Paul Keller, Andrea Glorioso, Mia Garlick,
Yes, I and our Minciu Sodas laboratory based in Lithuania
are interested
to participate as partners. I share my thoughts below.
Paolo Pumilia in Milan, Italy is also very interested. He
has organized
a series of conferences on Open Content including
http://www.openculture.org
and is now creating a Permanent Committee.
Do you have a public online venue for pursuing work on this
proposal,
including reaching out to others? We'd like to host such
work at our
working group Learning From Each Other
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/learningfromeachother/ led
by Pamela
McLean of the UK. Her general interest is in the use of ICT
to support
self-learning with special attention to the wide open
situation in
Africa. She has agreed to host Paolo's work towards a
Permanent
Committee for open content conferences. Roland Alton who
hosted the
recent workshop is also here. Please send a blank message
to
learningfromeachother-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to
subscribe!
Andrius
Andrius Kulikauskas
Minciu Sodas
http://www.ms.lt
ms ms.lt
+370 (5) 264 5950
+370 (699) 30003
Vilnius, Lithuania
Paul Keller wrote:
> dear Andrius,
>
> thank you for your mail and sorry for the delayed
answer. i was not
> able to keep up with my mail because of the bad
connectivity at
> wizards of so. as you might now we have had a meeting
at WOS on
> thursday to select a lead organisation for the TN
proposal. We have
> chosen the politechnico de torino as lead and i have
copied Andrea
> Glorioso from the Politechnico in this mail. if you
wnat to join the
> project at this stage you should get in touch with him
as soon as
> possible as he is coordinating the efforts to select
the consortium
> partners at this moment.
> all the best from amsterdam,
>
> paul keller (CC-NL)
>
> On Sep 14, 2006, at 11:07 PM, Andrius Kulikauskas
wrote:
>
>> Sorry! I forgot to add this. Andrius, http://www.ms.lt
>>
------------------------------------------------------------
----
>>
>> http://europa.eu.int/information_society/activi
ties/econtentplus/
>> docs/call_2006/ecp_work_programme_2006.pdf
>>
>>
>> REINFORCING COOPERATION BETWEEN DIGITAL CONTENT
STAKEHOLDERS
>>
>> Issues and policies relating to the public domain
are critical across
>> all the target areas covered by
>> the programme for facilitating the accessibility,
use and exploitation
>> of digital content in general. In
>> 2006, eContentplus will fund a thematic network to
examine the
>> situation
>> in the European Union
>> and develop strategies and solutions for its Member
States.
>> For the purposes of this work programme, public
domain refers to
>> content
>> that is not or no longer
>> protected by copyright, for example because it is
not entitled to
>> copyright protection or the
>> copyright has been waived or has expired. Related
issues that also
>> require examination include
>> material that is protected by copyright, but can be
accessed and
>> used by
>> all, e.g. through open
>> access, under Creative Commons licences or as
orphan works, i.e. works
>> protected by copyright but
>> where it is impossible to identify the person
entitled to exercise the
>> rights.
>>
>> 6.1. A Thematic Network on public-domain and
related issues
>>
>> Objective: A single network will be funded to
spread awareness among
>> content stakeholders on the importance of issues
relating to the public
>> domain for the usability and accessibility of
digital content. It will
>> identify the issues and develop strategies for
tackling them at
>> European
>> level.
>>
>> Conditions: In addition to the common requirements
for Thematic
>> Networks, proposals should meet the
>> following conditions:
>> • They should bring together experts from different
backgrounds with an
>> interest in the public
>> domain, such as IPR experts, content owners
(libraries and archives),
>> representatives of the
>> scientific community, end users and consumers.
>> • Participants should represent the interests of
actors from a
>> sufficiently wide geographical area
>> so as to have an impact at European level.
>>
>> Expected results: Digital stakeholders should
understand and appreciate
>> public domain issues and incorporate that
understanding and
>> appreciation
>> in strategies and solutions for dealing with such
issues at European
>> level.
>>
>>
------------------------------------------------------------
---------
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Andrius Kulikauskas wrote:
>>
>>> Hi! I'm wondering if anybody is writing a
proposal for the European
>>> Union's call to create a Public Domain
thematic network? I want to
>>> support Roland Alton-Scheidl's efforts. He's
currently at the
>>> Wizards of OS conference in Berlin and will
give a workshop on this
>>> on Sunday. My Minciu Sodas laboratory members
Markus Petz,
>>> Dante-Gabryell Monson and Eric Schneider are
also there. I hope we
>>> might speak up and work together at this
opportunity!
>>>
>>> I also ask for help to make contacts in some of
the bigger
>>> businesses and institutions as I think that is
essential for the
>>> success of a proposal. They could be in Europe
but even outside
>>> contacts might prove helpful. I'm thinking of
hardware, software,
>>> media companies but also perhaps insurance or
real estate or travel
>>> or pharmaceuticals or other companies that are
knowledge intensive
>>> and might possibly benefit from a progressive
approach to the
>>> Public Domain. I'm also personally asking for
a review of current
>>> dogma and a rethinking as to how we might
approach these issues
>>> ethically first, and legally second. Please
join us at
>>>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/learningfromeachother/ and
also thank
>>> you for discussion at the Creative Commons
list.
