public domain

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) opened last month.

(The official launch had been planned to occur at the Boston Public Library but the temporary closing of the library due to the Boston Marathon tragedy prompted that event to be postponed until the fall.)

The aim of the DPLA is to provide a large-scale, national public digital library of America's archives, libraries, museums, and cultural institutions into one portal. Leaders from 42 of America's institutions have contributed to the project, from ARTstor to the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Virginia Library. The idea of a national digital library harks to the early 1990s and the desire to provide a single portal to make cultural and scientific information available to all. It was conceived as a non-commercial alternative to Google's proposed digital library or an American equivalent to the European Union's Europeana digital library. 

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[The public domain] is the basis of our self-understanding as expressed by our shared knowledge and culture. It is the raw material from which new knowledge is derived and new cultural works are created. [..] Having a healthy and thriving Public Domain is essential to the social and economic well-being of our societies."

—from The Public Domain Manifesto

The Public Domain Review is a proponent of this message and actively supports other institutions in opening up their digital works to the public domain. Today, the public domain is in danger of being locked up by private companies and institutions who want to try to resell access and reproduction rights to the copies that they make.

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In a decision that favored the 1% (copyright owners) over the 99% (consumers and the public domain), the U.S. Supreme Court recently held that neither the Patent and Copyright Clause of the U.S. Constitution nor the First Amendment prohibits the removal of works from the public domain. Golan v. Holder, No. 10-545. Prior blog coverage of the case: certiorari granted and the 10th Circuit opinion. » Read more

After you vote, chime in on the comments with your thoughts on copyrights and why you voted the way you did.

When it considers Golan v. Holder in the coming months, the United States Supreme Court could potentially put an end to a decade-long copyright battle whose outcome significantly affects educators' abilities to use public domain works. In the process, it will wrestle with a thorny question of copyright's power: Is removing works from the United States public domain—and bringing them back under copyright's umbrella—constitutional? » Read more

Creative Commons posted two pieces to their blog today regarding their licenses, and in particular, CC0, the Creative Commons public domain notice.

Plaintext versions of Creative Commons licenses

The Creative Commons licenses are now available in plaintext form: » Read more

I'm pretty passionate about renewable energy. After I read Thomas L. Friedman's "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" I was sold on higher prices for gas and putting solar panels on every roof in America. In fact, I was so eager to contribute, I had 18 solar panels installed on the roof of my home.

When I was checking out the energy infographic, "Interactive Transparency: America's Energy, Where It's From and How It's Used" over at GOOD, I was re-energized on the topic of renewable and sustainable energy.

I couldn't agree more with GOOD's opening statement: » Read more

What a great year on the Open*Life channel here at opensource.com. We had more than 150 posts covering how open source touches our lives. This is our year in review--a time to reflect on what happened over the last year and a chance to look forward to next year.

I'd first like to thank all the authors and readers who contributed articles, thoughts, comments, reviews, artwork, feedback, and all the work that goes on behind the scenes to post an article on the site. It's truly a community effort. We are always looking for new authors, ideas for content, and improvement.

In 2011, we are looking to cover more topics on open source in our lives. We look forward to hearing more of your ideas. Let's take a look back at 2010 and see our top 10 posts, a few of my favorites, and my editor picks. » Read more

Imagine a 20-year-old musician publishing his work today. Let's pretend he's living the fast and reckless life of a rock star and will die young at 45. Because the copyright term has been ratcheted up to life of the author plus 70 years (or 95 years from publication for corporate works), you won't be able to sample his work without permission (for your heartfelt tribute song, of course), until 2105. But since you're not living his rock star lifestyle, maybe you can hang on another 95 years to grab your chance. » Read more

In a world where movies are produced on budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars, at a time when studios expect a huge return on their investment, in an industry where the opening weekend can make or break a film--one man refuses to live by society's (or the movie industry's) rules. One man is willing to put it all on the line and do something different. Something daring. Something... free. » Read more