Infographic: Great Copyright Divide

Spotted in the CCCOER email group…

Educators Michaela Willi Hooper and Lauren Antrosiglio created a map that represents public domain, all rights reserved, and Creative Commons as geographic regions:

A map called the Great Copyright Divide shows a vast ocean of public domain, where a small paper boat is sailing on calm waters. Materials under public domain are pre-1925, US federal government creations, or have a CC0 public domain dedication. Across a chasm from the ocean is the Forest of All Rights Reserved Copyright, and below that the Creative Commons meadow. The Creative Commons meadow has a sign that says community rules: give attribution, understand the rules of sharealike, no derivatives, and non-commercial licenses before you rely on them. The Forest of All Rights Reserved has a sign that says Avoid danger! Get permission, use a license, follow fair use

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Coming back from a joint session by ARL/CARL about Fair Use (US) and Fair Dealing (Canada), can’t help but think there’s room for broader discussion about OER rights beyond CC.

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use/Fair Dealing for OER: Webinar and Workshop - Association of Research Libraries (arl.org)

Interestingly, it sounds like the law-minded guests were preoccupied by two cases, one on each side of the border.

On the Canadian side, York v. Access Copyright. E.g.
Major Win for York on Copyright: York University v. Access Copyright Case Review - Field Law
On the US side, Google v. Oracle. E.g.:
HOT TAKE - Google v. Oracle: The Supreme Court on Copyright Fair Use - American University Washington College of Law

Of course, it’s a wide world out there for OERs. In some ways, our cultivation of the CC Meadow might bring us rich harvest in the longterm. The PD Ocean is very fertile, of course. Just difficult to tame. Doctrines, policies, and rights like Fair Dealing and Fair Use allow us to carve out some pieces of the © Forest.

Sooooo…

Are there OEGers who are working out the practical implications of such a model? For instance, isn’t CC more broadly applicable across jurisdictions, given the fact that PD rules vary? A bit like adopting explicit CC0 instead of relying on PD, can we find mechanisms to make Fair Use or Fair Dealing less dependent on law pros?

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Sounds like these sharks or buried logs in those PD waters. Smooth sailing?

If I infer correctly, you are suggested there is the least amount of uncertainty with CC0 vs PD? Unfortunately it seems like those license splitting hairs are not paid interest (until one gets served). Shall we aim to enlarge the Meadow? Build more attractive entrances?

Yes, expanding the Meadow and providing diverse entry points.
My understanding is that there’s more uncertainty with PD than CC0. The benefit of CC0 is that it’s explicit.
Then again, IANAL.