31
December
2006
|
03:32 AM
America/Los_Angeles

12.31.06: Free Culture Foundation

Received this press release this morning:


The Free Culture Foundation was launched today to promote and protect
cultural freedoms. The Foundation provides an accessible, independent
introduction to the free culture movement, now a global phenomenon thanks
to the Creative Commons licenses, organisations like Open Business and artists like the Beastie Boys.

The Foundation defines 'free culture' in terms of four simple principles:
the freedom to use, create, share and learn. In recognition of the
controversy surrounding the Creative Commons licenses (apparently they have been criticized by the media
industry for tricking artists into giving away their rights and the free software community has criticized them
for allowing limitations on re-use), the
Foundation's new web site presents a set of essays that discuss precisely
what these might mean. Future plans include packaging free art for free
software users and commissioning a set of essays to explain the issues.

Rob Myers, digital artist, said "we fill a gap left by the likes of
Creative Commons, popularising a coherent set of principles. We don't
pretend to have all the answers, but want people to think more about how
technology and the law help or hinder our ability to watch films, write
novels, share music with friends and learn to paint."