The Culture of Sharing: Why Releasing Copyright Will Be the Smartest Thing You Do
Sharing can be difficult, and lovely.
By Leo Babauta
Recently I stirred up a roar of controversy with a post at Zen Habits: Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway (or, The Privatization of the English Language). I had no idea the post would bring out such strong reactions in people, but I feel very strongly about freedom of speech and allowing ideas to be freely circulated.
And while I was a bit dismayed at some of the anger that was aimed at author Susan Jeffers (a number of people posted angry reviews for her book on Amazon), what did give me hope was that people made it clear that they have strong feelings about the issue.
A large number of us want people to be able to share ideas and communicate freely, without legal restrictions. And I’d go even further: we like it when creative people freely share their work with us, and allow us to use their work (or derivatives of it) in our own work.
This is the Culture of Sharing that is growing on the Internet. It has a long history, even pre-dating the Internet, but in recent years it seems to be blooming nicely. Open-sourced software is a great example: people collaborate to create code that can be used by others — it can be used freely as software, but more importantly others can use the code in their own software projects, or take the code and improve upon it. Everyone wins — the users of the software, the programmers who are able to use open-sourced code, and even the original programmers, who receive recognition for their work and the knowledge that they’ve contributed to something good. Microsoft and the other companies that use their might to protect their code are suddenly made much less powerful by open-sourced projects like Firefox, OpenOffice, GIMP and the like.
Now extend this concept to writers and other artists — musicians, photographers, painters, filmmakers, etc. — and see how powerful the Culture of Sharing can be. All of a sudden, copyrights become barriers to creativity, and sharing becomes a way to contribute to the overall creative community, and to the world in general.
Last year I Uncopyrighted my blog, Zen Habits, and my ebook, Zen To Done, and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done. People have used my articles in blogs, newsletters, magazines, ebooks, books and more. And yes, they’ve made profits off me without me getting any of that money … but at the same time, I’ve benefitted: my ideas have spread, my name and brand have spread, and my readership has grown and grown. Since I Uncopyrighted the blog, it has grown from about 30K subscribers to 113K.
You can Uncopyright your blog, your ebooks, and even your print books. And I can almost guarantee you: it’ll be the best thing you can do as a writer.
The Old Model, and Why It’s Wrong
People who are used to the traditional model of copyrights will be alarmed and perhaps even angered by this article. They’ve been taught that copyrights actually protect the rights of artists, and in doing so actually encourage creativity. After all, if an artist doesn’t have copyright, he can’t make a living, and what would his motivation be to create anything then?
This logic is plain wrong.
First, history proves it wrong. Copyright laws originated in the 1700s, but amazingly, there were a few people who were able to create works of art without the protection of copyright laws. Shakespeare, Milton, Cervantes, Virgil, Dante … to name but a few big names. There are, of course, thousands more. And here we’re only talking about writers — a few other artists also were able to create art: da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Mozart, Beethoven and Vivaldi are just a few who created before their works were protected by copyright.
Second, copyright has evolved into protection for corporations more than for artists these days. The people really pushing for copyright protection are not really people at all, but huge media conglomerates. They are protecting a system that is set up to make them money, but that only helps a handful of artists. The vast majority of artists are never read or seen or heard by the public, because the corporations don’t deem them to be profitable enough. So the system doesn’t help artists anymore — it hurts them.
Third, I have proven that it’s possible to make money, even today, without using copyright. And so have many others (Cory Doctorow being a notable example). The release of my copyright didn’t decrease my income — it increased it. It didn’t decrease my exposure — it increased it. We’ll talk more about this below.
Finally, copyright actually hurts artists, instead of protecting them. When you try to protect your copyright, you waste precious time and money pursuing violators — time and money you could be using to create instead of threaten litigation. When you protect your copyright, you are denying someone else the use of your ideas and creativity — which might seem good to you, but it doesn’t seem good to the person on the other end, and the community in general suffers a bit. And it hurts your reputation (if people think you’re selfish and protective) and stops your ideas from being spread as widely as possible.
By protecting your copyright, you are putting up barriers for the spread of your ideas. In this digital age, that is a mistake, plain and simple.
