Jessica Coates
Project Manager, Creative Commons Australia

Written by Chrisanthi Demos on 2008-10-16

What do you see happening in the next five years with Creative Commons?

Creative Commons has only been around for five years, so it will be interesting to see what happens in the next five years – I would say it will kind of be a maturation age. Over the last two or three years there has been a lot of very strong growth in Creative Commons, particularly in fields such as government usage of Creative Commons and educational resources; and also in relation to independent creative groups, for example people like musicians and film makers. In the last year or so there has been quite a breakthrough in Creative Commons use in these sectors, so I imagine that in the next five years the hill that we’ve just come over will start on a downhill run, and true implementation across a very broad range of materials will start to happen. The other big thing Creative Commons is looking a lot at in the next few years is the use of increased meta-data and licensing tools, so that it becomes more instinctual for people to manage their own copyright material without having to consult lawyers.

What are the biggest challenges you and your organisation face as a member of the Brisbane media community?

I think that it is probably the same for almost everybody – the biggest challenge is profile. Honestly, we are lucky that we get a big boost from being linked to an international organisation that has a relatively high profile. In the Web 2.0 community we’re celebrities – in others, not so much. Creative Commons Australia gets a big boost with its links to the international group, but we are still constantly pushing people to get to know who we are and what we do, or even to recognise that we exist here! Often, people who know about (the international) Creative Commons within Australia have no idea that Creative Commons Australia even exists. I presume that has got to be the biggest issue for almost all Brisbane groups. It’s probably not only Brisbane groups, it is probably the biggest challenge for all media bodies, and those involved with Web 2.0 and new technologies. The biggest benefit of being a Web 2.0 body and the reason you work in multimedia is because of the potential to reach a whole new audience – but it’s still hard!

What are the most important/valuable skills that graduates can bring to Creative Commons and the intellectual property industry?

I think that the great thing is that more and more people who aren’t lawyers are now starting to bring their expertise into the intellectual property debate and community, which is a really great development for the intellectual property industry. Up until now it has always been dominated by lawyers who are highly trained and have their own thoughts and conceptions, but new media graduates have the ability to explore and/or create new business models and new ways of using material that the old establishment just doesn’t think of – and that’s what Creative Commons is trying to facilitate. So, the more media people who are willing to get out there and be creative in how they use their copyright materials and rights, the more new business models, creativity and innovation we will get.

How would you rate the performance of Brisbane-based media organisations in comparison to other national and international media hubs?

Well, I think that Brisbane is coming from behind – we’ve always been seen as small and a bit out of the way. However, I think that there has been amazing growth and credit for that has to be given to the Queensland Government and the Brisbane City Council who really seem to be encouraging and providing a lot of support for this growth. Being based and working here, there is a lot of energy and a lot is happening. I have moved to Brisbane from down south in the last two years, and it is just amazing how much is going on here – now we just have to get the rest of the world to realise it. There is so much energy, and hopefully that will keep going!

How has new media such as the Internet and mobile communications revolutionised your workplace?

The Internet and mobile communications is my workplace! Basically, we are all about Internet law, not just Creative Commons – we do broader research as well. But on a more practical level – I finished my degree just under ten years ago and I had not really used the Internet at uni at all, except for an email account I had because I travelled overseas. Then, from my very first day in my first job for the Federal Government, I never used any resources that weren’t from the Internet. It was a sudden switch – all the way through uni I had hardly used it, then the moment I started work, it was everything. I think that is what it is now, everything, and if you aren’t on the Internet, you don’t exist for 90% of people. Only hardcore researchers are going to find you otherwise. That is what the Internet is all about.

What is the key difference between Creative Commons licences and traditional copyright and intellectual property licences?

The Creative Commons is actually just another licensing system in line with traditional licensing models. The focus of Creative Commons licences is on providing open and increased access to copyright goods. Copyright has normally focused on restrictions and the protecting of owners goods from access by other people. Creative Commons takes the other tactic and tries to encourage access to other people’s work by providing generous freedoms on a voluntary basis.

How has the development of Creative Commons influenced the media and communications industries?

Creative Commons is almost a symptom as much as it is a cause of a lot of the changes that have been going on, such as the topics that we have been talking about, particularly new business models. These were going to happen anyway; they emerged from the growth of the Internet and new technologies, independent of copyright. What Creative Commons is really doing is responding to these new developments and all the great new innovations that are happening in the digital era. It is responding to them, trying to facilitate them and basically trying to update a black and white legal area – an analogue set of laws – to really work in the digital era. Creative Commons has certainly influenced the media and communications industries by facilitating these kinds of things, and is very much involved in a lot of the new business models and other really exciting things that are going on. I am not sure if we can claim to have caused that, or if Creative Commons has just been a part of the general trend.