Creative Commons – Saving the Internet One License at a Time

Traditionally copyright has been inflexible, creating few opportunities for those who wish to share or use a new work. Copyright is automatically assigned as soon as an original creation is fixed in a tangible medium. Although registering a work with the U.S. Copyright Office may be beneficial, is not required for an author to receive the rights and protections provided by the federal law. Under this system, anyone wanting to use a creation is limited to the allowable uses outlined in the law or must justify their use through a fair use analysis. All other applications of a work are only allowable if permission has been granted by the author or the organization that owns the rights to the work. There is no way for an author to communicate other uses that are acceptable to them. In an information world that now thrives on the sharing and exchange of new information, the restrictions of copyright are onerous and confusing. It was because of these limitations that the desire for something more proactive came about. Authors needed a system that would allow them to say up front what they were willing to let people do with their work. As a result Creative Commons licenses were developed.