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This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Exploring the Sociotechnical Dynamics of the Creative Commons Licenses: The Case of Open Content Filmmakers Evangelia Giannatou PhD in Science and Technology Studies The University of Edinburgh 2015 1 Declaration In accordance with the University of Edinburgh regulations, I hereby declare that: 1. This thesis has been composed solely by myself; 2. This thesis is entirely my own work; and 3. This thesis has not been submitted in part or whole for any other degree or personal qualification. Evangelia Giannatou 2 Abstract Networked information technologies and especially the internet, have brought about extensive changes and re-arrangements in cultural production, distribution, commercialisation and consumption of creative content. As an attempt to create a type of copyright licenses better suited for the online environment, the Creative Commons (CC) organisation has launched a license suite that allows creators to openly distribute and share their work under varying levels of restrictions. This thesis aim is to explore the motivations, expectations and understandings of both users and non users of CC licenses within the Independent Filmmaking Community. The research maps out the strategies and diverse business models that users of the licenses develop around their implementation but also the problems and conflicts that arise for both users and non users of the licenses. It therefore sheds light on the processes of adoption, implementation and subsequent fragmentation of the socio-legal innovation that is the CC license suite. While Free and Open Source models of software development (FOSS) have been thoroughly researched, little is known about how other content creators incorporate open licensing strategies within their creative fields. This research aims to address this gap in the literature through the examination of the use of CC licenses by Open Content Filmmakers. Building on theoretical and empirical research in Science and Technology Studies my aim is to analyse the legal innovation of CC licenses by focusing on how they are embedded within the everyday practices of open content filmmakers. By applying the Social Shaping of Technology framework and more specifically the Social Learning perspective, I examine the ways different actors ascribe meaning and conceptualise the role and usefulness of the licenses for their creative practices. Filmmakers negotiate the licenses’ significance through their interactions with diverse actors. These negotiations entail conflicting interpretations as different actors often have different agendas, commitments and resources, resulting in the transformation of both the licenses’ stated goals and of the perceived affordances of digital 3 technologies. Drawing on multi-sited ethnography and rich qualitative data, this thesis captures the processes of learning by doing and learning by interaction, as filmmakers seek to find an appropriate way of applying the licenses, situating them within their localised creative endeavours through trial and error practices. The analysis of empirical evidence reveals how independent filmmakers navigate between ideological imperatives and practical considerations in order to form distinct, heterogeneous configurations that work for them, instead of outright adopting a homogeneous generic vision for how copyright should be applied in the digital environment. 4 Acknowledgements This research would not have been possible without the support I have received from staff and students at STIS. In particular, I would like to thank my supervisors for their many insightful comments and their endless encouragement throughout my doctoral research. Many thanks also go to all my office mates, past and present, in Old Surgeons’ Hall, for making this journey not only productive but also fun. And a very special thanks to Orlando, for his company, patience, assistance and miraculous formatting skills. I am of course, enormously grateful to all the filmmakers who participated in this study, for being kind enough to take time out from their busy schedules to talk to me. I would also like to thank my father, mother and brother who have always supported me unconditionally, and have been very patient with me throughout these past few years. This thesis is especially dedicated to my father Spyros Giannatos, who motivated my studies and carried me on his shoulders throughout his life. I wouldn’t have reached this point if it weren’t for him. 5 Table of Contents Declaration ......................................................................................................................... 2 Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... 5 List of Abbreviations ....................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 1 .......................................................................................................................... 11 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 11 1.1 Problem Statement ................................................................................................ 11 1.2 Research Framing and Aims ............................................................................... 15 1.3 Thesis Outline ......................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 2 .......................................................................................................................... 21 Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 21 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 21 2.2 A Brief History of Copyright Law in the UK ................................................... 23 2.3 Arguments For and Against Additional Restrictions in Copyright Law26 2.4 The Creative Industries and Copyright ........................................................... 31 2.5 Open Content Licensing Systems ...................................................................... 34 2.5.1 Introducing the Creative Commons ...................................................................... 36 2.5.2 Elements and Forms of Creative Commons Licenses ...................................... 38 2.5.3 Reasons for Creative Commons Licenses’ Adoption ........................................ 41 2.6 Use of Creative Commons Licenses in Online Communities .................... 44 2.6.1 The Open Content Filmmaking Community ....................................................... 48 2.7 Critical Approaches to the Creative Commons Project .............................. 51 2.8 Closing Remarks ..................................................................................................... 54 Chapter 3 .......................................................................................................................... 55 Theoretical Framework, Methodology and Research Design ........................ 55 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 55 A. Conceptual and Theoretical Framework - Science and Technology Studies Literature as a Guide to Research ............................................................ 57 3.2 Early STS approaches to the analysis of society and technology ........... 57 3.3 Social Shaping of Technology – Social Learning in Technological Innovation ....................................................................................................................... 64 B. Methodology and Research Design .................................................................... 71 3.4 The Importance of Socio-Legal Research in the Study of Legal Phenomena ..................................................................................................................... 71 3.4.1 Applying Socio-Legal Research Methodologies to Copyright Law ............... 73 6 3.5 Motivation and Framing of the Research Project ........................................ 76 3.6 Research Questions, Objectives and Potential Audiences ....................... 77 3.7 Research Strategy .................................................................................................. 80 3.8 Choosing a Qualitative Research Methodology: Multi-sited Ethnography ..................................................................................................................

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