Why Releasing Copyright is the Smartest Thing You Can Do
So let’s put aside the old model of copyrighting works for a minute, and ask ourselves: “What might happen if I release my copyright?”
Seriously, think about it for a second.
Sure, some websites might scrape your content, re-using it and putting ads on it — making money from your hard work. And sure, someone else might throw it into a book and sell it, without paying you. You’re losing money, right?
Not necessarily. These people are making money by selling your work to customers you probably wouldn’t have reached anyway. They’re making money, sure, but how does that hurt you? If you could have reached these readers, you probably will anyway. In fact, if these readers really like your work, they’ll probably come looking for more … and you’ll gain a bunch of new readers.
And many others might use your work without making a profit. They might put your work in a free newsletter, or print it and use it in a classroom, or put it on their blog without making money. They’ll share your ideas with others, and give you credit. Now you’re reaching thousands of people you never would have reached before. These people are doing your marketing for you, for free!
I’ll repeat that in case the italics and exclamation point weren’t emphasis enough: by releasing copyright, you might get people to do your marketing for you, for free.
This digital age is defined not by how much money you can make with an individual post or book, but how widely you can get your ideas to spread. If you get your ideas to spread widely, you’ll make money. Somehow.
But how can you make money if you don’t have copyright? Let me count the ways:
- You can sell ads and make money off the increased visitors that come from your increased reputation.
- You can sell print versions of your book (after releasing an Uncopyrighted ebook version), and people will buy it anyway, because they like to have print books.
- You can become a consultant and people will hire you because you are widely regarded as having authority in the field … because your ideas are spread widely.
- You can sell ebooks (as I do) even if the copyright has been released. Most of my website income, in fact, comes from sales of my Uncopyrighted ebooks.
- You can gain a print book deal from your increased readership and reputation.
- You can become a speaker at conferences and other events.
- You can create seminars and other training courses.
- You can sell related materials — t-shirts, coffee mugs, learning materials, etc.
And that’s just off the top of my head. You can probably think of a hundred other ways. And it’s not only theoretically possible — as I said, I’m doing it now, and making more money than ever.
But wait, there’s more.
Releasing copyright isn’t just about making money off your creative work — it’s much more powerful than that. It’s about sharing your ideas with others, and allowing them to use it in their work.
Think about this for a second: none of your ideas are completely original. Mine sure aren’t. I take the ideas of others and build upon them. I try to create new ways of looking at old ideas. I combine old ideas in new mixes. Sometimes I just dust off old ideas that people have forgotten about. Sometimes they’re only new to me — I just discovered them and tried them out and found they worked, but they’ve been around in many forms for ages. All creative work is like this in some way. We take the ideas of others and build upon them, remix them, look at them in new ways.
If this is true, aren’t you indebted to so many other creative types? Would you have been able to create your work at all if you hadn’t been exposed to the works of thousands of others? Could you have created anything without using the ideas of others in your work?
And now think about this: by giving your work to others to use, isn’t this a wonderful way to repay the creative types that came before you and made your work possible? Isn’t it a great way to contribute to the creative community, and to make the world better?
I love to see how others take my work and build upon it, remix it, make it better. They have made my work more beautiful. And in doing so, in benefiting and participating in the Culture of Sharing, they have made the world a better place. And so have I. And so can you.
So let’s talk specifics, briefly. By releasing copyright, you will have a few benefits come your way:
- Others might take your work and use it and spread it in various ways.
- New readers will hear of you for the first time, and come to your blog or buy your book.
- You will have increased visibility, a stronger brand, more readers, more traffic over the long haul.
- You will make more money.
- You will help others create, and make the world a better place.
None of this is guaranteed, but if your work is good, it will almost surely happen.
The Mechanics of Releasing Copyright
So how should you do it? There are several different ways to share your work with the world. Some of the most popular:
- Creative Commons. One of the most widely used licenses, it commonly requires only attribution. There are several versions.
- GNU. The inspiration for my Uncopyright. For text, you should probably use the GFDL.
- Leo’s Uncopyright. Mine is one of the freest licenses ever, because I don’t believe in any restrictions. Basically, I have released my work into the public domain. That means there is no license — you aren’t required to include the license in the work, or attribute the work (although I love it when you give me credit).
