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Tag: public domain

Open Sharing Is Caring: A Valentine’s Day Challenge

Open Culture
"St. Valentine's Day - The Old Story in All Lands (1868)" by Harper & Bros. Cooper Hewitt (CC0)

February is the time to share virtual hugs, chocolates, and witty cards with family and friends for Valentine’s Day ♥️ (or “Friend’s Day” in Finland!)  This Valentine’s Day, we want you to share something a little different: your creative work.  In our Open Sharing is Caring challenge, we’re asking you to openly share an image, song, artwork, research paper, poem, GIF…whatever it…

The Postal Worker, a Sea Shanty and the Public Domain

Open Culture
Group of sailors singing together
Illustration from the book "Songs, naval and national" by Thomas Dibdin, published in London, England in 1841.

Until recently, I had never heard of the sea shanty “The Wellerman”. My sea shanty repertoire consisted of “What can you do with a drunken sailor” to sea-songs on the soundtrack of Master and Commander. However, Nathan Evans, a fellow Scot who hails, like me, from North Lanarkshire, has changed all of this. His rendition…

Artificial Intelligence and Creativity: Why We’re Against Copyright Protection for AI-Generated Output

Copyright
A collage of a scientist staring at computer screens
Image: "Love is Art Science 95" by Kollage Kid, licensed CC BY-NC 2.0.

Should novel output (such as music, artworks, poems, etc.) generated by artificial intelligence1 (AI) be protected by copyright? While this question seems straightforward, the answer certainly isn’t. It brings together technical, legal, and philosophical questions regarding “creativity,” and whether machines can be considered “authors” that produce “original” works. In search of an answer, we ran…

Sharing Indigenous Cultural Heritage Online: An Overview of GLAM Policies

Copyright
Ndebele Tribe in South Africa
15318215771_72c527508c_k Photo of the Ndebele Tribe in South Africa by UN (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)-

This post was co-authored by CC’s Open Policy Manager Brigitte Vézina and Legal and Policy Intern Alexis Muscat. Tomorrow is International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, a day that seeks to raise awareness of and support Indigenous peoples’ rights and aspirations around the world. We at Creative Commons (CC) wish to highlight this important…

From Historic Images to Galactic Datasets: A Look at NASA’s Mission to Be Open

Open Access, Open Science
Astronaut Edwin Aldrin walks on lunar surface near leg of Lunar Module
Astronaut Edwin Aldrin walks on lunar surface near leg of Lunar Module. Credit: Neil Armstrong/NASA, (1969) in the public domain.

It’s July 20, 1969.  Along with 600 million people, nine-year-old Chris Hadfield is glued to his television—watching intently as American astronaut Neil Armstrong glides down the ladder of the Lunar Module, and in one swift pounce, touches the dust of a familiar yet alien world. His words forever immortalized, “That’s one small step for man,…

Smithsonian Releases 2.8 Million Images + Data into the Public Domain Using CC0

Open Culture
Smithsonian Open Access (Social Graphic)

The Smithsonian—the world’s largest museum and research institution—announced yesterday  Smithsonian Open Access, an initiative that removes copyright restrictions from 2.8 million digital collection 2D and 3D images and nearly two centuries of data. This major initiative uses CC0—Creative Commons’ public domain dedication tool—to make millions of images and data freely available to the public. “Our…

The Public Domain is Alive and Well (for Now)

Open Culture
Public Domain Day Celebration Cover Art

Public domain advocates celebrated on January 1 because, for the second year in a row, published works newly entered the public domain in the United States due to copyright expiration. To mark the occasion, Creative Commons (CC) collaborated with the Internet Archive, the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, Creative Commons USA, the Institute…