The Public Domain Manifesto http://publicdomainmanifesto.org/node/8 The Public Domain Manifesto was produced within the context of COMMUNIA, the European thematic network on the digital public domain HOME ABOUT THE MANIFESTO SIGN THE MANIFESTO TRANSLATIONS View Signatures Initial Signers - Organizations The Public Domain Manifesto Association for Fair Audiovisual Copyright in Europe - AFACE - printable and editable version Italy Center for the Study of the Public Contents Domain - USA Preamble Center for Technology and Society The Public Domain in the 21st Century at Fundacao Getulio Vargas - Brazil The Public Domain Voluntary commons and user prerogatives General Principles Creative Commons - USA General Recommendations Preamble Digitale Allmend - Switzerland "Le livre, comme livre, appartient à l’auteur, mais comme pensée, il Knowledge Ecology International - appartient—le mot n’est pas trop USA vaste—au genre humain. Toutes les intelligences y ont droit. Si l’un des deux droits, le droit de l’écrivain et le Knowledgeland - Netherlands droit de l’esprit humain, devait être sacrifié, ce serait, certes, le droit de l’écrivain, car l’intérêt public est notre iCommons Ltd - UK préoccupation unique, et tous, je le déclare, doivent passer avant nous." (Victor Hugo, Discours d’ouverture du Intellectual Property Institute - Congrès littéraire international de 1878, Slovenia 1878) Interdisciplinary Center for "Our markets, our democracy, our Computational and Mathematical science, our traditions of free speech, Modelling, University of Warsaw - Poland and our art all depend more heavily on a Public Domain of freely available Luxcommons asbl - Luxembourg material than they do on the informational material that is covered by property rights. The Public Domain is Multimedia Institute - Croatia not some gummy residue left behind when all the good stuff has been NEXA Center for Internet & Society covered by property law. The Public at Politecnico di Torino - Italy Domain is the place we quarry the building blocks of our culture. It is, in Open Knowledge Foundation - UK fact, the majority of our culture." (James Boyle, The Public Domain, p.40f, 2008) 1 sur 61 4/03/2010 10:39 The Public Domain Manifesto http://publicdomainmanifesto.org/node/8 The public domain, as we understand it, is the wealth of information that is free from the barriers Waag Society - Netherlands to access or reuse usually associated with copyright protection, either because it is free from any copyright protection or because the right holders Initial Signers - Individuals have decided to remove these barriers. It is the Philippe Aigrain Sopinspace basis of our self‐understanding as expressed by our Roland Alton-Scheidl Osalliance shared knowledge and culture. It is the raw Bodó Balázs Budapest University of Technology material from which new knowledge is derived and Bożena Bednarek-Michalska Nicolaus Copernicus new cultural works are created. The Public Domain University acts as a protective mechanism that ensures that Lorenzo Benussi Università di Torino this raw material is available at its cost of Evangelia Berdou University of Sussex reproduction ‐ close to zero ‐ and that all members Maja Bogataj Jancic Intellectual Property Institute of society can build upon it. Having a healthy and Daniel Boos Digitale Allmend thriving Public Domain is essential to the social and Danièle Bourcier CNRS - CERSA economic well‐being of our societies. The Public James Boyle Duke University Domain plays a capital role in the fields of education, science, cultural heritage and public Ayhan Bozkurt Ozyegin University sector information. A healthy and thriving Public Maarten Brinkerink Domain is one of the prerequisites for ensuring that Gülçin Cribb Ozyegin University the principles of Article 27 (1) of the Universal Vincenzo D'Andrea Università di Trento Declaration of Human Rights ('Everyone has the Juan Carlos De Martin Politecnico di Torino right freely to participate in the cultural life of the Melanie Dulong de Rosnay Politecnico di Torino community, to enjoy the arts and to share in Séverine Dusollier University of Namur scientific advancement and its benefits.') can be Özlem Efe Ozyegin University enjoyed by everyone around the world. Urs Gasser Harvard University Jonathan Gray Open Knowledge Foundation The digital networked information society has Andres Guadamuz University of Edinburgh brought the issue of the Public Domain to the Lucie Guibault University of Amsterdam foreground of copyright discussions. In order to Justyna Hofmokl ICM UW preserve and strengthen the Public Domain we Bernt Hugenholtz University of Amsterdam need a robust and up‐to‐date understanding of the Jennifer Jenkins Duke University nature and role of this essential resource. This Paul Keller Knowledgeland