About

About Creative Commons

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that promotes the creative reuse of intellectual and artistic works – whether owned or in the public domain. Creative Commons licenses provide a flexible range of protections and freedoms that build upon the "all rights reserved" concept of traditional copyright to offer a voluntary "some rights reserved" approach.

At least 19 existing jurisdictions, and 3 upcoming jurisdictions, geographically belong to Asia and the Pacific Region. Jurisdictions which have organized themselves as part of the Asia & the Pacific regional grouping include: Australia, Mainland China, Hongkong, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Three other jurisdictions compose the Caucasus regional grouping, namely: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. One jurisdiction initiated the Arab World regional grouping: Jordan. Upcoming jurisdictions include: Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Syria.

CC Asia & the Pacific

Australia
Creative Commons is working with Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to create Australia jurisdiction-specific licenses from the generic Creative Commons licenses.
  • Project Lead: Tom Cochrane (Deputy Vice Chancellor QUT) and Professor Brian Fitzgerald Head of Law School (QUT)
  • Team Members: Jessica Coates (Project Manager), Elliott Bledsoe, Rachel Cobcroft, Nic Suzor
About Queensland University of Technology
QUT is one of the largest universities in Australia and possesses strong interest in and commitment to information law and policy. DVC of Information Services Tom Cochrane has long been associated with intellectual property law and policy developments in Australia and been involved with a number of influential government and non-government committees. Professor Brian Fitzgerald has an international reputation in the area of Cyberlaw, Technology and Intellectual Property and heads a Law School that offers a broad range of courses in this area.

QUT is also home to the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, which funds two research projects closely associated with Creative Commons Australia - the Creative Commons Clinic and the Creative Commons and Open Content Licensing Models project. Both these projects are headed up by Professor Fitzgerald, and seek to investigate and encourage the take up of the Creative Commons and other open content licensing models in Australia and internationally.

Mainland China
Creative Commons is working with Renmin University and CNBlog.org to create China Mainland jurisdiction-specific licenses from the generic Creative Commons licenses.
  • Project Lead: Professor Chunyan Wang
About Law School of Renmin University of China

Renmin University of China (RUC) is a national leading university focusing on humanities, social sciences, economics, law and management. RUC was officially established in 1950. As one of the major schools and departments, the Law School is the first higher legal education institution officially established after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Consisting of 12 Teaching and Research Sections (TRS) and 15 research centers, the Law School boasts two National Key Research Centers — Research Center of Criminal Jurisprudence and Research Center of Civil and Commercial Jurisprudence — and China Law Information Center, a National 211 Project program. With one LL.B, nine LL.M and seven LL.D programs, RUC Law School has a comprehensive legal education system. For general information, visit http://english.ruc.edu.cn/

More about CNBlog.org

CNBlog.org was founded in 2002 to deploy open collaborative research on the Internet, its technologies, and its impacts on society and business. Sponsored by several private funds, CNBlog.org is extending itself from grassroots publishing research to a multidisciplinary Internet research and education center. Since its foundation, CNBlog.org has devoted itself to creating a new kind of open community, and to following closely the emerging social and technological trends. Operating as a volunteering and visiting consortium, CNBlog.org seeks to catalyze new collaborative projects (Social Software, Emergent Democracy and Grassroots Culture, etc.) to spread its ideas and methodologies to other individuals/organizations and to encourage the practical applications of its findings. CNBlog.org also sponsors the Open Education Project in China. For more information about CNBLog.org, visit http://www.cnblog.org

Hongkong
Creative Commons is working with the Journalism and Media Studies Center (JMSC) and local legal experts to create Hong Kong jurisdiction-specific licenses from the generic Creative Commons licenses.
  • Legal Project Leads: Dr. Yahong Li (Associate Professor) and Ms. Alice Lee (Associate Professor), The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law
  • Public Project Lead: Rebecca MacKinnon (Assistant Professor), Journalism and Media Studies Center
About the Journalism and Media Studies Center

Founded in 1999, the Journalism and Media Studies Center (JMSC) is a teaching and research unit at The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong’s oldest university. The JMSC offers an undergraduate and graduate degree, and professional programs for working journalists and executives.

