Creative Commons Licenses (CCL) seek to allow (and in fact to encourage) creators to share content on the Internet, in compliance with copyright law (originally US law, but since localized or “ported” to more than 50 jurisdictions around the world); at the same time, CCLs allow for greater scope and flexibility in the use of copyrighted material.
Today, there are 2 billion separate works released under CCLs, on 9 million different websites. While CCLs vary, they are predicated on four “baseline rights” and allow both creators and licensees guarantees about their roles, rights, and responsibilities. Those interested in participating in the Creative Commons movement can do so through the CC Global Network (CCGN).
In addition to its licenses and organization, Creative Commons is also an integral part of a larger movement devoted to promoting free expression and free use of creative materials, and to resisting the growth of predatory practice by large media entities which potentially stifle both. Other organizations and elements in this movement include open sources software (such as Ubuntu), civil liberties organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, open access academic publishing, community land trusts and community supported agriculture (CSA). All share the same fundamental motivation of reclaiming common, shared resources as a model for community and production.
All Creative Commons licenses are composed of three layers:
(Image from “3.1 License Design and Terminology” by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.)
These layers, in turn, form one of six possible licenses. Each license is formed by a combination of four license elements:
The resulting six licenses are:
(Image from Wikimedia: licensed under Creative Commons Zero [Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication])
Finally, in addition to the six licenses, Creative Commons provides to “public domain tools” to designate materials not covered by copyright and thus ineligible for CC licensing:
Like all copyrighted materials, those licensed under the terms of one of the CC licenses may be used under the standard exceptions and limitations: fair use, instruction (both face-to-face and online), and access by persons with disabilities.
1438-1455 (CE): Johannes Gutenberg, a German printer, develops and refines technology for a movable-type press, revolutionizing printing in Europe and setting the stage for the widespread use of printed materials (and thus mass literacy). It is noteworthy that the last two decades of his life and work were marked by legal struggles with fellow members of the Mainz metal workers guild over ownership and financing of his invention.
1710: First copyright legislation, Great Britain: "An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by vesting the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or purchasers of such Copies, during the Times therein mentioned." (This act did not apply in British colonies in North America.)
1787: Copyright protect is proposed by James Madison at the Philadelphia Convention, leading to the inclusion of the Copyright Clause in the U.S. Constitution (granting Congress the power to legislate on copyright issues). Prior to this, under the Articles of Confederation, U.S. legislators had no authority to regulate copyright.
1790: The “Copyright Act of 1790” is the first U.S. legislation governing copyright (of books, maps, and charts).
1882-1882: French inventor Nicéphore Niépce develops first permanent chemical photoetching process for producing images; his work is taken up after his death by Louis Daguerre, who produced the first modern photograph in 1838.
1886: The Berne Convention establishes reciprocal international copyright framework. Each signatory state agrees to basic principles of copyright and establishes minimal legal protections. The same agreement also creates limitations and exceptions to copyright, allowing limited use of copyrighted material for scholarly and creative purposes.
1895: The Lumière brothers present the first public, commercial screening of a motion picture in Paris.
Late 1980s: The ground was laid for the development of Creative Commons licensing by the growing tension between new technologies which allowed the replication of copyrighted material (print, video, audio, and images): the nascent Internet, but also photocopying, video and audio recording technology, and extant copyright law, which was predicated on printing and early film and audio production technologies.
1988: This tension was brought to a head by the passage of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA), which extended copyright creator’s lifespan plus 70 years (75 years total for corporate authorship). (In retrospect, this was seen as serving the interests of corporate media producers rather than individual artists and creators, hence the nickname “the Mickey Mouse Protection Act.”) One of the primary tensions identified by critics of CTEA was that it seemed to run counter to the spirit of the Copyright Clause, which explicitly identified the encouragement of creation as its purpose, while CTEA was aimed at extending the duration of copyright protection for works already in existence.
1999-2003: Eric Eldered, a web publisher, and others file suit against CTEA. The case reaches the Supreme Court (as “Eldred vs Ashcroft”), where Lawrence Lessig argues on the basis of both the First Amendment and the Copyright Clause against CTEA. The justices find against the complaint based on prior rulings regarding the extension of copyright period.
2001: Creative Commons is founded as an organization to explore ways of allowing creators and producers of copyrighted material to freely share their work with others while abiding copyright law. The following year, the first Creative Commons Licenses are published
“History of Copyright” (Wikipedia.org. Accessed April 9, 2023)
“Photography” (Wikipedia.org. Accessed April 9, 2023)
“History of Film” (Wikipedia.org. Accessed April 9, 2023)
