Codifying a Commons: Copyright, Copyleft, and the Creative Commons Project

In response to problems of overprotection perceived in America\u27s copyright scheme, the founders of the Creative Commons project have sought to create modular licenses allowing authors and artists to declaim some of the default protections associated with their copyright in order to grant public permission for use of their work in contexts such as nonprofit media or derivative works. This article reviews criticisms of the Creative Commons project and analyzes the project from the standpoint of copyright\u27s overall policy goals, both domestically and internationally. Because copyright policy seeks to enhance the public supply of information and knowledge, the article concludes that Creative Commons comports with underlying rationale for copyright protections. However, because of the private nature of the initiative, significant problems arise with questions of enforcement of the Creative Commons licenses as well as with Congressional goals of uniformity. The article suggests that many of the problems posed could be alleviated by codifying a means for copyright owners to opt for a more limited form of copyright within federal copyright law