The JMSC is committed to the pursuit of excellence in journalism and supporting Asian voices in the international media. JMSC’s activities, such as the Media Law Project and the China Media Project, strive to promote civil society and an informed citizenry through a vibrant and professional news media. The JMSC works in partnership with Hong Kong University faculties and departments and a vast network of professional groups in Hong Kong, China and beyond.

The JMSC assumed the role of host organization for Creative Commons Hong Kong in August 2007. The project’s Public Lead is Rebecca MacKinnon, Assistant Professor at the JMSC, while the role of Legal Lead is shared by Dr. Yahong Li and Alice Lee of The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law. Further updates about CC-HK’s activities can be found at the Hong Kong Fans of Creative Commons community wiki.

India
Creative Commons is working with IIT Bombay to create India jurisdiction-specific licenses from the generic Creative Commons licenses.
  • Legal Project Lead: Lawrence Liang
  • Public Project Lead: Shishir K. Jha
About IIT Bombay

IIT Bombay, set up by an Act of Parliament, was established in 1958, at Powai, a northern suburb of Mumbai. Today the Institute is recognised as one of the centres of academic excellence in the country. The institute has 12 departments of engineering, basic sciences and the humanities, 11 research centers, 3 postgraduate degree schools and 5 interdisciplinary programs. IIT Bombay is largely a residential institution with over 4 thousand students and over 400 faculty. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral degrees. Over the years, there has been dynamic progress at IIT Bombay in all academic and research activities, and a parallel improvement in facilities and infrastructure, to keep it on par with the best institutions in the world.

Japan
Creative Commons is working with The University of Tokyo, Law Faculty to create Japan jurisdiction-specific licenses from the generic Creative Commons licenses.
*Chairman: Professor Nobuhiro Nakayama (University of Tokyo, Law Faculty)
*Legal Project Lead: Yuko Noguchi
*Public Project Lead: Dominick Chen
About The University of Tokyo, Law Faculty

The University of Tokyo is the first national university in Japan, established in 1877. The Law Faculty was one of the first faculties established, along with Faculties of Medicine, Engineering and Humanities. Since then, for about 160 years, the institute has played an central role in the field of Japanese legal research and education. The alumni includes many distinguished lawyers such as law professors, judges and other legal practitioners, as well as a number of talented government officials and politicians. The Law Faculty consists of departments of law and politics, and has about a hundred professors and associate professors.

Malaysia
Creative Commons is working with The Multimedia Development Corporation to create Malaysia jurisdiction-specific licenses from the generic Creative Commons licenses.
  • Project Lead: Alina Ng, Hasnul Hadi Samsudin, and Gee Kok Chung
About The Multimedia Development Corporation

The Multimedia Development Corporation (MDC) was established in 1996 to oversee the growth of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) project, a strategic project to develop the country’s economy to a developed nation status by the year 2020. MDC works in partnership with government agencies and the private sector to develop initiatives such as market access assistance, human resource development and training support, financial and non-financial incentives, research and development (R&D)grants, venture capital funding and business incubation centers. One of the initiatives of the MSC is to tap the potential of technology and creativity integration to meet local and global demand for content in education, entertainment and other applications. For this purposes, the MDC overlooks the Creative Multimedia Cluster that seeks to utilize multimedia and information communication technologies to cultivate creativity in schools, institutes of higher learning, universities as well as in the private sector.

