On the "Creative Commons”: A critique of the commons without commonality

Free Software Magazine, Issue 5, June 2003

On the face of it, the Creative Commons project appears to be a success. It has generated interest in the issue of intellectual property and the erosion of the “public domain”, and it has contributed to re-thinking the role of the “commons” in the “information age”. It has provided institutional, practical and legal support for individuals and groups wishing to ex- periment and communicate with culture more freely. A growing number of intellectual and artistic workers are now enrolling in the Creative Commons network and exercising the agency and freedom it has made available. Yet despite these efforts, questions remain about the Creative Commons
project’s aims and intentions and the vision of free culture that it offers. These questions become all the more signif- icant as the Creative Commons develops into a more influ- ential and voluble “representative” and public face for libre culture.