Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Creative Commons To Pass One Billion Licensed Works In 2015

Posted by timothy on from the pretty-soon-you're-talking-real-non-money dept.

Jason Hibbets writes Sharing is winning. In 2015, Creative Commons is expected to pass one billion licensed works under the commons. Millions of creators around the world use CC licenses to give others permission to use their work in ways that they wouldn't otherwise be allowed to. Those millions of users are the proof that Creative Commons works. But measuring the size of the commons has always been a challenge. Until now...

39 comments

  1. GayWAD To Pass One Member in 2015 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Thank you for your interest in joining the Gay Wigger Association of DICE* (GayWAD)! GayWADs worldwide are happy that you'd like to become part of our

    constantly enlarging member ship (come sail away 8====D~)

    Unlike other geek fraternities that you might have heard about, GayWAD accepts members of all races, creeds, and colors. We don't even have a technical inclination requirement. As our founders stated in the Annals of GayWAD, Chapter 1: "You don't have to be a geek, as long as you like it Greek." They were, of course, referring to the penis in anus style of sexual relations. Don't despair, as attaining full fabulous lifetime status in GayWAD is easy. The only prerequisites for membership in Gay Wigger Association of DICE* are that you meet all of the following conditions:

    1. 1. Ownership of penis, anus, or both

    To submit your Gay Wigger Association of DICE* Membership Application, simply do nothing. Congratulations, you're now a GayWAD!

    If you require a specific membership number for purposes such as framing, docking, or prestigious inclusion upon your business cards and resume, please take down this number: 69.

    Optionally, you may complete the following survey by replying to this post, indicating affirmative responses with an X in each appropriate box:

    GayWAD Membership Survey (OPTIONAL)

    [ ] I am gay
    [ ] I am a wigger
    [ ] I have used SLASHDOT BETA to find a sex partner

    After completion of this optional survey, your Slashdot post ID shall serve as your unique Gay Wigger Association of DICE* membership ID.

    Your GayWAD membership kit** is on its way.

    * GayWAD is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by DICE.COM.

    ** GayWAD membership kit no longer includes HIV self-test catheter.

  2. Has anyone asked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Bennett for his thoughts?

    1. Re:Has anyone asked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      Not a long time ago, I was just a normal internet user that surfed various news sites like Sladshdot, reddit, or wsj.com. I read a story, perhaps clicked onto some links it contained, and I was mostly happy with my life.

      Then, one day, I surfed Slashdot. It was one of those days you will remember for the rest of your life. So, as I surfed Sladshdot, the title of a story got my attention. I read the summary. The topic seemed interesting, so I decided to read further. I read:

      Read on below for the rest what Bennett has to say.

      Usually I don't read first line of a story which contains the user who has submitted it. On that day, I didn't neither. As I've only read that bottom line, I asked myself: who is this misterious Bennett? I decided to click onto the "Read the comments" link to read more of the story that was, as it seems, written by some Bennett. During reading, I was already impressed by the clear and detailed but still concise structure of the text. As I finished reading, I was convinced it was the best story I've ever read on Sladshdot, or any comparable news site. I asked myself: perhaps this misterious Bennett has contributed more frequently than just once?

      To find that out, I went to Sladshdot's search bar and searched for "Bennett". I clicked the second entry, and it began with:

      Frequent contributor Bennett Haselton writes

      I searched for the "Read on" line, and I was happy when I found it. As it seemed, he was a frequent contributor. However the story was on a topic completely unrelated to the topic of my article. Would the other article still be as insightful as the first? And the other stories in the search result? Would they be also by Bennett? Or someone else? I decided first to be happy to have found such an insightful article, and decided to make a photograph of me, before I read the second story.

      I still have that photograph of me and I can see the hope and the satisfaction in my eyes, the hope that the other stories are also written by this brilliant author called Bennett, and the satisfaction of having read such an insightful article. As I've read the first couple of stories by Bennett, I couldn't believe what my eyes saw: all the stories were as insightful or even more insightful than the original story I read. I asked myself whether the spectators in the Globe theatre would have felt the same way when they watched a piece by shakespeare: Witnessing history of writing. I realized Bennett is one of histories great writers.

      As I've finished reading all contributions by Bennett Haselton on Sladshdot, I went back to the first Bennett story, and read them a second time. I sat three days straight, missing all social events during that span, only reading Bennett's stories, and reading them again and again. During that time my eyes opened to the fact that my whole life, I've known nothing. Bennett's stories explained every aspect of very complicated things in such detail, that I formed something in my mind. First, I couldn't describe it what it was, but years later I know that, for the first time of my life, I formed something called "opinion" on a topic. Previously, I've only adopted opinions from others, but Bennett's stories enable people to make their opinions for themselfes, to form them. With his stories, Bennett gives you the material to form your own opinion on your own. I know you will say that you can form your opinion on your own, and that you don't need Bennett for that. I
      disagree with you. What you call opinion, is in reality just ideology you imitate from others. You don't form your opinions, you don't have them.

