Toronto 2018 Creative Commons summit day 3 -> the Future of Copyright in the Commons - From Toronto 2018 Onwards

TorontotheBetter to start its post-2018 summit creative commons initiative. Join us!

Whether it's Ghana, Beijing, Poland, Krygyzstan, or Canada, ask a random person in the street about the creative commons and you are likely to be met with a blank stare. The enthusiasm of the hundreds of commons supporters at the 2018 global Commons summit in Toronto is both misleading and promising. The dream of open access to all knowledge for all is alive and well, but like any revolution in the making it still faces indifference and actual resistance from the established orders, in this case, many copyright holders, be they publishers, authors or legal systems that will be disrupted by the commons. As a result, creative commons still remains largely marginal in most jurisdictions though there is remarkable growth in its acceptance (predictably more in certain sectors than in others). Education and research have led the way, with more and more authors willing and able, through open access Web channels to make creator works available free to anyone interested, but new sectors like publishing, healthcare and even commerce (as in TorontotheBetter's directory of local social enterprise [www.TorontotheBetter.net]) are increasingly re-aligning themselves. The summit's last keynote speech depicted a future of common ground where copyright defenders and public 

access proponents can see mutual benefits in an alternative system of licensing along with exceptions and limitations to standard copyright. 

For all that the rationale for an open knowledge (and open science) future seems clear, in principle, the road ahead will not be easy as income, careers and institutions must adjust and sometimes perish,  Further, wider capacity will require greater 
investment. Wealth and power rarely vacate their positions voluntarily so the forces for free and open access must be persistent and creative.

TorontotheBetter renews its commitment to a better Toronto and a better world in which enterprise, states and civil society must each play a role in ensuring that what all need is indeed available to all. Ultimately the change starts here, with each of us, in our own decisions about how and what to create and access. As the Creative Commons summit sets off to its 2019 venue in Lisbon, Portugal TorontotheBetter will work to sustain the legacy from our city's two-year involvement as global summit hosts.  

** C.C. Certification Opportunities for all -  participate in spreading the creative commons message. See https://certificates.creativecommons.org/about/packages/. Contact postmaster@TorontotheBetter.net to join our local Creative Commons initiative.