Group items tagged

"The Public Domain Review is a not-for-profit project dedicated to showcasing the most interesting and unusual out-of-copyright works available online.  All works eventually fall out of copyright - from classic works of art, music and literature, to abandoned drafts, tentative plans, and overlooked fragments. In doing so they enter the public domain, a vast commons of material that everyone is free to enjoy, share and build upon without restriction.  We believe the public domain is an invaluable and indispensable good, which - like our natural environment and our physical heritage - deserves to be explicitly recognised, protected and appreciated.  The Public Domain Review aims to help its readers to explore this rich terrain - like a small exhibition gallery at the entrance of an immense network of archives and storage rooms that lie beyond. "

Interesting post on why CC-BY is more valuable than CC-BY-NC, in fact why the latter is seriously restrictive in an academic context.

Copyright restrictions in Australia limit use of materials outside the traditional classroom.

"The internet lets us share perfect copies of our work with a worldwide audience at virtually no cost. We take advantage of this revolutionary opportunity when we make our work "open access": digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. In this talk, Peter Suber - Director of the Harvard Open Access Project - shares insights from his new concise introduction to open access - what open access is and isn't, how it benefits authors and readers of research, how we pay for it, how it avoids copyright problems, how it has moved from the periphery to the mainstream, and what its future may hold. This event includes questions and responses from Stuart Shieber (School of Engineering and Applied Sciences), Robert Darnton (Harvard University Library), June Casey (Harvard Law School Library), David Weinberger (Berkman Center / Harvard Library Innovation Lab) and more."

While DRM has largely been defeated in downloaded music, it is a growing problem in the area of ebooks, where people have had their books restricted so they can't freely loan, re-sell or donate them, read them without being tracked, or move them to a new device without re-purchasing all of them. They've even had their ebooks deleted by companies without their permission. It continues to be a major issue in the area of movies and video too. Join us in working to eliminate DRM! This is the fourth year we've run the international Day Against DRM. In previous years we've focused on music, held events at the Boston Public Library and more! On May 4th, the Defective by Design DRM Elimination Crew will of course be running an event in Boston. But for this day to send a strong message against DRM, we need people all over the world to join us and hold their own events! As well as attending or running events, you can join other activists in blogging about DRM, putting up banners on your Web sites and blogs, talking about DRM on your social networks and more.

"The message to students is clear: the internet is not looking out for you, and it's certainly not going to do the thinking for you. Educators miss the chance to teach such valuable lessons when they restrict the use of the internet for research."

What is DRM (Digital Rights/Restriction Management)

My Sound FX is your source for professionally recorded and edited, studio quality, free sound effects. These files may be used, without restriction, for both private and commercial use.

Short cartoon detailing the difficulty in downloading audio books due to DRM restrictions.

How do you protect your connection to information through the social internet? Civil Defence for your web.

"Globalisation is partially about extending opportunity and breaking boundaries. There is a growing expectation that higher education creates graduates that are 'global citizens'. Individuals set their own routes into a wealth of subjects, with as many limitations and restrictions set aside as possible."