More information about the creative multimedia cluster is available at http://cmc.msc.com.my/

New Zealand
Creative Commons is working with Te Whāinga Aronui The Council for the Humanities to create New Zealand jurisdiction-specific licenses from the generic Creative Commons licenses.
  • Project Lead: Dr Brian Opie
  • Legal Team: Associate Professor Susy Frankel, Andrew Matangi, Paul Sumpter
About Te Whāinga Aronui The Council for The Humanities

The Humanities Trust of Aotearoa New Zealand

Te Whāinga Aronui The Council for the Humanities is a charitable trust. The Trust Board includes among its members leaders in academic, cultural and public sector organisations. Its objective is to promote recognition of the value of the humanities-aronui in the creation, conservation and transmission of knowledge essential to personal well-being and the cultural, social and economic development of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Te Whāinga Aronui The Council for the Humanities is committed to recognising the importance of matauranga Maori as an indigenous taonga and its unique role in establishing and supporting the contemporary strategic development of the humanities in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Council is further committed to facilitating the ongoing involvement by Maori scholastic communities in achieving the mission and goals of the Council. For more information, refer to http://www.humanities.org.nz.

Philippines
Creative Commons is working with the e-Law Center of the Arellano University School of Law to create Philippines jurisdiction-specific licenses from the generic Creative Commons licenses.
  • Project Lead: Atty. Jaime N. Soriano, CPA, MNSA, Law Professor and Executive Director of the e-Law Center of the Arellano University School of Law
About Arellano University School of Law (AUSL)

Named after the First Chief Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court, Cayetano S. Arellano, the school, a non-stock non-profit institution, was established in 1938 and boasts of more than six decades of providing quality legal education.

Foremost of the school objective is to create global lawyers, practitioners who are deeply educated in the law, practice-ready, and devoted to service not only in the local but also the international community. Arellano Law prides itself for being one of the most populous law schools in the Philippines with faculty members who have distinguished themselves in law practice, the judiciary, government service, and the academe. The law school revels in being one of the few schools in the Philippines that produce the most number of lawyers in the annual bar examinations administered by the Supreme Court. The school has likewise included technology law as part of its curriculum and utilizes cutting-edge technology in law instructions.

For more information about AUSL, please visit our webpage at http://www.arellanolaw.edu/.

About the e-Law Center

The Center was founded in November 2002 under the auspices of the Arellano University School of Law, following the launching of the school’s LAWPHiL Project, considered as one of the most popular on-line and electronic databank of Philippine law and jurisprudence accessible for free to the general public.

The Center is pursuing projects in research, publication, policy initiatives and advocacy, capability building, academic support, and linkages in the field of information and communication technology as it affects the Philippine legal system.

Singapore
Creative Commons is working with the Centre for Asia Pacific Technology Law & Policy (CAPTEL) to create jurisdiction-specific licenses for Singapore from the “unported” Creative Commons licenses.
  • Legal Project Lead: Associate Professor Anil Samtani; Deputy-Director, CAPTEL
  • Public Project Lead: Assistant Professor Giorgos Cheliotis; Fellow, CAPTEL
About the Centre for Asia Pacific Technology Law & Policy (CAPTEL)

The Centre for Asia Pacific Technology Law & Policy (CAPTEL) is a research center founded to investigate and research issues on how businesses and economies are being affected by the challenges of new technologies on law, regulation and policy. CAPTEL is located at the Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University. For more information, please visit http://captel.ntu.edu.sg/.

South Korea
Creative Commons is working with KAFIL to create Korea jurisdiction-specific licenses from the generic Creative Commons licenses.
  • Project Leads: Professor Dae-Hee Lee (Inha Law School) and Jongsoo Yoon (Seoul Northern District Court)
About Korea Association for Infomedia Law (KAFIL)

KAFIL was found in 1996 by distinguished leadership of Judge Chan-Hyun Hwang. KAFIL is an abbreviation of Korea Association for Info-Media Law, so it has focused on information law issues. KAFIL is unique especially in its member composition. The majority of regular member is judges and public prosecutors. So, it has situated itself as the leading law association in Korea bridging academicians and legal professionals. KAFIL has operated annual symposium schedule usually in June, and three other academic seminars annually. Also, it has held case study workshops on bimonthly basis which has been a hot debatable forum among legal professionals. KAFIL also published its own law journal on biannual basis. For more information about KAFIL, visit http://www.kafil.or.kr/

