I highly recommend supporting the Standard Ebooks project. 📚
«Standard Ebooks is a volunteer-driven project that produces new editions of public domain e-books that are lovingly formatted, open source, free of copyright restrictions, and free of cost.»
Today I will be posting thoughts about Aaron Swartz, who died on this day in 2013. The academic community should be much more aware of him, and challenge the massive problem of academic publishing that we are all part of. Let's make it our mission to tell people about Aaron and what he stood for.
"30 years ago this week…something called the World Wide Web launched into the public domain…#CERN owned Berners-Lee's invention and…had the option to license [it] out…for profit. But Berners-Lee believed that keeping the web as open as possible would help it grow…[He] eventually convinced CERN to release the World Wide Web into the #PublicDomain without any #patents or fees."
In March 1907. The Diamond Sūtra, a woodblock printed Buddhist scripture dated AD 868, is discovered by Aurel Stein at the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang in China. It is said to be "the earliest complete survival of a dated printed book".
It is also the first known creative work with an explicit public domain dedication, as its colophon at the end states that it was created "for universal free distribution". via @wikipedia
Happy Public Domain Day! Disney's Steamboat Willie, the first appearance of Mickey Mouse, is now officially in the public domain - a day many thought might never come. Because I can, I've shared the entirety of the short film on YouTube, with a voiceover of me explaining public domain in the context of our favorite corporate Mouse. :) #publicdomain#publicdomainday#steamboatwilliehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnGL55VOj_4
Bill Willingham, creator of beloved comic series "Fables," has released the franchise into the public domain, citing a breakdown in his relationship with DC Comics. Here's the full statement that he posted on his Substack, in which he said of DC: " I gave them years to do the right thing. I tried to reason with them, but you can’t reason with the unreasonable."
What do the Kingpin, Batgirl, the Herculoids, and King Louie of "The Jungle Book" have in common? They all should've entered public domain today under their original copyright terms... but didn't, thanks to retroactive extensions.
(Also, my obligatory "Mickey Mouse enters public domain today" comments.)
For the #PublicDomain, time stopped in 1998, when the #SonnyBonoCopyrightAct froze copyright expirations for 20 years. In 2019, time started again, with a massive crop of works from 1923 returning to the public domain, free for all to use and adapt:
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
Dewey was one of the primary figures associated with the philosophy of pragmatism and is considered one of the fathers of functional psychology. He was also a major educational reformer for the 20th century, he founded the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools.
Captain Mick "Steamboat" Williams, better known as "Steamboat Willie" wrested control of his boat from his corrupt former captain and travels the Mississippi in the search for adventure and treasure, pursued by dangerous river pirates.
If you are new to the #Fediverse network (inaccurately called #Mastodon network) and looking for end-user apps for mobile and desktop, check this #PublicDomain list:
As we all celebrate the #publicdomain, I think it's worth discussing just how much damage the Mickey Mouse Protection Act has caused.
The film that Steamboat Willie was originyally screened before in theatres entered the public domain this year too. It was called Gang War. Haven't seen anyone talking about it? That's because it no longer exists! It and many films like it have been unpreserved due to the unreasonyably long copyright terms that the WDC lobbied for. The film had a pretty star-studded cast for its day too. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_War_(1928_film)