commons

The fashion commons

Intellectual property and fashion – now there is a minefield. To those who are fashion oriented the look and feel of favorite labels goes beyond the property debate and enters into the realm of defining personality. People who wear Nike are…, Paul Smith is…, Billabong shorts are…

You get the idea. Never really thought too much about the connection between Creative Commons and fashion copyright but I read on the CC blog that the Berlin-based fashion label Pamoyo have decided to release the designs for their clothes under a CC BY-NC-SA license, allowing people to recreate Pamoyo’s styles at home as long as they don’t sell their creations. Similarly, someone can build upon one of Pamoyo’s existing designs – if they release the new design publicly they must do so under the same license, continuing the process of reuse and creativity.

What is the correct attribution on a swimsuit?

Posted on by mklang

I am spreading

So I was looking at Slideshare which is basically a site where lots of people upload and download powerpoints. Besides avoiding other work the reason for me being there was to see whether this would be a good tool to use. Or maybe it’s enough already with the whole 2.0 thingy.

Anyway while looking at all the slick (some are very slick) presentations I saw something I recognized. The first slide in a presentation on How to Describe and Improve your Business Model (not my area at all!!) was one of my photo’s from my Flickr account.

The ppt maker (Alex Osterwalder) has even followed the CC instructions when he used my original image of a silver spire in Dublin (original photo here) and attributed me in the notes section of the slide. Very nicely done. I was surprised to run across myself like that, after the initial surprise I must say I really like it. Wow, Creative Commons works 🙂

Posted on by mklang

Now, Can You Picture Me?

About time too! Fredrik Jonasson, a Swedsh artist form Jönköping, has released his new album Now, Can You Picture Me? You can download the album from (download it here) under a Creative Commons license (by-nc-sa).

Fredrik has been making music in different constellations all his life. The past 4 years he has been focusing on Phace O.S. a, as Fredrik himself puts it, “band of different and strong personalities”. But now, he figured, it was time to put 100% of him into a project and the result of it is his new album. It is his first solo album, but over 5000 downloads in just over a week say it will probably not be his last.

About the style of his music the artist says: “My only concern is to find my personal expression and I don’t care that much for fitting into a given genre. If I have to describe it, then I’d say it’s some kind of electronica with strong melodies. At least I’d like to think that.” And in the true spirit of Free Culture Fredrik says: “After all, isn’t that what it’s all about? To write great songs, regardless of which clothes you present them in?”

This is not the first Swedish musician to release under creative commons but it is a bit strange that Sweden has not produced many more than we have…

Posted on by mklang

Open Content Licensing in Swedish

Right now I am putting the finishing touches to a booklet on Open Content Licensing in Swedish and I am struggling to make it interesting as well as informative – not an easy combination when it comes to copyright licenses. Another difficulty is working with the topic in Swedish since it is not a language I am used to working with.

Anyway I would really appreciate any Swedish readers who would like to take a look at the text and send me comments.  So feel free to read it: licensbok_iis_15.pdf

Posted on by mklang

New book: Wikiworld

The works on the causes and effects on the “new openness” are coming in fast. My most recent find is Juha Suoranta & Tere Vadén (University of Tampere, Finland) who have published an open access book entitled Wikiworld – Political Economy and the Promise of Participatory Media:

In the digital world of learning there is a progressive transformation from the institutionalized and individualized forms of learning to open learning and collaboration. The book provides a view on the use of new technologies and learning practices in furthering socially just futures, while at the same time paying critical attention to the constants, or “unmoved movers” of the information society development; the West and Capitalism. The essential issue in the Wikiworld is one of freedom ­ levels and kinds of freedom. Our message is clear: we write for the radical openness of education for all.

It sounds interesting and  I will download it as soon as I get to a better connection. Right now I am on a train surfing via mobile not the best thing for downloading books… its online here.

Posted on by mklang

Demanding 1,6 million

According to the local free newspaper the record companies suing the  people behind The Pirate Bay are demanding 1 621 045 euro in damages – thats a lot of money.

Posted on by mklang

Wikipedia takes Manhattan

Free Culture at NYU and Columbia are organizing a photo contest in  New York. The idea is to document the  city and provide  images which can be later used for wikipedia articles. This is a great way to increase awareness and to provide a bank of images for others to use. Does anyone want to organize something similar in Göteborg?

On Friday, March 28th (April 4th rain date), join Free Culture @ NYU and Free Culture @ Columbia on a quest to get the best shots of NYC. Bring your camera and a way to get around town for the biggest scavenger hunt in Free Culture’s history.

All photos will be uploaded to the Wikimedia Commons for inclusion into Wikipedia articles about NYC that need photos. We’ve got hundreds of locations, sites, and things to document for Wikipedia and it should be a really fun day.

Each member of the winning team will receive an iPod shuffle loaded with Creative Commons music! Second and third place teams will win copies of “Wikipedia, The Missing Manual” donated by O’Reilly.

Posted on by mklang

Creative Commons Logo Competition

Creative Commons Sweden goes live and on that occasion we want to ask you how we can best represent you. We are looking for a logo that best represents you, in your surroundings and your culture – a more personalised CC Sweden logo if you will.

So we ask you, as artists, to be creative and make the Creative Commons Sweden your Creative Commons.

Here is the deal:

Take one of the Creative Commons logos (two examples here or/and here) and create something that represents CC Sweden. It can be a variation with the flag, the shape of the Sweden or a cultural sight or something completely unrelated but yet unique. The only condition is, that the logo you use as a basis remains unchanged.

The best 3 designs will be rewarded with a) a price from one of our supporters and b) will represent the CC Sweden from then on, on our website, on T-shirts, hoodies, keychains etc. and wherever the CC Sweden appears.

So, take to you sketch-boards and make the CC Sweden your Creative Commons.

Send your designs including a short mail explaining your thoughts and you idea behind the logo to contest@creativecommons.se (text can be either in English or in Swedish).

More information online here. If you have any questions feel free to contact Mirko.

Posted on by mklang

Encyclopedia of Life

The Encyclopedia of Life, an ambitious project to document all of Earth’s known species, has released its first 30,000 pages of content. Over the next 10 years, the project aims to aggregate, in one place, information on an estimated 1.8 million species. From the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) press release:

Intended as a tool for scientists and policymakers and a fascinating resource for anyone interested in the living world, the EOL is being developed by a unique collaboration between scientists and the general public. By making it easy to compare and contrast information about life on Earth, the resulting compendium has the  potential to provide new insights into many of life’s secrets.

In most cases, Encyclopedia of Life contributing members have made content available using Creative Commons licenses either Att-SA or Att-NC or Att-NC-SA.

Posted on by mklang