[Community] Creative Commons and Copyright Registries (from Joi Ito' Web)

[Emanuele Quinto]

Puo' interessare?

> Registries via Joi Ito's Web by Joi on 5/22/08
> Today, Creative Commons announced that we will be exploring the idea
> of a copyright registry.
> 
A registry could solve a variety of problems that we have. For
instance, the orphan works problem where it is not clear who to contact
in order to commercialize could be solved. A registry facilitates
attribution which is a core part of Creative Commons. A registry could
also help sites that allow users to post content to clear and clarify
rights.

The exact architecture of what a registry system would look like is
still not clear and requires a lot of discussion and work. One model is
to build on existing registries -- such as that maintained by the
copyright office -- rather than trying to develop a completely separate
one. Another idea is to create a federation of registries maintained by
an network of providers that somehow peer with each other. Because of
our experience with machine readable licenses, metadata and creating a
global network of compatible license, we believe that we can add value
to design and possibly the operation of such a registry system.

I'm sure that the astute readers will notice that in the press release
we mention that we will also be exploring revenue generating services
that CC might provide. I can imagine that this might raise some red
flags for some people so I thought it might be prudent for me to try to
explain this aspect a bit more since it involves a number of issues
that we've been working on.

When I had a long chat with Pierre Omidyar last year about Creative
Commons, one of his suggestions was that he thought that in order for
non-profits to be responsive to the public, it was often better for
them to be providing some sort of fee-based service instead of just
being funded by an endowment or foundations. He explained that when
eBay started charging, the community became much more vocal about what
they wanted in their feedback and he became much more responsible and
responsive to their requests. Offering a service for free is great, but
having a paid services creates a more rigorous expectation on both
sides of a quality of service and responsiveness. I've been thinking a
great deal about this "market sensitivity though fee based value added
services" and this is something I think we should continue to explore.

We are currently supported by foundations, corporations and individuals
who have generously contributed to the mission of Creative Commons. We
have secured an important set of commitments for the next five years
which gives us a strong base on which we can build. However, I think
that we need to consider augmenting that support with revenues
generated by providing value added services.

However, Creative Commons benefits from the broad support of a
community of users and contributors who help Creative Commons because
it's not a greedy money-making organization. I am acutely aware of the
necessity to stay focused on the core mission of providing free and
open licensing tools while exploring CC's capacity to provide
additional services that will generate revenues to help sustain the
free and open sharing infrastructure CC provides. In exploring this
possibility, I take it as fundamental that we avoid any action that we
might make or be perceived to be making that undermines our position as
a balanced, transparent and neutral party.

So, to reiterate what we say in the press release. CC will always
continue to provide licenses for free. Also, as we explore the idea of
a copyright registry or a network of registries, we will try very hard
to participate in a process to design a system that is first and
foremost technically and operationally robust. CC will not try to build
itself into the system just for the sake of trying to make money. The
idea is that IF we find some sort of role for CC such as running a
piece of this system or providing a service to the system that users or
businesses might pay for, we will explore whether a fee based model
makes sense. 

--- ooo ---

+1 per la federazione di registries...


ema

Emanuele Quinto - www.kronstadt.it
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"In this world, Elwood, you must be oh-so smart, or oh-so pleasant."
For years I was smart. I recommend pleasant, and you may quote me.
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