- WTFPL. Or, the Do What The Fuck You Want To Public License. Hilarious, but usable. Check it out. Here’s the full text:
0. You just DO WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT TO.Very clear wording, imo.
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71 Responses to “The Culture of Sharing: Why Releasing Copyright Will Be the Smartest Thing You Do”
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I’ve been thinking of doing this ever since your original article about releasing copyright, Leo. And now you’ve finally pushed me over the edge!
From today, my writing on my blog is officially under the WTF Public License:
http://vladdolezal.com/blog/2009/freedom-i-declare-uncopyright/
[Reply]
Bob Baker in no modus operandi fails to absorb me with his podcasts, books, blogs and Facebook posts. by This for the moment he points us to another pencil-pusher, Leo Babauta, who writes a blog called Zen Habits and another one-liner called Write to Done.
This outstanding promulgate lays into notable notice Leo’s thoughts on abandoning the unwritten copyright in favor of a more uncommitted methodology, and there are distinct options. I had no mentation the promulgate would spread b bruit about into notable notice such irrefutable reactions in people, but I acumen unquestionably strongly with compliments to self-determination of language and allowing ideas to be unconstrainedly circulated.
Here’s his article in greatly:
The Culture of Sharing: Why Releasing Copyright Will Be the Smartest Thing You Do
By Leo Babauta
Recently I stirred up a growl of difference with a promulgate at Zen Habits: Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway (or, The Privatization of the English Language).
And while I was a whit dismayed at some of the bug that was aimed at littВrateur Susan Jeffers (a numbers of people posted feverish reviews suited for her apply for on Amazon), what did beat a hasty depart notable me conviction was that people made it certain that they soupЗon irrefutable feelings with compliments to the debouchment. And I’d accompany cool coax forward: we like it when firsthand people unconstrainedly part their in the planning stages unemployed with us, and move to us to avail oneself of their in the planning stages unemployed (or derivatives of it) in our own in the planning stages unemployed.
A tremendous numbers of us crave people to be equipped to part ideas and sympathize unconstrainedly, without polite restrictions.
This is the Culture of Sharing that is growing on the Internet. Open-sourced software is a gargantuan exemplification: people in the planning stages unemployed together up to enlighten methodology that can be against aside others – it can be against unconstrainedly as software, but more importantly others can avail oneself of the methodology in their own software projects, or kill the methodology and uplift upon it.
It has a lengthy dirt, cool pre-dating the Internet, but in modern years it seems to be blooming nicely. Everyone wins – the users of the software, the programmers who are equipped to avail oneself of open-sourced methodology, and cool the firsthand programmers, who admit attention suited for their in the planning stages unemployed and the awareness that they’ve contributed to something usefulness.
Now commemorate continue up this concept to writers and other artists – musicians, photographers, painters, filmmakers, etc. Microsoft and the other companies that avail oneself of their capability to care for their methodology are instantly made much less brisk aside open-sourced projects like Firefox, OpenOffice, GIMP and the like. – and appreciate how brisk the Culture of Sharing can be.
Last year I Uncopyrighted my blog, Zen Habits, and my ebook, Zen To Done, and it was one-liner of the most superbly things I’ve everlastingly done.
All of a rash, copyrights buttress barriers to creativity, and sharing becomes a modus operandi to afford to the complete firsthand community, and to the smashing in worldwide. People soupЗon against my articles in blogs, newsletters, magazines, ebooks, books and more. but at the unquestionably for the moment, I’ve benefitted: my ideas soupЗon spread, my notability and category soupЗon spread, and my readership has grown and grown. And yes, they’ve made profits nutty me without me getting any of that bread. Since I Uncopyrighted the blog, it has grown from with compliments to 30K subscribers to 113K.
And I can all but assert to you: it’ll be the most superbly activity you can do as a pencil-pusher.
You can Uncopyright your blog, your ebooks, and cool your language books.
The Old Model, and Why It’s Wrong
People who are against to the unwritten miniature of copyrights settle upon be alarmed and maybe cool angered aside this article. After all, if an artist doesn’t soupЗon copyright, he can’t beat a hasty depart a living, and what would his motivation be to enlighten anything then?
