PT Journal
AU Hietanen, H
TI Creative Commons Olympics. How Big Media is Learning to License From Amateur Authors
SO JIPITEC
PY 2011
BP 50
EP 59
VL 2
IS 1
DE Creative Commons; Flickr; Free Culture; Licensing; Media Law; NBC Olympics; Online Images; Open Content; User Created Content; User Generated Content
AB NBC Universal’s decision to use Creative Commons-licensed photographs in an Olympic broadcast is an example of how media conglomerates are experimenting with collaboration with amateurs, but it also reveals potential problems of letting non-lawyers negotiate copyright licensing agreements. In the process, NBC’s producers nearly opened the door for a multimillion-dollar infringement law suit. To avoid such pitfalls, media companies need to adopt policies and best practices for using amateur licensed works. These guidelines should instruct how a production can attribute collaborating authors and how the Open Content licensing terms affect the licensing of the productions. The guidelines should also instruct how producers can seek alternative licensing arrangements with amateurs and contribute back to the Open Content community.
ER