2024

Shanna Hollich, Learning and Training Manager

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WHAT IS CREATIVE COMMONS?

CC is an international nonprofit organization that empowers people to grow and sustain the thriving commons of shared knowledge and culture we need to

address the world’s most pressing challenges

and

create a brighter future for all.

CC is a nonprofit organization that supports the infrastructure that makes the public commons possible in today’s digital environment. The public commons is essential to enable us to address the world’s most pressing challenges and to create a brighter future for all.

We’re here because we believe access and sharing of culture and knowledge are essential to sustain vibrant and thriving societies.
Creative Commons is a global non-profit organization that works toward equitable sharing of knowledge and culture in the public interest.
We built and steward the legal, open licenses that power millions of people’s unfettered access to creativity, culture, research, information, education and more. We know of over 2.5 billion CC licenses being used to date.
Creative Commons offers training, and engages in advocacy efforts around the world to support equitable, ethical, open sharing practices--we want to give you tools that might help you with some of your work.

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SOLVING THE WORLD’S BIGGEST PROBLEMS

If we want to solve the world’s most pressing problems, the knowledge & culture about them must be open.

Access to knowledge is the first necessary — though not sufficient — condition in solving big, complex problems, like the UN SDGs.

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What is your main goal for today’s training?

https://www.menti.com/altw212iozds

Menti.com code: 4496 8589

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Copyright

Lillie Le Dorre, from Wellington, New Zealand, with her precocious typing dog. Source material courtesy Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga.

Before understanding Creative Commons licenses, we need to understand a bit about copyright law.

Copyright is a type of intellectual property law.
Intellectual property is the term used for rights – established by law – that empower creators to restrict others from using their creative works.
Copyright was created during the era of the printing press as a way to incentivize authors to undertake the arduous, time intensive and expensive task of creating works for publishing. Authors (or creators) were given the right to copy….
Copyright grants a set of exclusive rights to copyright owners, which means that no one else can copy, distribute, perform, adapt or otherwise use the work without permission of the copyright holder.

Original work of creative expression, often “fixed” in tangible form (though not required in many countries)
Generally: automatic
Doesn’t apply to facts or ideas
Copyright protection lasts a long time. In most countries, the term of an individual’s copyright expires 50 years after death (Berne convention). Though the duration of protection varies based on:

Type of work
Co-authored works
Orphaned works

Copyright protections also vary based on the laws in the country of USE.

In Mexico, for example, it’s LOA +100 years.

It is important to understand who controls the exclusive rights granted by copyright in order to understand who has authority to grant permissions to others to reuse the work (e.g., adding a CC license to the work). Note: work-for-hire not really a thing in Canada.Quick overview of the Global Copyright System:
Every country has its own copyright laws, but over the years there has been extensive global harmonization of copyright laws through treaties and multilateral and bilateral trade agreements. These treaties and agreements establish minimum standards for all participating countries, which then enact or conform their own laws to the agreed-upon limits. This system leaves room for local variation.
These treaties and agreements are negotiated in various fora: the World Intellectual Property Organization (known as “WIPO”), the World Trade Organization (known as the WTO), and in private negotiations between select countries.
One of the most significant international agreements is the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Today, more than 180 countries have signed the Berne Convention.

So what does the Berne Convention do?

This treaty (as amended and revised) lays out several fundamental principles upon which all participating countries have agreed.

the Berne Convention sets minimum standards – default rules – for the duration of copyright protection for creative works, though some exceptions exist depending on the subject matter. The Berne Convention’s standards for copyright protection dictates a minimum term of life of the author plus 50 years. Because the Berne Convention sets minimums only, several countries have established longer terms of copyright for individual creators, such as “life of the author plus 70 years” and “life of the author plus 100 years.”
copyright must be granted automatically – that is, there must be no legal formalities required to obtain copyright protection (for example, national laws of its signatories cannot require you to register or pay for your copyright as a condition to receiving copyright protection).
Includes limitations and exceptions, such as a “teaching exception.” …

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Public Domain

The Great Wave Off San Francisco, by Philippe Teuwen, licensed CC BY SA 2.0, is based on a public domain work by Katsushika Hokusai commonly known as “The Great Wave”

When copyright expires…then what happens?

There’s the Public domain!

Public domain:

Vast pool of creativity and public knowledge that exists beyond the limitations of copyright.

