Wizards of OS Wrap-up

My joint workshop with Lawrence Lessig at Wizards of OS went, in my opinion, extremely well. The worst hitch was an unfortunate series of events that conspired to keep Vera Franz from attending and moderating the session as planned. Paul Keller, who was supposed to participate in the panel, graciously (and capably) moderated in her place.

The panel allowed Lessig and I to talk openly and publicly about about our disagreements for the first time while also highlighting the many places where we speak with one voice. The conversation managed to be both positive and productive without papering over issues.

I usually like to post talk notes and slides after each speaking engagement. However, our WOS meeting was a "workshop" so I have nothing prepared to present here. I have, however, seen two write-ups in the press:

If someone has a recording, tell me how I might get a copy.

One small note: I am quoted in IP watch as saying that most CC works are under the most restrictive licenses and that there has been no shift toward less restrictive licenses with time. Mia Garlick has pointed out that the latest license usage statistics, based on admittedly imprecise linkback data, show a several percentage point decrease in the usage of licenses that block commercial use and derivatives — when expressed as a fraction of the total number of works under CC licenses. The restrictive licenses are still the most popular but it was incorrect to say that there is no evidence of any progress whatsoever toward more free licenses.

Tomorrow, I will post a summary and response to one of the points that Lessig and I talked most about.

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