There is a growing groundswell among creative minds, that have become frustrated with the present situation of copyrights and the constraints that come along with them. The system is cumbersome and costly, especially when one is trying to build on the works of others. For instance, in a recent documentary being assembled, the creators spent nearly half their 200,000 dollar budget in order to secure permissions for their film. In the end, many hours were also wasted and still they were forced to remove scenes when some permissions were denied any way.
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Artists and scholars who believe the current copyright system unduly stifles creativity are pushing a less restrictive alternative that they call the Creative Commons. Its adherents are a varied lot. They include MIT, the Beastie Boys, Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, newspaper columnist Dan Gillmor and the British Broadcasting Corp. Driving the movement is the belief that we all benefit when creative minds are free to expand upon others' work '“ that public discourse is hurt when too much of it is weighed down by the baggage of commerce. "The (Creative) Commons encourages sharing and makes explicit that creativity depends on easy access to raw materials," said Siva Vaidhyanathan, a New York University professor critical of current copyright laws. "Right now, you have to assume you're going to get in trouble if you quote from somebody extensively or build upon a previous expression." |
If you are intrigued by this new Copyright "Lite" you may visit the non-profit Creative Commons website to learn more. If you would like to read the entire San Diego Union Tribune article please go here.
Source: The San Diego Union Tribune
