Thing #23 Creative Commons

Wow, Thing #23. I was not excited about doing this because frankly, dealing with copyright is one of my least favorite things to do. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Creative Commons makes a lot of sense to me. My understanding is that CC gives people the right to protect parts of what they have created or not. I like that it isn't an all or nothing deal. My understanding of fair use has also increased. I learned that fair use can include parodies and spoofs. The main thing is that whatever is being used is different than it was intended to be used as. Wow, that's really hard to explain. This video I found was inmates doing the Thriller dance. Michael Jackson intended for his dance and video to sell records and promote his career. Well, these inmates did not have that intention so it is OK to use the song and dance.

I see that the internet has really changed copyright because information is abundant. You can get almost anything by doing an online search. I like the thought that by working together, we can refine and improve upon already good ideas. CC allows people to add, expand, and edit ideas, pictures, music, and documents to fit different needs. One of the articles I read, said that someone created a commercial for Apple and placed it on YouTube. Instead of suing that person, Apple bought the commercial because they liked it so much. I see CC as a win-win situation.

In the library, this does make things a little more sticky when it comes to copyright. We all have so much yet to learn about how the Internet is going to influence copyright. Changes are happening and we have to go with the flow.