New Paradigm for Copyrights at Creative Commons

I decided to break my post for the week into two separate pieces. Although not original, I will refer to these posts as the Good and the Ugly of Creative Commons. I would like to start with the Good though as the intent of Creative Commons is incredible. Data rights and copyright issues have always been an issue for me. In my Air Force career, we always had to be sure who retained what rights to software and what licenses were valid or not valid. In my teaching profession, the battle is even tougher. Student plagiarism is minor compared to the constant battle over what is legal to bring into the classroom to use with students. Even harder are the copyright battles over digitizing materials for students with disabilities. It’s often confusing to know what you really have the right to access. Even my hobby of genealogy is overrun with questions of data rights. How someone can own the rights to information about my family seems ridiculous. But the issues are there.
There are two aspects to Creative Commons that I am really impressed with. The first is the idea of a data sharing warehouse. Information is only useful if it can be shared in a meaningful way. I like the idea of putting information out for anyone to use. Whether its music, art, lesson plans, or information for hobbies… it only benefits people if they can get access to it. And this access tells you exactly what you can do with the information files.
The second aspect that I really appreciate is the ability to share information and still maintain your authorship. Most of the materials and really good lessons that I develop are lessons that I love to share. But it’s nice to keep your name on the really good pieces so people know your work. There is nothing wrong with a little pride of authorship. Creative Commons gives you the ability to share information and specify what people can do with your work. It gives you a feeling of safety that you can put your good work out without loosing control.
I give Creative Commons a hearty congrats on a great idea.