great info..

And I am all for the creative commons licensing, but I have one concern about it for artists.

I create art intensive videos. Like video grams. They are free for people to use, but they are copyrighted.

I always use public domain images of old artwork because these licenses, like GNU and CC will allow derivative works. That means if I make a video and put 100 hours into it, someone else can cut it up and make one of their own from it. Art on this level that is so intensive isn’t something you want to allow mash ups of. Or allow others to create a derivative work from.

I enlist the help of professional musicians too. That means their music would also be subject to redistribution. My videos are all non-commercial. I don’t get paid for them. They are just to help musicians get noticed and make people happy. And to show off my design skills. So why should I allow 100 hours of work to be scavenged?

I wish there was a licensing agreement that would allow people to use licensed materials, but add an option to the work they create from it. The option would restrict derivations of the artwork they made. This would only be applicable to non-commercial works of art. That way, the work of art isn’t taken apart again and reused. Maybe only other artists can really understand the emotional ties one can have to such elaborate works. It is like offering a part of yourself that you don’t want hacked up. So, I only use public domain images. And that really limits my creativity.

In the very beginning, I accidently put a photo in one of my videos not understanding it was licensed. I published the video. I was so new to it I didn’t fully understand licenses.

I tried very hard to find the photographer. I never could. So, instead of removing my video, it is sitll on my site. The problem image is just one little frame in a long and beautiful video.

Nobody will probably ever know.

I think artists need special consideration with licenses. These licenses were primarily set up for software. Who cares if someone makes a derivative work from software code? That process actually improves things over time. I know. I used to work in software development. So it’s good to attribute and build upon code. But not original works of art. They are two different things.

Some videos I have made I don’t mind allowing derivative works. They will help others to learn. But some are crown jewels I don’t want changed.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Anonymous