Protections expired
Creator dedicated work to PD
Work wasn’t eligible for copyright
Pre Berne Convention, a creator didn’t abide by the formalities their country might have required for copyright protection.

Quick overview of the Global Copyright System:

Every country has its own copyright laws, but over the years there has been extensive global harmonization of copyright laws through treaties and multilateral and bilateral trade agreements. These treaties and agreements establish minimum standards for all participating countries, which then enact or conform their own laws to the agreed-upon limits. This system leaves room for local variation.
These treaties and agreements are negotiated in various fora: the World Intellectual Property Organization (known as “WIPO”), the World Trade Organization (known as the WTO), and in private negotiations between select countries.
One of the most significant international agreements is the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Today, more than 180 countries have signed the Berne Convention.

So what does the Berne Convention do?

This treaty (as amended and revised) lays out several fundamental principles upon which all participating countries have agreed.

the Berne Convention sets minimum standards – default rules – for the duration of copyright protection for creative works, though some exceptions exist depending on the subject matter. The Berne Convention’s standards for copyright protection dictates a minimum term of life of the author plus 50 years. Because the Berne Convention sets minimums only, several countries have established longer terms of copyright for individual creators, such as “life of the author plus 70 years” and “life of the author plus 100 years.”
copyright must be granted automatically – that is, there must be no legal formalities required to obtain copyright protection (for example, national laws of its signatories cannot require you to register or pay for your copyright as a condition to receiving copyright protection).
Includes limitations and exceptions, such as a “teaching exception.” …

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Exceptions and Limitations

Fair use cat mural, Electronic Frontier Foundation, California, USA, by Cory Doctorow, licensed CC BY SA 2.0

There are also limitations and exceptions to copyright

Does the public have any right to use copyrighted works that do not violate the exclusive rights of creators?

All countries that have signed on to major international treaties grant the public some rights to use copyrighted works, without permission, without violating the exclusive rights given creators.
These are generally called “exceptions and limitations” to copyright.
Generally speaking, there are two main ways in which exceptions and limitations are written into copyright law. The first is by listing specific activities that are excluded from the reach of copyright.
For example, Japanese copyright law has a specific exemption allowing classroom broadcasts of copyrighted material. This approach, which is more commonly found in civil law countries, has the benefit of providing clarity about precisely what uses by the public are allowed and not considered infringing. However, it can also be limiting because anything not specifically on the list of exceptions may be deemed restricted by copyright.

Fair use in the US:

The other approach is to include more flexible guidelines about what is allowed. Courts then determine exactly what uses are allowed without the permission of the copyright holder. While this enables the law to adapt to new technologies and situations, the downside to flexible guidelines is that they leave more room for uncertainty. This is the approach used in the United States with the fair use doctrine, although U.S. copyright law also has some specific exceptions to copyright written into the law. In the United States, fair use is determined using a four-factor test, where a federal court judge considers: 1) the purpose and character of your use, 2) the nature of the copyrighted work, 3) the amount and substantiality of the portion taken, and 4) the effect of the use upon the potential market. Read about U.S. court cases related to fair use here.

Additional fair use resources:

Fair Use Evaluator

This is an online tool to help users understand how to determine the “fairness” of use under U.S. copyright law, and work with materials under fair use.

U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use cases
Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources

American University Washington College of Law’s Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property offers a series of workshops, interviews, and webinars that were conducted over the course of 2019 and 2020.

A Fair(y) Use Tale by Eric Faden. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

This is a creative educational fair-use mashup which ironically makes use of clips from Disney films as it explains how copyright works. The discussion of fair use begins around the 6-minute 30-second mark in the video.

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CC LICENSES

Darren Cole, from the United States, with his moving (and smoking!) monowheel patent. Source material courtesy the National Archives and Records Administration.

We’ve talked about copyright on one end, and the public domain on the other….

Where the PD is “no rights reserved,” and copyright is “all rights reserved,” Creative Commons licenses are considered “some rights reserved.”

They allow creators to choose the rights they want to reserve, and the rights they permit to the public

As mentioned: copyright law (era of printing press)..... but it hasn’t been updated recently enough to account for the options the internet affords
CC licenses enable creators to offer more permissions than traditional copyright, given the increased flexibility and freedom of the internet. These are legal tools to better support creators.

