This document discusses the challenges of maintaining an open public domain. It notes that while advocates fight to preserve concepts like public domain works that are not owned, they are currently in the minority. It emphasizes the importance for advocates to have a strong understanding of the issues they are discussing and to develop a shared view of what tradeoffs they are willing to accept in order to be effective.

1. Maintaining
a
healthy
and
thriving
Public
Domain
Paul
Keller,
OK
Festival
2014
Berlin

2. …or
rather
‘Problems
that
you
run
into
when
fighting
against
appropriation
of
the
Public
Domain’
source:
own
photo,
unknown
artist,
amsterdam
2012

3. For
now
lets
assume
that
we
are
all
activists…
…
fighting
to
preserve
the
concept
of
the
public
domain
(that
there
are
things
that
are
not
owned)…
…
and
that
we
are
the
good
ones
(as
all
good
activists
do)

4. …but
also
that
we
are
the
minority
David
en
Goliath,
Jan
Luyken,
Barent
Visscher,
Andries
van
Damme,
1698
(via
rijksmuseum.nl)

5. Unmarked
All Rights Reserved
Creative Commons
Public Domain
Digital
Objects
in
Europeana
by
category
of
rights

6. Satan
verkoopt
de
wereld
aan
een
man,
Jan
Luyken,
Pieter
Arentsz
&
Cornelis
van
der
Sys,
1710

7. Schilderkunst
achtervolgd
door
onnozelen,
anoniem,
1700
-­‐
1800
(via
rijksmuseum.nl)

8. “Our
Legal
Department
confirms
that
our
Archives
intended
as
Image
Bank
are
protected
by
copyright
and
therefore
by
the
Italian
law,
then
the
label
must
indicate
the
copyright
and
not
the
free
access
and
no-­‐
reuse.
You
can
controll
the
Law
and
the
Codex.”

9. “In
addition
our
archive
is
under
the
protection
of
this
Cultural
Heritage
Ministry
as
National
Heritage.”

11. The
Burgomaster
of
Delft
and
his
Daughter
,
Jan
Havicksz.
Steen,
1655
(via
rijksmuseum.nl)

14. Map
of
Europe
shaped
as
a
virgin,
Heinrich
Bünting
(via
wikimedia
commons)

17. #1
if
we
want
to
be
effective
in
our
advocacy
we
need
to
know
what
we
are
talking
about.
#2
we
need
to
develop
a
shared
understanding
of
the
tradeoffs
that
we
are
willing
to
accept
(or
not)

18. David
onthoofdt
Goliath,
Caspar
Luyken,
1712
(via
rijksmuseum.nl)

19. thank
you!
questions?
pk@kl.nl
or
@paul_keller