>>>
>>> Andrius Kulikauskas
>>> msms.lt, http://www.ms.lt, Direktorius,
Minciu Sodas
>>> ---------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>
>>> The EU's European Commission has issued a call
for proposals (due
>>> October 19, 2006) to create a Public Domain
thematic network. Up to 1
>>> million euros is available. http://europa.eu.in
t/econtentplus and more
>>> information below.
>>>
>>> Since 1998, I have organized our Minciu Sodas
laboratory
>>> http://www.ms.lt
to deliberately leverage the Public Domain to
>>> serve and
>>> organize independent thinkers. Together we have
created more than
>>> 15,000
>>> letters and 3,000 wiki pages. We're starting
to reuse this material in
>>> more and more ways that facilitate our working
together. We're also
>>> realizing that our spaces in the Public Domain
filters in those who
>>> are
>>> willing to work openly and share freely and
filters out sharkish,
>>> trollish and other deconstructive behavior.
This means that we can
>>> encourage our participants to invest time,
energy, resources in each
>>> other's growth. I have written about this
logic in "An Economy for
>>> Giving Everything Away" http://www.ms.lt/e
n/workingopenly/
>>> givingaway.html
>>>
>>> I'm writing to encourage us to organize around
Roland Alton-Scheidl,
>>> PUBLIC VOICE Lab & Project Lead
>>> RegisteredCommons.org, Vorarlberg University of
Applied Sciences,
>>> http://www.media.coop/ab
out/ He's leading a workshop for all who would
>>> like to work together on this proposal. It
takes place this Sunday at
>>> "The Wizards of OS" conference in
Berlin
>>> http://wiz
ards-of-os.org/index.php?id=2922
>>> http://www.medi
a.coop/project/ecplus/ http://del.icio.us/ecplus
>>>
>>> I spoke with Roland today. He and Franz Nahrada
know each other quite
>>> well. Franz leads our lab's working group
Global Villages
>>> http://www.globalvilla
ges.info
>>> http://
groups.yahoo.com/group/globalvillages/ Roland is a part
of
>>> Franz's video bridge team which is working
with telecoms so that they
>>> offer video bridge equipment free of charge to
community centers which
>>> subscribe to video bridge services. This option
can make all the
>>> difference for spreading this technology and is
analogous to the DSL
>>> companies offering modems free of charge to
their subscribers. It also
>>> lets subscribers use the existing proprietary
technology without
>>> locking
>>> them into it so they might switch as open
source options arise. And
>>> it's
>>> a ground breaking example of providers serving
communities rather than
>>> consumers.
>>>
>>> Roland is looking for a team of four or five
people who might help
>>> with
>>> his proposal. I'm happy to help. Who else? He
also asked for help to
>>> find partners in the various European
countries, especially large
>>> businesses and institutions. Here are some that
we can approach
>>> right away:
>>> - Paolo Pumilia in Milan, Italy is the
organizer of several Open
>>> Content
>>> conferences http://www.openculture.org
with many ties to the academic
>>> community. He's the one who originally alerted
me to the call.
>>> - Steve Cayzer of Hewlett-Packard Bristol Labs
>>> http://w
ww.hpl.hp.com/personal/Steve_Cayzer/ is working on the
>>> semantic
>>> web and is a friend of our lab.
>>> - Stanko Blatnik is in Slovenia and is
interested in distance learning
>>> and has academic connections.
>>> - Georg Pleger of Creative Commons Austria
>>> http://w
ww.creativecommons.at/Members/georgP has been very
sympathetic
>>> and perhaps has more contacts.
>>> I have some connections in Lithuania's
government, perhaps that
>>> might be
>>> relevant.
>>>
>>> But we need bigger connections in order to have
a chance of winning. I
>>> spoke recently with a friendly expert who made
it clear that our
>>> lab had
>>> no chance of winning. These projects are
typically won by outfits that
>>> manage thirty or forty of them at a time. They
have the whole
>>> production
>>> line ready for this and the calls are usually
formulated with them in
>>> mind. So I'm encouraging us to work openly and
rally around Roland and
>>> all who are willing to put in the work and take
the risk. This will
>>> provide three years of funding for a few
organizers and travel for
>>> partners. And meanwhile it's a good
opportunity for us to connect and
>>> support each other.
>>>
>>> I defer to Roland regarding the content of the
proposal. But I
>>> share my
>>> ideas. I would call the proposal and the
network "Ethical Public
>>> Domain". My goal would be to focus our
attention on ethics rather than
>>> legalities. Our work would be to analyze each
domain where content is
>>> generated and considered what is the ethically
best way to treat
>>> content
>>> given the relevant issues. And then to make
recommendations as to how
>>> laws should be changed and how to focus on
ethical rather than legal
>>> solutions. And how to integrate different kinds
of content in
>>> different
>>> situations.
>>>
>>> Our assumption would be that people have a
basic human right to share.
