[okfn-discuss] Creative Commons license version 4.0 -- public discussion now open

Thu Dec 15 23:57:22 UTC 2011

Hey all--

Apologies for cross posting, and many of you may have already seen the
announcement.

http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/30676 (and posted below)

CC has begun the 4.0 license versioning process. CC of course welcomes all
input during this process over the next year. We hope there will be
significant discussion around data and public sector information, and of
course the handling of sui generis database rights.

Please feel to reach out to us at any time, and we look forward to the
dialogue.

Regards,

timothy

-----

*Version 4.0 – Public Discussion Launches*

*Diane Peters, December 9th, 2011*

We are pleased to announce the beginning of the public discussion process
that we expect to result in version 4.0 of the Creative Commons license
suite.

*Timeliness and Opportunity*

The 4.0 discussions held at the 2011 Global
Summit<http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/29237> confirmed
for CC the need to commence the 4.0 discussion process now if we wish to
consider issues relevant to important would-be adopters in a timely manner.
As explained following legal sessions at the
Summit<http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/29639>,
version 3.0 is working (and will continue to work) really well for many
adopters, but the reality is different for others. The treatment of sui
generis database rights in the 3.0 licenses continues to be a show-stopper
for many, including governments in Europe. This fosters an environment in
which custom licenses proliferate, inevitably resulting in silos of
incompatibly-licensed content that cannot be maximally shared and remixed.
But there exist still other reasons for pursuing 4.0 at this time,
including the desire to adjust the licenses to more fully support adoption
by intergovernmental organizations and those looking for a more
internationally-oriented license suite.

The consequence of not addressing these challenges now is one of
opportunity — bridging these differences sooner rather than later (where
possible) is always advisable, especially if a more inclusive commons may
result. For those fond of version 3.0, rest assured that CC will continue
to support existing and future implementations and adopters that rely on
those licenses. We will take pains not to create a 4.0 suite that
undermines or otherwise presents challenges for those communities.

*Process – Discussion Forum – 4.0 Wiki*

Importantly, for the first time in CC’s history we begin the versioning
process without publishing a draft of the new licenses for review. This is
intentional, and it is designed to ensure we hear from the community first.
*During this 2-3 month requirements gathering period, we urge everyone with
a proposal, concern or other input to please put it forth, as our goal is
to make the first draft as comprehensive as possible.* We will alert the
community when the requirements period draws to a close, expected to be
mid-February 2012. As in the past, we will publish at least two drafts of
the licenses before finalizing, which we anticipate will occur late 2012.

As with past versioning efforts, the central discussion forum will be CC’s
license discuss list (subscribe
now)<http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/cc-licenses>.
New to the 4.0 process, however, is a dedicated group of wiki pages (accessible
through the main 4.0 wiki page <http://wiki.creativecommons.org/4.0>) where
topics and proposals under discussion on that email list will be
documented, annotated, and evaluated. We have pre-populated the wiki pages
with several of the issues we expect to address during this process,
framing key topics to help shape the discussion and including known and
anticipated proposals related to each. Among others, we expect healthy
debates regarding the treatment of moral
rights<http://wiki.creativecommons.org/4.0/Moral_rights>,
the definition of
NonCommercial<http://wiki.creativecommons.org/4.0/NonCommercial>,
scope of ShareAlike <http://wiki.creativecommons.org/4.0/ShareAlike>,
treatment of sui generis database
rights<http://wiki.creativecommons.org/4.0/License_subject_matter>,
and much more. The issues are organized by topic with cross-references to
related issues throughout the wiki, but there is also an open forum
(the Sandbox
page <http://wiki.creativecommons.org/4.0/Sandbox>) where you should be
encouraged to suggest other topics you feel are important to discuss for
version 4.0 (a few placeholders already exist).

For a fuller description of CC’s objectives, the process and expected
schedule, visit the 4.0 wiki homepage <http://wiki.creativecommons.org/4.0>.

We encourage everyone who is interested in the future of Creative Commons,
and open licensing generally, to participate in this process. The more
voices that chime in to raise issues and debate the merits of various
proposals, the stronger version 4.0 will be, helping us achieve our goal of
creating a set of robust licenses that will endure long into the future. If
you have an opinion about how to simplify CC’s attribution requirements,
for example, or any of the other important issues we plan to examine during
the process, please post your suggestion to the CC license discuss
list(subscribe
today) <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/cc-licenses> and add it
to our 4.0 wiki <http://wiki.creativecommons.org/4.0>. We look forward to
hearing from you.

-- 
Timothy Vollmer
http://creativecommons.org/about/people/#timothyvollmer
phone = +016086982403 | skype = timothyvollmer | tw = @tvol

Please donate to the CC Annual Campaign, going on now!
https://creativecommons.net/donate

-- 
Timothy Vollmer
http://creativecommons.org/about/people/#timothyvollmer
phone = +016086982403 | skype = timothyvollmer | tw = @tvol

Please donate to the CC Annual Campaign, going on now!
https://creativecommons.net/donate
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