Law
Understanding Copyright (Law)
Welcome to the second post my #CopyrightEdu series (also written in submission as an assignment to my Creative Commons Certification class – which by the way is so exciting!)
So I play the guitar, but not quite like Charmant – he plays, but has invested significant effort into a creative project – a music album! Whatever his motivation for doing this, did you know that at the time creatives like Charmant are making new works of art like music, or maybe poetry, it may not be clear to them that there is such a thing called automatic copyright – and it likely restricts most reuses by others without their permission? What if you knew upfront, would it change the way you create? or the rules under which you might want to copyright your work?
Copyright law, even though it varied from one country to another, just like traffic laws, is very integral to our lives – specifically creating limits on how others may use the original works of creatives. It establishes the basic terms of use that apply automatically to original works, giving the creator or owner of copyright certain exclusive rights while also recognizing that users have certain rights to use these works without the need for a license or permission.
My 10 year old Open Source Hero
Please Meet DR. EDGAR DAVID VILLANUEVA NUÑEZ, Congressman of the Republic of Perú.
He is my Open Source Hero for the year 2012 – and here is why!
10 years ago, The Peruvian government introduced a bill (English trans.) mandating the use of open source software by the state. The bill admirably proclaims:
“The basic principles which inspire the Bill are linked to the basic guarantees of a state of law, such as:
- Free access to public information by the citizen.
- Permanence of public data.
- Security of the State and citizens.”
Microsoft General Manager Señor JUAN ALBERTO GONZÁLEZ responded by writing this letter to Peruvian Congressmen Edgar Villanueva Nuñez, containing many of the fallacious arguments that Microsoft has used against open source software in the past.
Congressman DR. EDGAR DAVID VILLANUEVA NUÑEZ replied with an insightful letter that cuts through the empty Microsoft arguments to expose the fallacies of its F.U.D. tactics.
ssennoga - mind and heart 