Communia Site Updates

Compartilhamento legal! – will Brazil put an end to the "war on copying"?

Bernardo Parrella — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 20:32:29 +0200

On the final day (August 31st) of the public consultation on Brazil's copyright bill (English translation) a group of academic, educational, consumer, musical and digital cultural organizations joined in the Network for copyright law reform. In their fifteen contributions for access to knowledge they propose, among others, an exception for educational non-profit use and a term reduction from 70 to 50 years after the death of the author.

Under the slogan "Compartilhamento legal! R$3,00 de todos para tudo," this network is proposing to legalize non-commercial file-sharing in exchange for a levy on broadband Internet access. The idea is nearly as old as peer-to-peer file-sharing itself. It has been tested in technology and in law making a few times. Here and now in Brazil, it feels like it might actually become a reality. [06sep10]

"What's mine is y/ours"

Bernardo Parrella — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:49:24 +0200

The Collaborative Consumption movement is growing: sharing is contagious! [03sep10]

"10 Rules for Radicals": making PSI more accessible

Bernardo Parrella — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:34:51 +0200

This pamphlet -- 10 Rules for Radicals -- is the transcript of US rogue archivist Carl Malamud's keynote at the 19th World Wide Web Consortium conference in April 2010. Quoting author Cory Doctorow on boingboing, "It's a thrilling and often hilarious account of his adventures in liberating different kids of information and networks from various bureaucracies in his storied and exciting career."

Carl Malamud is the President and Founder of Public.Resource.Org, author of 8 books, and long-time advocate of public domain in the US. In his speech (also available in video and on Scribd) he provides a detailed guide about how to deal and work with public agencies for making Government and public sector information more accessible and re-usable.

A must-read for anyone interested in the history or future of universal access, open networks and free societies. [01sep10]

No copyright law helped Germany expansion in 19th century?

Bernardo Parrella — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:07:33 +0200

Massive proliferation of books laid foundation for the country's industrial might. [31aug10]

Czech Gov’t Drafting Copyright Bill...

Bernardo Parrella — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:36:21 +0200

..seems a direct attack to open & alternative licensing. [27aug10]

An Un-'Common' Take On Copyright Law

Bernardo Parrella — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:14:08 +0200

In his new book Common As Air, Professor Lewis Hyde says he's suspicious of the concept of "intellectual property" to begin with, calling it "historically strange." Hyde backs it up with an impressive amount of research; he spends a significant amount of time reflecting on the Founding Fathers, who came up with America's initial copyright laws. ...

Hyde advocates for a return to a "cultural commons" and quotes, approvingly, Thomas Jefferson, who believed that "ideas should freely spread from one to another over the globe, for the moral and mutual instruction of man." ...

America's intellectual property law hasn't changed much in the past few decades; it doesn't look like it's going to change anytime soon (at least not toward a larger public domain, one of Hyde's main goals). But Hyde has crafted a compelling argument that copyright is "a limit that has lost its limit," and it's one that every American who is concerned about our nation's cultural heritage should consider.

Read the full NPR story, including some excerpts from "Common as Air: Revolution, Art, and Ownership". [23aug10]

Our shrinking commons

Bernardo Parrella — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 04:43:37 +0200

Today quoting from music or literature has come to be seen as theft. [18aug10]

Copyright uses and misuses in free software

Bernardo Parrella — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:07:00 +0200

The practice of copyright assignment applied to free software projects. [15aug10]

New Zealand: Open Access and Licensing for State Services agencies

Bernardo Parrella — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:58:41 +0200

In July the New Zealand Cabinet approved the Government Open Access and Licensing framework (NZGOAL), providing guidance for State Services agencies to follow when releasing copyright works and non-copyright material for re-use by third parties. It standardises the licensing of government copyright works for re-use using Creative Commons licences (specifically the Attribution [BY] license) and recommends the use of ‘no-known rights’ statements for non-copyright material. It is widely recognised that re-use of this material by individuals and organisations may have significant creative and economic benefit for New Zealand. [12aug10]

Brazil: Copyright Act to be reformed...

Bernardo Parrella — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:04:06 +0200

...and public consultation open until August 31st. [02aug10]