Creative Commons, OERs and Beyond

After clarifying the notion and different areas of the (digital) ‘public domain’, the paper engages in discussing literature on its relevance for society, in general, and economic innovation, in particular. The effectiveness of the utilization of these abstract potentials, however, depends on the respective public domain regulation. In this context, the paper distinguishes different regulatory modes and arenas in both copyright and patent law, thereby focusing private regulatory initiatives, such as Creative Commons or Biological Open Source. In the last section, the paper presents open research questions and makes some preliminary suggestions for potential research strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

According to the current copyright statute, copyrighted works of music, film, and literature will begin to transition into the public domain in 2018. While this will prove a boon for users and creators, it could be disastrous for the owners of these valuable copyrights. Therefore, the next few years will likely witness another round of aggressive lobbying by the film, music, and publishing industries to extend the terms of already-existing works. These industries, and a number of prominent scholars, claim that when works enter the public domain, bad things will happen to them. They worry that works in the public domain will be underused, overused, or tarnished in ways that will undermine the works' economic and cultural value. Although the validity of their assertions turns on empirically testable hypotheses, very little effort has been made to study them. This Article attempts to fill that gap by studying the market for audiobook recordings of bestselling novels, a multi-million dollar industry. Data from this study, which includes a novel human-subjects experiment, suggest that term-extension proponents' claims about the public domain are suspect. Audiobooks made from public domain bestsellers (1913-22) are significantly more available than those made from copyrighted bestsellers (1923-32). In addition, the experimental evidence suggests that professionally made recordings of public domain and copyrighted books are of similar quality. Finally, while a low quality recording seems to lower a listener's valuation of the underlying work, the data do not suggest any correlation between that valuation and the legal status of the underlying work. Accordingly, this research indicates that the significant costs of additional copyright protection for already-existing works may not be justified. These findings will be relevant to the inevitable congressional and judicial debate over copyright term extension in the next few years.

Ownership and rights issues relating to electronic resources can be a source of angst, confusion and litigation. This is due in part to the automatic copyright many individuals receive, including in the United States, upon creation of an original work. However, there are options available for relaxing these rights. One of these options is Creative Commons Zero. Essentially, Creative Commons Zero permits originators of materials of varying sorts to opt to put their creations into the public domain – waiving all copyright and intellectual rights. The ability for originators of works to place these items into the public domain affects not just that individual, but also all others who might make use of the resources or be affected by others who make use of the resources. One area likely to be both directly and indirectly impacted is libraries. After all, a public library is accessible by the public and contains a collection of materials or records kept for reference or borrowing and is generally funded from public sources. In the United States there are approximately 9225 public libraries (administrative entities) in all 50 states and the District of Columbia (US Census Bureau, 2009). Based on the above, this document researches the awareness, complexity and effects of Creative Commons Zero and related licenses on libraries as perceived by library directors and managers across the United States. In order to accomplish this, a quantitative survey was administered in an anonymous web-based format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright fraud or copyfraud—when museums misrepresent or restrict rights in ways that go against public domain copyright law—continues to be a widespread practice even in the years following the 1999 Bridgeman Art Library, LTD. v. Corel Corp . court case. To help clarify this situation, the author first reviews the relevant copyright issues, then considers some of the problems that copyfraud creates in universities, publishing houses, and museums. In conclusion, he explores the ways museums, supported by their librarians and visual resources managers, have recently changed their approach to copyright and copyfraud, and the ways in which this is transforming scholarship and allowing scholars and librarians to better serve the public.

Public Domain Day, celebrated January 1st of every year, is a relatively new holiday, which has the potential to grow rapidly as 2019 marked the first year in 20 years in the United States that new works were added to the public domain. This article showcases Texas Tech University Libraries' "Public Domain Day: 1923 Unlocked" exhibition and outreach efforts as one approach, but also highlights other intuitions' promotions and suggests ways to connect to larger initiatives. Cultural heritage and visual resources professionals can adapt this celebration as a way of advocating for the public domain, educating on copyright literacy, bringing attention to newly public domain collections materials, and exciting and empowering the public. The growth of the public domain enriches many of our missions and goals including supporting creativity and preserving our past and should be celebrated and protected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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