This sane judgement is unreserved off target. They’ve been taught that copyrights in the end care for the rights of artists, and in doing so in the end advance creativity.
First, dirt proves it off target. Shakespeare, Milton, Cervantes, Virgil, Dante. Copyright laws originated in the 1700s, but amazingly, there were a by no means people who were equipped to enlighten works of mastery without the bulwark of copyright laws. to notability but a by no means different names. And here we’re solely talking with compliments to writers – a by no means other artists also were equipped to enlighten mastery: da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Mozart, Beethoven and Vivaldi are justified a by no means who created in the for the moment to come their works were protected aside copyright.
There are, of cut, thousands more.
Second, copyright has evolved into bulwark suited for corporations more than suited for artists these days. They are protecting a methodology that is define up to beat a hasty depart them bread, but that solely helps a uncharitable numbers of artists. The people in the end pushing suited for copyright bulwark are not in the end people at all, but gigantic media conglomerates. The gigantic bulk of artists are in no modus operandi know or seen or heard aside the notable, because the corporations don’t deem them to be helpful ample.
Third, I soupЗon proven that it’s practical to beat a hasty depart bread, cool today, without using copyright. So the methodology doesn’t facilitate artists anymore – it hurts them. And so soupЗon numerous others (Cory Doctorow being a VIP example). It didn’t cut down my unmasking – it increased it. The loosing of my copyright didn’t cut down my takings – it increased it. We’ll talk more with compliments to this subsumed under.
When you hear to care for your copyright, you barrens euphuistic for the moment and bread pursuing violators – for the moment and bread you could be using to enlighten as opposed to of on guard case.
Finally, copyright in the end hurts artists, as opposed to of protecting them. When you care for your copyright, you are denying someone else the avail oneself of of your ideas and creativity – which capability appear usefulness to you, but it doesn’t appear usefulness to the child on the other even-handed, and the community in worldwide suffers a whit.
By protecting your copyright, you are putting up barriers suited for the spread of your ideas. And it hurts your prominence (if people fantasize you’re acquisitive and protective) and stops your ideas from being spread as extensively as practical. In this digital bulk, that is a kill the off target modus operandi, unreserved and dense.
Sure, some websites capability kiss the feet your encumber, re-using it and putting ads on it – making bread from your tyrannically in the planning stages unemployed.
Why Releasing Copyright is the Smartest Thing You Can Do
So let’s permission into b assume aside the gone it miniature of copyrighting works suited for a document, and upon ourselves: “What capability encounter if I loosing my copyright?”
Seriously, fantasize with compliments to it suited for a another. And undeviating, someone else capability spit up it into a apply for and sell down the river it, without paying you.
These people are making bread aside selling your in the planning stages unemployed to customers you indubitably wouldn’t soupЗon reached anyway. You’re losing bread, to be fair?
Not like it. They’re making bread, undeviating, but how does that jar you? If you could soupЗon reached these readers, you indubitably settle upon anyway. and you’ll admit better a accumulation of fresh readers. In experience, if these readers in the end like your in the planning stages unemployed, they’ll indubitably check in looking suited for more.
And numerous others capability avail oneself of your in the planning stages unemployed without making a profit.
They’ll part your ideas with others, and beat a hasty depart notable you faithfulness. They capability permission into b assume your in the planning stages unemployed in a cool newsletter, or language it and avail oneself of it in a classroom, or permission into b assume it on their blog without making bread. Now you’re reaching thousands of people you in no modus operandi would soupЗon reached in the for the moment to come.
This digital bulk is defined not aside how much bread you can beat a hasty depart with an child promulgate or apply for, but how extensively you can admit your ideas to spread. These people are doing your marketing suited for you, suited for cool!
I’ll rerun that in the actuality the italics and oust value weren’t lead ample: aside releasing copyright, you capability admit people to do your marketing suited for you, suited for cool. If you admit your ideas to spread extensively, you’ll beat a hasty depart bread.
