[microsound] Re: creative commons license

[tasty radish <tastyradish@xxxxxxxxx>]

>cookie cutter templates are better than the blanket copyright which 
 >would seem to be the alternative to anyone who isn't a lawyer and/or 
 >can't afford lawyer's fees.
 
 no, this is not true. do you think every copyright text that is written for a contract by an agency is vetted thru a lawyer? Believe me it doesn't work like that. The reason is because its not neccesary.  In fact with a little practice and getting the main concepts, anyone with a bit of a head on their shoulders can write a solid contract that protects your rights and gives other rights in any way you want. That "only lawyers" can do this is pure mystification (which certainly benefits the legal fees of lawyers thats for sure!) and I would suggest to believe this further alienates you from your own work in the real world (that is, how you, as an artist have to deal with negotiating 'deals', "rights", etc.). 
 
 Artists need to understand how to negotiate these things so as to protect themselve and work out deals, etc. etc. Using cookie cutter templates, while ostensibly *easy* actually, in my opinion, alienate you from understanding how to handle this as particular situations arise. 
 
 The original prompt here was that sometimes these creative commons licenses don't address the specifics of a situation (not to mention that the term "non-commercial" was thought of as inadequate -- which it is!).  What I am attempting to clarify is that one CAN write good solid copywrite for one self that is specific to the situation, and which allows libraries, etc. etc. to use the material. You just need to know how. This doesn't require anything like a law degree, but it does require becoming somewhat familiar with tradiitional terms that are used in writing copyright.  And just looking at traditional copyright texts. 
 
 For instance, in the USA, the traditional term for allowing libraries to use material, would be addressed in the following sentence: "Rights include not-for-profit educational institutions (such as public libraries)".  
 
 Utlitamately, writing copyright texts is about clarifying how you -- the artist or what is called "the producer" -- are permitting 'others' to use your material. This is really not all that hard. There are many sources out there to get a handle on it.
 
 The main name of the game is creating short texts which as documents protect you, so that  IF something should be used in a way you did not want, you can refer to this document. 90% of the time this amounts to some kind of agreement (sometimes involving money as compensation for the wrong use) without involving any lawyers.  And most often it creates the clarification neccesary, so that others who may want to use things outside the perimeters of what is stated as being granted, know to contact you.   it isn't really that difficult to figure out. 
 
 
 -andrew
 

		
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