>>> Any law which presumes that people don't want
to share is in conflict
>>> with that right. In particular, the laws which
assume that we claim
>>> ownership of our creative works are counter to
our right to share and
>>> thus ethically void. People who want to claim
legal protection of
>>> their
>>> creative works ought to be active in marking
their content
>>> accordingly.
>>> Otherwise they are infringing on our right to
share. By clarifying our
>>> human rights we would help show where the laws
are ethical and
>>> where are
>>> they overstepping.
>>>
>>> For example, as Thomas Kalka noted, one
argument against public
>>> domain software is that supposedly author's
are not protected against
>>> presumed warrantees and associated liability.
Well, instead of
>>> abandoning the public domain, why not clarify
if the laws are
>>> unethical
>>> and should be changed?
>>>
>>> I'm also thinking of social networking
(people's implicit content) and
>>> video bridges (most explicit content) as two
ends of a spectrum and
>>> every other kind of content is somewhere in
between.
>>>
>>> One idea is to have a video bridge center in
every European country
>>> and
>>> have them in other countries so that we could
have their input because
>>> this is a global issue. And to meet through the
video bridges as
>>> much as
>>> possible. And perhaps bring them to conferences
throughout the year so
>>> that people throughout Europe and around the
world could hook up on
>>> this
>>> issue both online and offline.
>>>
>>> I also think that it could be helpful to focus
attention on content
>>> that
>>> is socially meaningful such as a knowledge base
for sustainability
>>> that
>>> could use all manner of media. And a social
networking system to
>>> attract
>>> such giving people and help them help each
other find paid work. Here
>>> again Public Domain is essential.
>>>
>>> The Public Domain can also have an express
ethical component which
>>> explains what is appropriate behavior under
various conditions. For
>>> example, if you make money from content, then
it's appropriate to give
>>> back to the content creators. But how exactly
you do that and who
>>> exactly you give to isn't so important. And
it's not a legal issue.
>>> Certainly for individuals and small businesses
there is no recourse in
>>> civil law because of the expense and wasted
energy and so the law
>>> is not
>>> a solution for the people who matter.
>>>
>>> I think it's also perfectly human to have
ethics and laws which allow
>>> humans to use their best judgement but require
institutions with
>>> limited
>>> liability, such as corporations, to be taxed
for their use of content.
>>> Or, for example, it makes sense to have patents
which allow humans
>>> unrestricted use but require corporations to
negotiate with the patent
>>> holder.
>>>
>>> I think it's important to think of the Public
Domain in a practical
>>> way
>>> and not make a legal parody of it. In practice,
people can and do
>>> change
>>> their mind as to whether their work is in the
Public Domain. And the
>>> common sense consequence is that this does not
affect any copies
>>> already
>>> published but should affect any future copies
to the extent that the
>>> publisher has been made or should be aware of
the change of status. In
>>> which case the publisher should be prepared to
negotiate or find a
>>> substitute. This makes for a world where
sharing is much more
>>> voluntary
>>> and not based on force, and where investments
are made accordingly.
>>>
>>> I'm interested to approach participants in the
Creative Commons
>>> initiative who would like to see more emphasis
on ethics rather than
>>> law. I believe that here in Europe we might
succeed in developing an
>>> ethical European alternative ("respect
these requests") to a
>>> legalistic
>>> American approach ("these rights
reserved"). Especially as the
>>> network's
>>> major role can be to suggest European policy
that leads to directives
>>> that lead to harmonized laws throughout the
Union.
>>>
>>> Pamela McLean has agreed to host work on this
proposal at her working
>>> group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/learningfromeachother/ Her
key
>>> concept in life is "learning from each
other" and she's especially
>>> interested in how we and ICT might support
learning, especially in
>>> Africa, which is a wonderful land for thinking
fresh. Paolo Pumilia is
>>> also active there. We invite all to join us,
please send a blank
>>> message
>>> to
learningfromeachother-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Roland, if
you
>>> think
>>> this is a good idea, please ask people at your
workshop to sign up for
>>> this group and get their permissions. This
would be a great boost
>>> for us
>>> to help you! Also, the more openly that we
write this proposal, the
>>> more
>>> partners, attention and good will we might
attract.
>>>
>>> Roland, best wishes in your work!
>>> Please keep us posted!
>>>
>>> Andrius
>>>
>>> Andrius Kulikauskas
>>> Minciu Sodas
>>> http://www.ms.lt
>>> msms.lt
>>> +370 (5) 264 5950
>>> +370 (699) 30003
>>> Vilnius, Lithuania
>>>
>>>
>>> Each letter sent to Learning From Each Other
enters the PUBLIC
>>> DOMAIN unless it explicitly states otherwise
http://
>>> www.ethicalpublicdomain.org Please be kind to
our authors!
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> cc-community mailing list
>>> cc-communitylists.ibiblio.org
>>> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/cc-community
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> cc-communitylists.ibiblio.org
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>
>
> --
> waag society | nieuwmarkt 4 | NL - 1012 CR amsterdam
> e: paulwaag.org | t: +31 20 557 9898 | f: +31 20 557 9880
>
>
>
>
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