CC's Equitable Environment

This week’s OER-related reading came mainly from the Creative Commons’ Certification Course materials. The materials detailed the different types of CC licenses available and walked through the legal fine print for each. I specifically waited until I had had a good night’s sleep to tackle these materials, expecting to be lulled into a blurry coma as I sorted through legal verbosity and jargon. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find the spirit behind Creative Commons—that of sharing knowledge equitably—reflected in easily understandable rules and legal standards. Even the names of the licenses--with their clear icons and easy-to-remember two-letter codes-- attempt to break down the barriers to sharing ethically and attributing respectfully.

See the CC icons here

These icons also guide how to use another’s CC-licensed work, and CC's attribution goal is simple:

“You want to make it easy for others to know who created what parts of the work.(1) Identify the terms under which any given work, or part of a work, can be used. (2) Provide information about works you used to create your new work or incorporated into your work.”

According to CC’s materials, this environment of sharing equitably has resulted in few abuses of shared materials. If someone has not followed the license rules and misused a shared resource, they are not immediately prosecuted, but rather given the benefit of the doubt and also 30 days to fix the issue. Typically, any issues are worked through out-of-court. Imagine that! CC states,

“The Commons is full of good people who want to do the right thing, so we don’t often see much “abuse” of openly licensed works. Using CC licenses gives good, responsible people the freedom to use and build on your work.”

Though the founder of CC is an American, Creative Commons is used globally, and its licenses are valid (and translated) worldwide (with a few exceptions). I was not aware that this was a global movement, and it made me wonder if these refreshing ideals through the veins of the educational world could offer connection and open collaboration across borders, not to mention educational opportunities in education-poor countries.

Creative Commons may be idealistic, but truthfully I hope it continues to be successful, because it makes my heart happy to imagine a world like this. Of course, I still have questions, like:

How does CC “steward” its licenses?

What is CC doing to encourage quality control and incentivize creators?