The existence of copyright laws is extremely beneficial for online creators as it ensures them both economic (getting paid) and moral reward (being recognized as the creator) for their work (May, 2002). In order for others to use a certain work, permission must be granted from the owner first unless it is used under fair dealing rules (The UK Copyright Service 2017).

In some cases, copyright laws can be very restricting without leaving room for others to build upon an existing work or “remixing” it.  As a result of that, the Creative Commons movement was started by Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig in 2001 to encourages creative people to offer up their creative works for others to legally build upon and share, including text, music, pictures and video (Solon, 2011).

There are some quite significant advantages that come with using Creative Commons licenses. Firstly, you are keeping your copyright and at the same time making your work available for others to use. Secondly, as a result of your work being more accessible it can become more widely spread and lead to commercial opportunities. Thirdly, it can contribute for the greater good as it provides easy knowledge sharing, especially in the field of education and science. There are, of course, some drawbacks as well. The licenses are non-revocable and are mostly only available online, which is not very convenient at places where there is limited or no internet access at all. (Solon, 2011)

In a world where digital technology plays a huge role and is a creative outlet for many, Creative Commons provides a foundation for a flourishing digital culture as it works for the interest of all people involved in the creation and modification of a piece of work.

 

 

References:

 

May, C., (2002). The Information society: a sceptical view, Cambridge: Polity Press.

Solon, O., (2011). Creative Commons 101: an introduction to CC licences [online]. 13 December 2011 [Viewed 29 April 2019]. Available from: http://www.wired.co.uk/article/creative-commons-101

The UK Copyright Service (2017). Fact sheet P-27: Using the work of others [online]. The UK Copyright Service. [Viewed 29 April 2019]. Available from: https://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p27_work_of_others