These permissions last for duration of the work’s copyright.
CC licenses are enforceable, just as any traditionally copyrighted content is enforceable.
Enforceability may be easier in some contexts where you register your work at a copyright office.

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CC License layers

You can communicate the license in three ways: one way for lawyers, one way for normal users, and one way for machines. This layered design is part of what makes CC the global standard for copyright licensing.

The legal code contains the “lawyer-readable” terms and conditions that are legally enforceable in court.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

The commons deeds are the most well-known layer of the licenses. These are the web pages that summarize key license terms in so-called “human-readable” terms. The deeds are not legally enforceable

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

The “machine readable” layer of the license design recognizes that software plays a critical role in the creation, copying, discovery, and distribution of works. The “machine readable” version summarizes the key freedoms granted and obligations imposed written into a format that applications, search engines, and other kinds of technology can understand.

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4 elements: allow permissions/restrict specific forms of reuse of your work by others.
The four license elements—BY, SA, NC, and ND—combine to make up six different license options.

Attribution (BY): attribution is, a specific form of giving credit to the original creator must be followed when using or adapting the work.
Share-Alike (SA): All derivative work(s) must be shared with the same license
Non-Commercial (NC): Permission for commercial usage rights are withheld
No-Derivatives (ND): The work can be shared, but only if it remains unchanged

All of the licenses include the BY condition. All require that the creator be attributed in connection with their work.
Beyond that commonality, the licenses vary whether (1) commercial use of the work is permitted; and (2) whether the work can be adapted, and if so, on what terms.
+2 pub domain dedications (CC0 or PD)

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CC Open Licenses

CC Public Domain Tools

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Least restrictive

to

Most restrictive

Licenses shown at the top of the spectrum are the most open; licenses at the bottom are the most restrictive.
People use CC licensed works by either sharing them in unadapted form or changing them to better suit their needs.
Which license to use depends on the user’s needs.
Advantages/disadvantages to all licenses, depending on your vantage point.

Public Domain tools:

CC0 means that no rights are reserved.
Creators waive all their rights and place their work directly and immediately in the public domain.
When you have a work whose right holder cannot be identified or located, that work is still in copyright. It’s often called an orphaned work.
The public domain mark is used to communicate the public domain status of works.

It does not have the same legal value as other CC licenses because it is not accompanied by a legal code.
It is a label or tag used on a work that is already free of copyright restrictions worldwide.

Additional notes:

CC licenses are non-revocable (what does that mean?)
Is license enforcement realistic? (yes) https://creativecommons.org/faq/#are-creative-commons-licenses-enforceable-in-a-court-of-law
Enforcement generally on the user, not the host platform/repository (local law may change that)
Remember: only a copyright holder can apply a license to their work. You can’t license someone else’s stuff! If using other works in your own, license “except where otherwise noted” - original licenses still apply to the things you’re reusing.

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Useful resources

Creative Commons Certificate
License Chooser
Recommended practices for attribution
Frequently Asked Questions - Creative Commons (also en Français!)

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Checking in: what’s top of mind for you right now?

https://www.menti.com/alyajjpdphov

Menti.com code: 56 45 58 5

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Finding and Using CC-Licensed Resources

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CC and… software? Data?

CC licenses and software
CC licenses and databases

Sui generis rights (what are they?)

CC licenses and data

Recommended Best Practices for Better Sharing of Climate Data - Creative Commons

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CC and emerging trends (yes, we can talk about AI)

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Get involved!

Learning and Training at CC: creativecommons.org/cc-trainings

CC Certificates: specialized sections for Academic Librarians, Educators, and Open Culture professionals

Custom trainings and workshops: bootcamps, webinars, half-day or full-day programming

Lectures and office hours: Q&A with open experts, legal team, accessibility coaches

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Whether you have particular training needs for your institution or consortia, need customized support, or simply want to learn about CC licensing, Creative Commons is here to serve you.

We offer a variety of trainings, including regular CC Certificate courses, office hours with our legal team, as well as customized consulting and facilitation. Learn more:

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Thank you!

Shanna Hollich, Learning & Training Manager, Creative Commons

shanna@creativecommons.org

Schedule a call with me: calendly.com/shannacc

Learn more about CC’s Training and Consulting opportunities

Creative Commons: creativecommons.org