Public Domain Manifesto defines the Public Kari-Hans Kommonen Aalto University Domain and outlines the necessary principles and Ignasi Labastida University of Barcelona guidelines for a healthy Public Domain at the Ronaldo Lemos CTS-FGV beginning of the 21st century. The Public Domain is Lawrence Lessig Harvard University considered here in its relation to copyright law, to Wolf Ludwig Digitale Allmend the exclusion of other intellectual property rights Colin MacLay Harvard University (like patents and trademarks), and where copyright Sanna Marttila UIAH law is to be understood in its broadest sense to Tomislav Medak Multimedia Institute include economic and moral rights under copyright Angelo Raffaele Meo Politecnico di Torino and related rights (inclusive of neighboring rights Federico Morando Politecnico di Torino and database rights). In the remainder of this Marcello Mustilli AFACE document copyright is therefore used as a catch‐all Pedro Oliveira Universidade Católica Portuguesa term for these rights. Moreover, the term 'works' Johan Oomen includes all subject‐matter protected by copyright Pedro Paranaguá CTS-FGV so defined, thus including databases, performances and recordings. Likewise, the term 'authors' Patrick Peiffer Luxcommons includes photographers, producers, broadcasters, Mario Pena Safecreative painters and performers. Carlos Affonso Pereira de Souza CTS-FGV Diane Peters Creative Commons The Public Domain in the 21st Century Rufus Pollock University of Cambridge and the Open Knowledge Foundation Anjariitta Rantanen Ozyegin University The Public Domain as aspired to in this Manifesto is Manon Ress KEI defined as cultural material that can be used Marco Ricolfi Università di Torino without restriction, absent copyright protection. In addition to works that are formally in the public Stefano Rodotà NEXA Center for Internet & Society 2 sur 61 4/03/2010 10:39 The Public Domain Manifesto http://publicdomainmanifesto.org/node/8 domain, there are also lots of valuable works that Alessandro Rossi Università di Trento individuals have voluntarily shared under generous Klaas Schmidt EEAR terms creating a privately constructed commons Elizabeth Stark iCommons that functions in many ways like the public domain. Oguz Sunay Ozyegin University Moreover, individuals can also make use of many Wojtek Sylwestrzak ICM UW protected works through exceptions and limitations Alek Tarkowski ICM UW to copyright, fair use and fair dealing. All of these Maurizio Teli Università di Trento sources that allow for increased access to our Silvia Toccoli Università di Trento culture and heritage are important and all need to Prodromos Tsiavos London School of Economics be actively maintained in order for society to reap the full benefit of our shared knowledge and culture. see all signatures The Public Domain The structural Public Domain lies at the core of the notion of the Public Domain and is comprised of THEME DESIGN Copyright © 2009 under GPL by Tribute Media. our shared knowledge, culture and resources that Site Powered by Drupal. Webmaster: Luca Leschiutta. can be used without copyright restrictions by virtue of current law. Specifically, the structural Public Domain is made up of two different classes of material: 1. Works of authorship where the copyright protection has expired. Copyright is a temporary right granted to authors. Once this temporary protection has come to its end, all legal restrictions cease to exist, subject in some countries to the author's perpetual moral rights. 2. The essential commons of information that is not covered by copyright. Works that are not protected by copyright because they fail the test of originality, or are excluded from protection (such as data, facts, ideas, procedures, processes, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles, or discoveries, regardless of the form in which they are described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in a work, as well as laws and judicial and administrative decisions). This essential commons is too important for the functioning of our societies to be burdened with legal restrictions of any nature even for a limited period. The structural Public Domain is an historically grown balance to the rights of authors protected by copyright and it is essential to the cultural memory and knowledge base of our societies. In the second half of the 20th century all two elements identified here have been strained by the extension of the term of copyright protection and the introduction of more copyright‐like regimes of legal protection. Voluntary commons and user prerogatives 3 sur 61 4/03/2010 10:39 The Public Domain Manifesto http://publicdomainmanifesto.org/node/8 In addition to this structural core of the Public Domain, there are other essential sources