From Free Culture to Open Data: Technical Requirements for Access and Authorship

Résumé En

Creative Commons tools makes it easier for users, who are also authors, to share, locate and distribute reusable content, fostering remix and digital creativity, open science and freedom of expression. But reuse could be made even easier by the licensing framework, which does not yet handle the diversity of legal and usage situations pertaining to technical accessibility and reuse modalities of works and data. This paper will first discuss what additional legal regulation may be required to allow full accessibility, which includes not only a legal authorization to perform certain rights, but also the technical possibility to effectively access and reuse material. Then, based on the example of attribution and authorship requirements for reproduction and performances of works and derivative works, it will be examined what technical infrastructure may better support the enforceability of these licensing terms, namely a framework automating certain actions and pedagogy tools. From legal accessibility to technical accessibility and technical support of open content licenses, this article illustrates the intricate relationship between law and technology in the realm of copyright and focuses on access and authorship, two fundamental elements of (free) culture and (open) science.