The Creative Common Misunderstanding
In reading the chapter from FLOSS+Artbook, "The Creative Commons Misunderstanding", I find myself discouraged at the parting of ways between the leaders of the CC movement and the Open Source movement because it would seem that they have the same aim. Like everything else with a political angle, it would seem to come down to semantics and rhetoric. The Open Source/GNU GPL faction would like to see changes in the CC licensing wording to more clearly define what is allowed usage and to promote true sharing for remixing rather than what the GNU GPL guys see as basically the same as the copyright restrictions in place now under standard copyright law. The open source faction would like to see more rights for the consumer and less control on the part of the copyright holder, or "producer". Art has always been exempt from many of the legal norms regarding copyright and the creation of digital products could be viewed as akin to the productio of art. I think it all boils down to "granting permission" versus "gaining permission" to use works and to what extent.
My favorite part of the chapter was the final paragraph:
"Copyright, having turned from regulation into subsidy of publishing industries, is the 21st century equivalent of drug legislation. Everyone knows that it is obsolete, dysfunctional, and depriving people of their rights; absurd wars are fought in its name. The simple fix is to abolish it."
I personally support both CC licensing and the Open Source Initiative and am hopeful that a happy medium will become standard practice. I am discouraged by the fact that artists, who hold copyrights but want to share their work, aren't even the ones in control as the publishers and music companies hold onto those rights with a tightly-closed fist as they rake in the dollars that are often contrary to the message of the artists who created the works. I believe that artists deserve recognition for their work and rewards for it, too, but copyright has become a cultural power struggle and everyone is losing out. Yep, kind of like the drug wars. They go after the little guys while the fat cats are getting away with murder of artistic intent.
My favorite part of the chapter was the final paragraph:
"Copyright, having turned from regulation into subsidy of publishing industries, is the 21st century equivalent of drug legislation. Everyone knows that it is obsolete, dysfunctional, and depriving people of their rights; absurd wars are fought in its name. The simple fix is to abolish it."
I personally support both CC licensing and the Open Source Initiative and am hopeful that a happy medium will become standard practice. I am discouraged by the fact that artists, who hold copyrights but want to share their work, aren't even the ones in control as the publishers and music companies hold onto those rights with a tightly-closed fist as they rake in the dollars that are often contrary to the message of the artists who created the works. I believe that artists deserve recognition for their work and rewards for it, too, but copyright has become a cultural power struggle and everyone is losing out. Yep, kind of like the drug wars. They go after the little guys while the fat cats are getting away with murder of artistic intent.
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