[Licenses] Proposal for new "Commercial" clause

[maiki]

On Fri, Sep 23, 2016 at 1:53 AM, Martin Doucha <next_ghost at quick.cz> wrote:
> A simple and
> well-known license that eliminates almost all transaction costs
> traditionally associated with copyright could revolutionize the
> commercial market the same way that current CC licenses and GNU GPL have
> revolutionized non-commercial culture and software development,
> respectively.

The GPL is used in commercial works, extensively. I imagine CC
licenses are as well, but I can't speak to that personally.

WordPress powers an unheard part of the web, and there is a thriving
commercial ecosystem that is generating a lot of money. I buy
thousands of dollars of GPL software each year, sometimes tens. And
except for a couple of services I use for accounting and such, the
entirety of the software that powers my business is GPL or compatible.
And I personally make a substantial amount of my income from creating
and customizing GPL software.

Okay, so that speaks to the GPL portion of that statement, but here's
the reason I think the same works for CC: I also pay for CC works. A
lot, and I actively look for it. I fancy myself a producer in the hip
and cool remix sense, so it is important to me to find works that are
licensed in a way that is not commercially prohibitive. Games, music,
books and videos, I've supported lots of projects that are under a CC
license, and I pay attention to how they work, and while the issues of
production are similar for all projects, they often have better
records of distribution and better profit margins that are not eaten
at from hidden costs that come with companies that operate under the
full copyright regime.

I'll also take it a step further: I've collaborated and created
derivatives of games and text with the creators of CC works. I wasn't
motivated by commercial interests, but commercial opportunities have
always been abundant from my experience. And I am of course very
biased, but I wouldn't look twice at a CC-NC license, especially if it
tried to make commercial terms apparent in the shorthand (regardless
of the spirit, I am not sure having a number in the shorthand
communicates effectively).

Anecdotally again, I've found that people that choose a CC-NC license
are moving away from full copyright in a way that they still feel safe
(or are otherwise obligated to). I have absolutely no issue with that.
However, I am not interested in navigating the psychology of that
stance. If there is money to be made (my definition of commercial)
then I want to have a free and open conversation, to find
understanding and a solution that rewards all parties. This is my
fluffy, digi-hippy lens by which I view the CC licenses. ^_^

I don't offer that as the "way" we should approach licenses, but
rather to offer two counter-points:

1. Commercial is ever ambiguous, and therefore requires more
discussion, not less; hence the Non-Commercial license should remain a
blunt instrument rather than a set of surgical tools, and
2. We have a terrific, dynamic, thriving and very interesting
commercial space around free culture and free software. There is money
being made!

For your consideration, sorry if I didn't follow the norms of this mailing list.

maiki