Taiwan
Creative Commons is working with an Institute of Information Science, Academia Sinica to create Taiwan jurisdiction-specific licenses from the generic Creative Commons licenses.
  • Project Lead: Dr. Tyng-Ruey Chuang and Shunling Chen
About the Institute of Information Science, Academia Sinica

Academia Sinica is the highest government-sponsored academic research institution in Taiwan. The institution supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from mathematical and physical sciences to humanities and social sciences. The Institute of Information Science (IIS) was formally established in September 1982, and is one of the nine institutes within the Division of Mathematical and Physical Sciences. IIS presently has 33 full-time research fellows, 16 postdoctoral fellows and over 160 full-time information technology engineers supporting research and development of information science and engineering.

The mission of IIS is to conduct quality, fundamental research in information science, to develop cutting edge technologies applicable to advanced information systems, and to improve Taiwan’s competitiveness in information technology and its international visibility. Being a member of the most prominent research institution in Taiwan, IIS is obligated to assuming the leadership role in the area of information science, and aiming to establish itself as one of the world’s top research institutions.

Currently, IIS is conducting the Open Source Software Foundry (OSSF) project, with the aim of establishing a vital open source community. OSSF is to serve as a public, virtual common ground where local open source developers are invited to contribute their creativity in software development.

For more information about the Institute of Information Science, Academia Sinica, visit http://www.iis.sinica.edu.tw.

Thailand
Creative Commons International is working with Dharmniti Law Office, TRN Institute, and Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology (SIIT) to create Thailand jurisdiction-specific licenses from the generic Creative Commons Licenses (CCL) and promote CCL and free culture of copyrighted work in Thai society.
  • Phichai Phuechmongkol, President, and Worasete Phueksakon, Director, Dharmniti Law Office(DLO); Sunit Shrestha, Director, TRN Institute; and Arthit Suriyawongkul, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology, Thammasat University.
About Dharmniti Law Office

Founded in 1947 by Pradit Premyothin and with the guidance of Buth Khandhawit in 1978, The Dharmniti Law Office Co., Ltd. (DLO) has become one of the most well-respected law offices in Thailand providing quality legal services for both local and international clients. DLO provides a full range of legal services with a staff of over 100 persons including over 50 talented lawyers.

Recognizing the rapidly changing needs of its international clients, The Dharmniti International Co., Ltd. (DHI) was founded in 1990. DHI, also with a staff of extensive experience, is one of the few international law firms in Thailand designed to understand and serve the needs of both foreign and domestic clients.

For more information about Dharmniti Law Office, visit http://www.thailandlawoffice.com/ (in English) or http://www.dlo.co.th/ (in Thai).

About TRN Institute

TRNTRN Institute has been designing social innovation initiatives since 2001. Our sole purpose is to inject innovation into the social sector and corporate’s sustainable practice via design-thinking, innovative financing, partnership building and the use of ICTs.

Our social innovation designs range from micro-scale sustainable agriculture in dry land for the poor, Thai Open Courseware with the ministry of Education, Internet-based volunteer and philanthropy portal as well as social venture capital for emerging innovative social-startups.

For more information about TRN Institute, visit http://www.trnlab.org/.

About Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology, Thammasat University

Thammasat University has been established in 1934, two years after the 1932 Siamese Revolution, in the name “University of Moral and Political Science”, to educate a fledgling democracy at that time on law and political science. Since then, the university played an important role in social movements. In 1992, the university together with its industrial partners founded Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology (SIIT) to provide research and education in engineering, technology, and management for the country’s development. Its School of Information and Computer Technology hosts one of the country’s largest research groups in knowledge and information science. For more information about SIIT, visit http://www.siit.tu.ac.th/.

