So, yesterday I attended the 3rd Creative Commons Japan Seminar. I have long had an interest in those fields that converge in CC - the arts, technology, intellectual property issues, moral rights, freedom, information. I do not, however, know that much about CC and so went to the seminar to learn more about it and, if possible, see if there is some way that I can contribute.
In a general sense, I am quite excited at the idea of free information - not "free" as in "without cost" but "free" in the unrestricted transmission and flow of information. In a perfect world, it would be fantastic if information was not a commodity, not subject to hoarding and packaging by interested parties. I think it a fantastic vision of the future if human knowledge is conceived of as a vast well, into which each human has a right to dip his cup, without restriction or condition.
Then I think to myself, Utopian thoughts don't help the here and now. Information cannot be free because it has intrinsic value (value in the effort put into the creation of the information as well as value in how the information can be used). In the context of "created/creative information", there will always need to be a balance with the rights of creators. As I see it (and I qualify this by saying that I know next to nothing about this topic - I have some reading to do in the near future....) the balance is between the extremes of (i) complete control of creative product in the hands of the creator (or, more accurately, the rights-holder, who is nowadays often not the creator) and (ii) full release into the public domain of the creative product.
It seems to me that (ii) would kill innovation and creation as projects that require full-time attention (and, consequently, remuneration for time spent) would be less likely to be fulfilled - I think it unlikely that someone would spend all their time creating something that is to be distributed freely only to rely on goodwill donations to keep the project alive (and the creator fed).
But (and this point I take from Lessig, Free Culture) (i) also equally suppresses innovation insofar as much of what people create is, to a greater or lesser degree, derivative of existing works. Which is not a bad thing - originality is not conditioned on ab initio creation.
This, I think, is the tricky point, this balance. I will have to think about this more.
Oh, and I admit that there is nothing original in the foregoing : ). I am just thinking aloud (or, rather, thinking online) to make sure that I understand certain fundamentals.
