Want to know what published works are in not subject to copyright?
Two Canadian copyright groups have announced they will co-operate to create an on-line database of published works that have entered the public domain.
In what they describe as a "ground-breaking project," Access Copyright and Creative Commons Canada say they will create the "most comprehensive" searchable catalogue of published works that are no longer protected by copyright law.
The aim of the registry is to determine whether a published work is in the public domain. The registry will also link to digital versions of the work, and provide information about where a paper copy of the work can be purchased.
"Quick and easy access to legally available content is vital as we move further into the digital age," Access Copyright's legal affairs director Roanie Levy said in a statement. "The public domain registry has limitless possibilities and will place Canadian cultural content at the leading edge of the public domain."
The project will develop in two stages, organizers said. First they will create a comprehensive registry of works; then eventually, the registry will expand to include the published works of creators from other countries.
The public-domain registry will be a non-profit project and freely accessible to the public on-line.
The registry will be formed from Access Copyright's Rights Management System, the largest database of copyright information in Canada. The Software used will be MediaWiki, the Wikimedia Foundation's website management software, which will allow the public to contribute information to the registry.
"Canada has a rich cultural heritage of literature, music and fine art that is in the public domain just waiting to be freely enjoyed," Creative Commons Canada's Marcus Bornfreund.
"The problem until now was that there was no easy way to identify whether or not works are in the public domain," he said.
Creative Commons Canada, founded in 2001, is a non-profit organization that promotes the creative re-use of intellectual and artistic works either protected by copyright or in the public domain. Creative Commons licences provide a flexible range of protections and freedoms for authors, artists and educators that build upon the "all rights reserved" concept of traditional copyright to offer a voluntary "some rights reserved" approach.
Creative Commons Canada, which works in collaboration with Creative Commons U.S., is supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Omidyar Network Fund, the Hewlett Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation.
"Creators looking for source material and educators looking for classroom content will have this free database at their fingertips," Access Copyright executive director Maureen Cavan said in a statement.
"The public domain is our shared cultural heritage, and the best ground for the great new ideas of the future'" said Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. "Without access to the public domain, we are cut off from our past, and therefore cut ourselves off from our future."
