The Creative Commons group has announced a new license model: the "Developing Nations" license. This allows creators to make their works available for attributed distribution in the developing world, while still retaining all copyright control in high-income countries. Lawrence Lessig, Creative Commons founder, says:
The Developing Nations license allows, for the first time, any copyright holder in the world to participate first-hand in reforming global information policy. The fact is that most of the world's population is simply priced out of developed nations' publishing output. To authors, that means an untapped readership. To economists, it means "deadweight loss." To human rights advocates and educators, it is a tragedy. The Developing Nations license is designed to address all three concerns.
The license was designed by IP expert Jaime Love: "The new license makes it easier to expand access to knowledge and support development. It is a tool to make the resource-poor information-rich."
Comments (3)
This is a pretty big deal, and is probably one of the better answers to TRIPs when it comes to content.
Froody. ;-)
Posted by Taran | September 14, 2004 9:26 PM
Posted on September 14, 2004 21:26
potentiall very exciting for some of Benetech's work. Thanks for pointing this out, I have already passed it on to their BookAccess team!
Posted by jesse black fahnestock | September 15, 2004 3:12 AM
Posted on September 15, 2004 03:12
We will be jumping on this quicker than you can say 'IP' rights.
I've been hoping they would do this for a while. The designs fro refugee settlements can now be protected here, while available for use in developing countries.
Posted by Cameron Sinclair | September 15, 2004 9:29 AM
Posted on September 15, 2004 09:29