[78-L] Public domain

[Michel Essevaz-Roulet]

The public domain, as we understand it, is the wealth of information that is 
free from the barriers to access or reuse usually associated with copyright 
protection, either because it is free from any copyright protection or because 
the right holders have decided to remove these barriers. It is the raw material 
from which new knowledge is derived and new cultural works are created.

After decades of measures that have drastically reduced the public domain, 
typically by extending the terms of protection, it is time to strongly reaffirm 
how much our societies and economies rely on a vibrant and ever expanding public 
domain. The role of the public domain, in fact, already crucial in the past, it 
is even more important today, as the Internet and digital technologies enable us 
to access, use and re-distribute culture with an ease and a power unforeseeable 
even just a generation ago. The Public Domain Manifesto 
<http://www.publicdomainmanifesto.org/node/8> aims at reminding citizens and 
policy-makers of a common wealth that, since it belongs to all, it is often 
defended by no-one. In a time where we for the first time in history have the 
tools to enable direct access to most of our shared culture and knowledge it is 
important that policy makers and citizens strengthen the legal concept that 
enables free and unrestricted access and reuse.

We invite you to read the Manifesto and sign it 
<http://www.publicdomainmanifesto.org/node/8#sign>, if you wish to show your 
support. We also invite you to share this site 
(http://publicdomainmanifesto.org) with your contacts and friends. The Public 
Domain Manifesto is also on Facebook 
<http://facebook.com/publicdomain.manifesto>. Also remember to celebrate the 
Public Domain Day <http://www.publicdomainday.org/> every year on New Year's Day.

Forwarded by Michel Essevaz-Roulet