Vietnam
Creative Commons is working with Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF) and D&N International to create Vietnam jurisdiction-specific licenses from the generic Creative Commons licenses.
  • Project Lead: The Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF): Dr. Lynne McNamara, Acting Executive Director; Dr. Phuong Nguyen, Country Director; Mr. Tu Ngo, IT and Data Manager
  • Legal Project Lead: D&N International: Ms. Thuy Dang, Managing Partner; Ms. Hang Dang, Partner
About the Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF)

The Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF) is an independent federal agency created by the U.S. Congress in December 2000 and funded annually by the U.S. Government. Its mission is to strengthen the U.S.-Vietnam bilateral relationship through educational exchanges in science and technology.

VEF is governed by a Board of Directors including 3 U.S. Cabinet Members (the Secretaries of State, Treasury, and Education), 2 U.S. Senators and 2 Representatives, and 6 Presidential appointees. VEF headquarters is located in the Washington D.C. area, with a representative field office in Hanoi, Vietnam.

VEF has been highly successful in rapidly achieving its mission of educational exchange and capacity building in science, engineering, mathematics, medicine, and technology for Vietnam while building the bilateral relationship between the United States and Vietnam. Since operations in March 2003, VEF achievements as of Fall 2009 include the following:

  • 306 VEF Fellows have been placed in graduate programs in 69 top-tier U.S. research universities.
  • 26 Vietnamese scientists with doctoral degrees have been selected for the post-doctoral Visiting Scholar Program for self-designed professional development activities of up to one year at 22 U.S. universities.
  • 108 leading U.S. research universities have joined the VEF Alliance.
  • 38 Fellows have graduated and returned to Vietnam
  • 6 U.S. Faculty Scholars have been selected to teach courses at 8 Vietnamese universities on-site in Vietnam or via video-conferencing.

About D&N International

Established in 1992, D&N International is a leading private law firm in Vietnam providing a wide range of intellectual property services to local and foreign clients. Through nearly two decades together with its client support, D&N International has matured from a partnership of only two patent and trademark attorneys to a premier law firm with nation-wide presence and a representative office in France. Its business philosophy is to maintain the highest professional standards whilst providing clients with practical advice that adds value to their business.

Arab World

Jordan
Creative Commons is working with Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP) to create Jordan jurisdiction-specific licenses from the generic Creative Commons licenses.
  • Project Leads: Ziad Maraqa (Legal Cases & Court Decisions Manager, AGIP) and Rami Olwan (Researcher at CCI ARC Center for Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation).
About Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP)

When Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP) was established, as TMP Agents in 1972 in Kuwait, we knew that we were facing a considerable challenge. Intellectual property protection in the region was still in its early stages of development. However, since then we at Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property have devoted our efforts to promoting the importance of IP protection throughout the Arab countries.

We have encouraged the introduction of IP laws and an efficient IP system that has introduced two significant changes to the region. Firstly, with the new legislation the major multinational corporations have been given the confidence to expand to the region because they are now assured of protection for their products. Secondly, the creative individuals of the Arab world such as Arab architects, artists, designers, computer scientists, musicians and writers, now have the protection for their products that ensures their hard work is properly rewarded.

As the years have passed we have been hugely successful in achieving the goals we initially set ourselves, and today we look around the region and are proud at the comprehensive developments that we have helped achieve in the field of IP.

One of our contributions, of which we take pride at AGIP, is our assistance and continued support provided to governmental committees and officials charged with revising and drafting new laws and regulations for the enforcement of intellectual property rights. Our participation in this field aims to ensure adequate methods of protection for intellectual property rights.

More info: http://www.agip.com

Caucasus Region

Armenia
Creative Commons is working with Center for Information Law and Policy (CILP) to create Armenia jurisdiction-specific licenses from the generic Creative Commons licenses.
  • Project Lead: Movses Hakobyan
About the Center for Information Law and Policy

Center for Information Law and Policy is non-for-profit institution founded by Media Support Internews NGO to address the issues of information legislation and policy.

The mission of CILP is to promote the culture of the freedom of speech and communication in Armenia and support the development of legislation ensuring individuals’ universal right to hold opinions, receive and impart information an ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

Main areas of CILP activities are:

  • Internet policy and legislation including telecommunications policy and regulation.
  • Media and broadcasting policy and legislation.
  • Other areas of information and communication legislation such as personal data protection, freedom of information, cybercrime and copyright aspects of information society.

