Creative	   Commons	   statement	   on	   the	   public	   domain	   at	   WIPO	  CDIP/9	  (Geneva,	  May	  11,	  2012)	  	  Thank	  you	  Mr	  Chairman,	  we	  would	  like	  to	  congratulate	  you	  on	  your	  election	  to	  preside	  this	  Committee.	  	  In	  his	  keynote	  presentation	  to	  the	  Global	  INET	  Conference	  here	  in	  Geneva	  just	
  a	  couple	  of	  weeks	  ago,	  Dr.	  Francis	  Gurry	  described	  intellectual	  property	  as	  a	  balancing	  mechanism	  for	  all	  of	  the	  often	  competing	  rights	  and	  equities	  that	  occur	  in	  and	  around	  the	  creation	  of	  innovation.	  Creative	  Commons	  strongly	  believes	  in	  this	  balance	  of	  rights,	  and	  strives	  to	  offer	  technical	  and	  legal	  tools	  to	  make	  that	  balance	  possible.	  We	  also	  believe	  that	  an	  integral	  part	  of	  that	  balance	  has	  to	  be	  the	  protection	  and	  promotion	  of	  the	  Public	  Domain.	  The	  public	  domain	  enriches	  the	  global	  cultural	  and	  intellectual	  environment;	  it	  allows	  the	  reproduction	  and	  reuse	  of	  countless	  classics	  that	  are	  often	  modernized	  and	  reintroduced	  to	  new	  audiences	  and	  new	  generations.	  One	  could	  almost	  say	  that	  they	  are	  remixed.	  	  It	  is	  with	  that	  in	  mind	  that	  we	  welcome	  the	  Secretariat’s	  inclusion	  on	  this	  session	  of	  the	  Scenarios	  and	  Possible	  Options	  Concerning	  Recommendations	  1c,	  1f	  and	  2a	  of	  The	  Scoping	  Study	  on	  Copyright	  and	  Related	  Rights	  and	  The	  Public	  Domain,	  and	  commend	  the	  author	  of	  The	  Scoping	  Study,	  Prof.	  Severine	  Dusollier.	  We	  encourage	  the	  adoption	  of	  all	  three	  recommendations,	  but	  we	  would	  like	  to	  complement	  the	  information	  contained	  in	  the	  document	  with	  regards	  to	  recommendations	  1c	  and	  1f.	  	  With	  regards	  to	  Recommendation	  1c,	  and	  as	  the	  document	  CDIP/9/INF/2	  accurately	  describes,	  Creative	  Commons	  offers	  CC0,	
  a	  universal	  tool	  that	  allows	  users	  to	  voluntarily	  relinquish	  all	  copyright,	  database	  and	  related	  rights	  to	  the	  fullest	  extent	  allowed	  by	  law.	  CC0	  is	  a	  tool	  that	  was	  conceived	  and	  created	  out	  of	  both	  necessity	  and	  demand.	  Dedicating	  works	  to	  the	  public	  domain	  is	  difficult	  if	  not	  impossible	  for	  those	  wanting	  to	  contribute,	  voluntarily	  and	  of	  their	  own	  free	  will,	  their	  works	  for	  public	  use	  before	  applicable	  copyright	  or	  database	  protection	  terms	  expire.	  Few	  if	  any	  jurisdictions	  have	
  a	  process	  for	  doing	  so	  easily	  and	  reliably.	  Laws	  vary	  from	  jurisdiction	  to	  jurisdiction	  as	  to	  what	  rights	  are	  automatically	  granted	  and	  how	  and	  when	  they	  expire	  or	  may	  be	  voluntarily	  relinquished.	  We	  understand	  the	  inherent	  difficulties	  with	  dealing	  with	  this	  issue	  in	
  a	  comprehensive	  manner	  given	  the	  different	  approaches	  to	  copyright	  seen	  from	  Common	  and	  Civil	  legal	  traditions.	  Moreover,	  our	  conversations	  with	  copyright	  holders	  over	  CC’s	  10	  years	  in	  existence	  revealed	  that	  for	  some	  rights	  holders,	  there	  is	  a	  desire	  to	  signal	  clearly	  and	  unequivocally	  that	  their	  work	  may	  be	  used	  without	  reference	  to	  restrictions	  that	  the	  holder	  no	  longer	  wishes	  to	  retain	  for	  any	  number	  of	  reasons.	  This	  demand,	  coupled	  with	  the	  complex	  and	  lack	  of	  harmonized	  copyright	  frameworks,	  resulted	  in	  the	  creation	  of	  CC0.	  CC0	  	  has	  been	  leveraged	  by	  numerous	  important	  rights	  holders,	  including	  the	  Dutch	  Government,	  the	  British	  Library,	  and	  the	  Personal	  Genome	  Project,	  and	  is	  part	  of	  the	  legal	  framework	  for	  important	  projects	  such	  as	  Europeana.	  For	  these	  reasons,	  we	  second	  the	  Secretariat’s	  recommendation	  to	  conduct	
  a	  study	  on	  copyright	  relinquishment,	  and	  we	  also	  encourage	  this	  Committee	  to	  continue	  this	  important	  avenue.	  	  With	  regards	  to	  Recommendation	  1f,	  we	  once	  again	  welcome	  the	  Secretariat’s	  specific	  mention	  of	  the	  practices	  and	  tools	  available	  through	  Creative	  Commons.	  
The	  possibility	  of	  marking	  copyright	  works	  with	  license	  metadata	  can	  tell	  search	  engines	  what	  is	  available	  for	  reuse,	  and	  under	  which	  conditions.	  We	  applaud	  all	  of	  the	  national	  and	  regional	  practices	  cited	  in	  the	  Secretariat’s	  document,	  and	  agree	  that	  these	  efforts	  must	  continue.	  Specifically,	  we	  encourage	  member	  states	  and	  regional	  bodies	  to	  continue	  to	  attempt	  to	  make	  public	  registry	  data	  more	  widely	  available.	  We	  would	  like	  to	  see	
  a	  more	  proactive	  role	  by	  WIPO	  in	  the	  international	  arena.	  Among	  other	  promising	  avenues,	  WIPO	  could	  host	  some	  tools	  to	  facilitate	  the	  sharing	  of	  public	  registry	  information	  on	  their	  website,	  such	  as	  an	  aggregated	  database	  of	  existing	  registries.	  	  Concluding,	  Creative	  Commons	  thoroughly	  supports	  efforts	  that	  will	  enhance	  the	  ability	  of	  rightsholders	  to	  voluntarily	  relinquish	  copyright	  thereby	  enriching	  the	  public	  domain,	  and	  of	  the	  public	  to	  access	  and	  use	  the	  public	  domain	  as	  copyright	  law	  fully	  intends.	  
Thank	  you.