Day 1: The Public Domain
The public domain is our cultural commons and a crucial resource for innovation and access to knowledge. Copyright should strive to promote, and not diminish, a robust, accessible public domain.
Learn More:
- EFF: It’s Copyright Week 2023
- Walled Culture: Public Domain: A Belated Step Forward, Two Huge Steps Back
- Wikimedia: Public Domain Day 2023: Opening a Treasure Trove of Art, Science, and Literature
- EFF: US Copyright Term Extensions Have Stopped, But the Public Domain Still Faces Threats
Day 2: Device and Digital Ownership
As the things we buy increasingly exist either in digital form or as devices with software, we also find ourselves subject to onerous licensing agreements and technological restrictions. If you buy something, you should be able to truly own it – meaning you can learn how it works, repair it, remove unwanted features, or tinker with it to make it work in a new way.
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Day 3: Open Access
Having an even playing field when accessing the latest information isn’t just good for science, it’s fundamental to human rights worldwide. As we’ve seen in the global response to COVID-19, copyright shouldn’t get in the way of open collaboration and global equity.
Learn More:
- EFF: Open Data and the AI Black Box
- Walled Culture: Peer Review Has Failed, and That’s Great News – for Diamond Open Access, Science and Society
Day 4: Free Expression and Fair Use
Copyright policy should encourage creativity, not hamper it. Fair use makes it possible for us to comment, criticize, and rework our common culture.
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Day 5: Copyright Enforcement as a Tool of Censorship
Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right essential to a functioning democracy. Copyright should encourage more speech, not act as a legal cudgel to silence it.
Learn More:
- Walled Culture: Finnish Parliament Reminds Us That Copyright Should Not Trump Fundamental Human Rights
- EFF: For Would-Be Censors and the Thin-Skinned, Copyright Law Offers Powerful Tools
Participating Organizations
