Icommons.org

This month, iCommons’ resident copyright columnist, Tobias Schonwetter, explains what troubles him about the fair use doctrine and why the doctrine is less user-friendly than commonly assumed.

At a recent conference in the Caribbean, I was given the opportunity to express some of my views on copyright-related matters. Naturally, a lively discussion took place and subsequently a number of people approached me to share their ideas and opinions with me. It was during one of these talks that an Asian delegate told me that his country was about to replace the present set of specific copyright limitations and exceptions with a so-called fair use provision. (more…)

There are a number of trailblazing authors that challenge the publishing industry’s control by managing the roles of printing, marketing and distribution of their own works, discovering new inroads into printing and marketing, and using the internet as a weapon of mass dissemination. These individuals are attempting, word by word, to improvise their way towards a new status quo in the publishing industry. These authors are not content with a business model that requires them to relinquish the rights to their work, or one that encourages them to agree to diminished control and limited financial compensation.

Three short stories follow of self-publishing trailblazers who are attempting to alter this traditional publishing model: (more…)

October 2006 was an important month in South Africa. We like to celebrate things here at the tip of Africa, and what better occasion to celebrate than the 75th birthday of one of our most famous leaders, Archbishop Desmond Tutu?

The Arch, as he’s fondly known, was a major figure in South Africa’s liberation struggle, and is a well-respected statesman and religious leader all over the world. Oh, and he won a Nobel Peace Prize. He’s a mover.

And all movers are online. Which is why a new project, launched earlier this month, is so exciting.

The Desmond Tutu Digital Archive project is a complete archive of all of the Arch’s personal papers and recordings, which will, ultimately, be available, free of change, online for students, journalists, theologians and others. The fully interactive archive will be accessible to people of all cultures, all ages and all (more…)