Representatives of CILP are members of Information Technologies Development Support Council (ITDSC), Group of Specialists of Human Rights in Information Society of the Council of Europe and the Council of Europe Ad Hoc Committee on Electronic Democracy.

For more information about Center for Information Law and Policy, visit http://www.gipi.am/.

Azerbaijan
Creative Commons is working with Azerbaijan Young Lawyers Union (AYLU) to create Azerbaijan jurisdiction-specific licenses from the generic Creative Commons licenses.
  • Legal Project Lead: Elmari Mamishov, Chairman of Azerbaijan Young Lawyers Union
  • Public Project Lead: Ramil Iskandarov, Member of Board of Azerbaijan Young Lawyers Union
About the Azerbaijan Young Lawyers Union

One of the most well-respected human rights NGOs operating in Azerbaijan is the Azerbaijan Young Lawyers Union (AYLU). Founded only in 1999, (and registered by the Ministry of Justice per regulation to operate as an NGO in the country) AYLU has rapidly established itself as one of the most active human rights NGOs in Azerbaijan with an impressive record of different activities and constituency of about 700 law students, masters and young practicing lawyers. . Its main task is to inform the younger Azerbaijani population, law students and lawyers in particular, of the Azerbaijani legislation and in particular of those provisions relating to the protection of human rights. As such it is the only NGO dedicated to addressing the problem of the lack of human rights understanding among young lawyers, leaving many individual human rights violations unresolved.

AYLU has experience in copyright-related projects such as “Legal Enlightenment in Film Production”. The project is headed by Elmari Mamishov, together with associates Ismayil Mammadov, Parviz Isgandarov and Nigar Melikova. It was settled within the Azerbaijan Young Lawyers Union (AYLU) at Baku. The project was held in 2005 and was awarded USD 5000 by SDC.

A booklet on the same subject was published, and four training sessions with about 30 participants were held in June 2005 by a.o. Mr. Kamran Imanov (Chairman of the State Copyright Agency).

The website www.anticorruption.az had been created by Azerbaijan Young Lawyers Union and devoted to the legal problems related to corruption in Azerbaijan. The organization is also a leading agency in the National Youth Human Rights Netowrk.

The official website of Azerbaijan Young Lawyers Union is www.aylu.az.

Georgia
Creative Commons is working with Business Intelligence & Valuation Group to create Georgia jurisdiction-specific licenses from the generic Creative Commons licenses.
  • Legal Project Leads: Dr. Nino Kuntseva-Gabashvili (BVG, Ltd. Founder partner & CEO) and Merab Labadze
  • Technical Project Lead: Zviad Sulaberidze
About the Business Intelligence & Valuation Group

Business Intelligence & Valuation Group (BVG, Ltd.) was created in Tbilisi, Georgia, in 2003. BVG is a professional services company that assists Intellectual Property (IP) owners and businesses across all industries to identify, capitalize and manage their IP and intangible assets.

We are the only Georgian firm with local and western experience in technology and innovations’ commercialization, Venture Company creation, IP consulting and portfolio management, technology audit, Intellectual Property valuation and inventory, market research and intellectual capital optimization.

We serve distinguished and growing Georgian and foreign artists, scientists and research institutes, companies and international organizations in key Research and Development (R&D) sectors, Art and Film industry. We are recognized for our blend of local expertise and western experience, a quality unique to Georgia and rare in the whole of the South Caucasus region.

Upcoming Jurisdictions

Bangladesh
Upcoming jurisdiction
  • Russell John (President) and Hasina Akhtar (Legal Advisor), Bangladesh Linux Users Alliance
Indonesia
Upcoming jurisdiction
  • Ivan Lanin and Ari Juliano; Wikimedia Indonesia (WMID)
Syria
Upcoming jurisdiction
  • Bassel Safadi and Andre Salame; Al Aous Publishers

Text source: Creative Commons, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

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