      Every time Bennett writes a new story on Sladshdot, I take a free day and spend it reading the story

    2. Re:Has anyone asked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      " who is this misterious Bennett?"

      It is a misteri.

  3. Too bad so much Creative Commons is poisoned. by alzoron · · Score: 4, Interesting

    When creative commons licensing first started gaining a lot of popularity I was excited. What a great way to share creative talent with on another and help to create even better works. Then I started looking on a bunch of music sites that host creative commons licensed material and was shocked by what I found. Song after song and sample after sample contained blatant sampling of other copyrighted works. I personally can't trust anything licensed under creative commons as I can't verify that what I'm using is safe to use without fear of a lawsuit. Unfortunately, the well has been poisoned.

    1. Re:Too bad so much Creative Commons is poisoned. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I know. Unfortunately, non-CC stuff is even worse in this respect, so I guess we have to stop using music.

    2. Re:Too bad so much Creative Commons is poisoned. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      I wish OpenBSD would stop using music.

    3. Re:Too bad so much Creative Commons is poisoned. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      +1. Vote parent up.

    4. Re:Too bad so much Creative Commons is poisoned. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      -1 Troll. Mod parent down.

    5. Re:Too bad so much Creative Commons is poisoned. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      Dude, why are you posting a serious comment?

    6. Re:Too bad so much Creative Commons is poisoned. by cellocgw · · Score: 1

      So what you're saying is we now have the Tragedy of the [Creative] Commons ?

      --
      https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
    7. Re:Too bad so much Creative Commons is poisoned. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Music, just like anything else, just doesn't "happen" one morning. Music and almost every other innovation builds on previous works. Which is why copyright and patents are so bad for society as a whole. Of course music will use parts of previous works. Because its how it has always worked. Yes, taking a direct sample probably is a bit more dangerous, but even taking the same riff can be dangerous. For example it has been ruled in some US courtcase that taking 2 notes from a song might constitute a copyright violation. Not because the judge really wanted it, but the law made it clear that taking a collection of notes from another song might be copyright, so the only thing they could say is that taking 1 note should not be a copyright problem because one note isn't a collection, anything above it might be a problem.

    8. Re:Too bad so much Creative Commons is poisoned. by amber_of_luxor · · Score: 2

      Due Dilligence was never a part of the Creative Commons License.

      --
      Wind Beneath Thy Wings
    9. Re:Too bad so much Creative Commons is poisoned. by Mathinker · · Score: 1

      > Due Dilligence was never a part of the Creative Commons License.

      Unfortunately, give how copyright works, it's impossible to do due diligence with respect to fair use, if you want to push it to the limit.

  4. Ask not who, but why, counting? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why does it matter how trendy a license agreement is? Are the lawyers who drafted this particular license planning to retroactively revoke the freedoms? Terrorists could be sharing shit under Creative Commons, man! We need to find out so we can launch drones at them!!

    1. Re:Ask not who, but why, counting? by gweihir · · Score: 1

      The more use, the more legal footing, as more lawyers and people will have thought about it.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  5. What if Marilyn Monroe had kicked this off? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was wondering how far down the "copyright terrorists" path we would've come if Marilyn Monroe had come up with the concept "Creative Comons" and led by example licensing all photos of her under each type and doing press interviews/tutorials about the system in her breathless voice?
    I do like to dream.

    1. Re:What if Marilyn Monroe had kicked this off? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      Didn't she die while sharing her anus with a dog's penis?

  6. Meh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Don't care, too busy buying Slashdot Deals!

  7. You forgot... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    While sucking the Kennedy who was left.

    Or did everybody miss out on that film reel of her with John and Jack(?) Kennedy in a menage a tois. It was about to get sold in Tuolome County, until the guy recieved a 'donation' to cover his debt and make sure the auction didn't happen.

    There's a picture or two floating around the internet from it however.

  8. 5mod down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    lube is wip3d off bulk of the FreeBSD hype - BSD's

    1. Re:5mod down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      Blow more goats, pitchfork up the arse.

  9. A least as much quality as App store? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Or better!? Gotta be. It's Commons! And it's Creative!

  10. I rule by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Hey bitches! I rule!

  11. Shitty summary by rebelwarlock · · Score: 1

    "But measuring the size of the commons has always been a challenge. Until now..."

    And why is that? What changed? Reading the article, it seems like the answer is, "We finally bothered to check."

  12. I could make a billion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I could pretty easily licence a billion works under creative commons. That kind of count is pretty meaningless.

    1. Re:I could make a billion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This year alone, Weiner may produce up to infinity papers!

  13. A Proclamation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    By the President of the United States of America:

    A Proclamation.

    Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:

    "That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

    "That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States."

    Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit:

    Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth[)], and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.

    And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.

    And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.

    And I further declare and make known, that such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.

    And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.

    In witne

  14. Yeah, yeah.. by Sqreater · · Score: 0

    This is just another gynocentric "girls-are-better" story that just is not supported by the world at large. Sad, really. They just keep trying to prove the unprovable. The whole tech environment, including gaming, was produced by male geeks who, apparently, cannot program themselves out of a paper bag. Right.

    --
    E Proelio Veritas.
    1. Re:Yeah, yeah.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Women are less likely to post a response to the wrong story, though.

  15. YUO FAIL IT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    We0'll be able to Future at all

  16. Yes, but how many of those are like by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In Soviet Russia
    by Anonymous Coward

    On the frigid steppes of Soviet Russia,
    Land where the Tartars, Huns, and Cossacks
    Frsst Post Makes YOU
    Who now have 20 seconds to drop that weapon.

  17. But how to avoid this? by tepples · · Score: 2

    Eventually some songs will sound like other songs just by coincidence. There are only about 14^7 = 105 million or so distinct hooks of eight notes.* So if someone wants to honestly compose original music and release it under a Creative Commons license, how is he supposed to ensure he didn't accidentally copy someone else's work?

    * 14 is 7 distinct intervals modulo octave equivalence, times 2 for short or long note. Raised to ^7 instead of ^8 because the last note doesn't have an interval or duration.

    1. Re:But how to avoid this? by tgeller · · Score: 1

      What you say is true, but it's not the main issue IMHO. Rather, it's that people rip copyrighted materials whole-cloth and post them as CC.

      I produce short videos for a client, on a moderate budget. I was using lots of CC and public-domain labeled stuff from archive.org and YouTube. Then I realized, "Hey, wait! This TV show from the '50s is *not* public domain! Neither is this educational film from the '70s!"

      This is what comes from people misunderstanding the slogan, "Information wants to be free." You get ignoramuses thinking, "Yeah, and I'm the one who'll set [someone else's stuff] free." There's a word for that -- theft. And that's what sadly permeates collections of "CC/PD" content

      --
      Tom Geller
    2. Re:But how to avoid this? by TheDarkener · · Score: 1

      There are only about 14^7 = 105 million or so distinct hooks of eight notes.*

      Because every song has a hook...because every song follows the same format. *facepalm*

      I bet Taylor Swift totally ripped off Bach.

      --
      It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
    3. Re:But how to avoid this? by tepples · · Score: 1

      Because every song has a hook...because every song follows the same format. *facepalm*

      "Hook" can be replaced with "motif" if you prefer classical music lingo. In any case, I'm referring to the most memorable part of a melody, the part to which a judge will pay the most attention when determining the amount and substantiality of copying.

      I bet Taylor Swift totally ripped off Bach.

      That's because most of the Bach family composed before the sound film era and the perpetual copyright regime that it introduced. (Unless you're referring to P. D. Q. Bach, born in 1935.)

    4. Re:But how to avoid this? by TheDarkener · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the clarification.. I guess I'm just depressed that artists have to deal with this kind of sh*t in the first place, at all, ever. Music is art, and these matters should be (in my idealistic opinion anyway) dealt with within the art community instead of in the courtroom.. What's a better punishment for ripping someone off as a musician: your own music community shunning you, or having to pay money?

      --
      It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
    5. Re:But how to avoid this? by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the clarification.. I guess I'm just depressed that artists have to deal with this kind of sh*t in the first place, at all, ever. Music is art, and these matters should be (in my idealistic opinion anyway) dealt with within the art community instead of in the courtroom.. What's a better punishment for ripping someone off as a musician: your own music community shunning you, or having to pay money?

      And yet "ripping off" music is common and even popularized. Rap was created this way when a drum riff intro was repeated over and over and over again (from Aerosmith? I can't recall). We consider it a legitimate form of music today (for varying degrees of "legitimate"), yet its origins are in copyright infringement. And there have been many a sampler musician who has made great music despite sampling being literally copyright infringement.

      And shunning only works if the community is small, and extremely difficult in something as subjective as art. You can shun, but there is a chance that someone actually likes it, and despite shunning, embraces the "theft" or infringement. Then it's a case of which community is larger or who can grow and evolve taste.

    6. Re:But how to avoid this? by TheDarkener · · Score: 1

      Thank you. I think Creative Commons is so important in this respect, because it allows the "ripping off" (I don't like that term when it comes to music) while attributing the original artist. I think a lot of artists wouldn't mind (maybe even, gasp, be flattered by) someone taking their work and building upon it. Being a musician myself, I know I would. Of course it all depends on what your personal motive for making music is (money vs. happiness).

      I wonder what the music world would be like if it was somehow impossible to make money from it?

      --
      It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.