But how can you beat a hasty depart bread if you don’t soupЗon copyright? Let me depend on the ways:
1. Somehow. You can sell down the river ads and beat a hasty depart bread nutty the increased visitors that check in from your increased prominence. You can sell down the river language versions of your apply for (after releasing an Uncopyrighted ebook version), and people settle upon acquire it anyway, because they like to soupЗon language books.
2.
3. because your ideas are spread extensively. You can buttress a barrister and people settle upon gash you because you are extensively regarded as having corroboration in the sod.
4.
Most of my website takings, in experience, comes from sales of my Uncopyrighted ebooks. You can sell down the river ebooks (as I do) cool if the copyright has been released.
5.
6. You can admit better a language apply for reckon with from your increased readership and prominence. You can buttress a rabble-rouser at conferences and other events. You can enlighten seminars and other training courses.
7.
8.
And that’s justified nutty the high point of my administer. You can sell down the river associated materials – t-shirts, coffee mugs, knowledge materials, etc. You can indubitably fantasize of a hundred other ways.
But bide one’s time, there’s more. And it’s not solely theoretically practical – as I said, I’m doing it these days, and making more bread than everlastingly.
Releasing copyright isn’t justified with compliments to making bread nutty your firsthand in the planning stages unemployed – it’s much more brisk than that.
Think with compliments to this suited for a another: nobody of your ideas are up one side firsthand. It’s with compliments to sharing your ideas with others, and allowing them to avail oneself of it in their in the planning stages unemployed. Mine undeviating aren’t. I hear to enlighten fresh ways of looking at gone it ideas.
I kill the ideas of others and dominate upon them. I consolidate gone it ideas in fresh mixes. Sometimes they’re solely fresh to me – I justified discovered them and tried them into notable notice and present they worked, but they’ve been all in numerous forms suited for ages. Sometimes I justified dust nutty gone it ideas that people soupЗon forgotten with compliments to. All firsthand in the planning stages unemployed is like this in some modus operandi.
If this is verified, aren’t you accountable to so numerous other firsthand types? Would you soupЗon been equipped to enlighten your in the planning stages unemployed at all if you hadn’t been exposed to the works of thousands of others? Could you soupЗon created anything without using the ideas of others in your in the planning stages unemployed?
And these days fantasize with compliments to this: aside giving your in the planning stages unemployed to others to avail oneself of, isn’t this a wonderful modus operandi to fix with the firsthand types that came in the for the moment to come you and made your in the planning stages unemployed practical? Isn’t it a gargantuan modus operandi to afford to the firsthand community, and to beat a hasty depart the smashing wagerer?
I ebullience to appreciate how others kill my in the planning stages unemployed and dominate upon it, remix it, beat a hasty depart it wagerer. We kill the ideas of others and dominate upon them, remix them, look at them in fresh ways. They soupЗon made my in the planning stages unemployed more good-looking. And so soupЗon I. And in doing so, in benefiting and participating in the Culture of Sharing, they soupЗon made the smashing a wagerer job. And so can you.
By releasing copyright, you settle upon soupЗon a by no means benefits check in your modus operandi:
* Others capability kill your in the planning stages unemployed and avail oneself of it and spread it in divers ways.
So let’s talk specifics, hastily.
* New readers settle upon brains of you suited for the prestigious for the moment, and check in to your blog or acquire your apply for.
* You settle upon beat a hasty depart more bread.
* You settle upon soupЗon increased visibility, a stronger category, more readers, more above once again the lengthy carriage.
* You settle upon facilitate others enlighten, and beat a hasty depart the smashing a wagerer job.
The Mechanics of Releasing Copyright
So how should you do it? There are distinct numerous ways to part your in the planning stages unemployed with the smashing.
None of this is guaranteed, but if your in the planning stages unemployed is usefulness, it settle upon all but sure encounter. Some of the most normal:
1. One of the most extensively against licenses, it commonly requires solely ascription. Creative Commons. There are distinct versions. GNU.
2. The dynamism suited for my Uncopyright.
3. For manual, you should indubitably avail oneself of the GFDL.
Leo’s Uncopyright. Basically, I soupЗon released my in the planning stages unemployed into the notable discipline. Mine is one-liner of the freest licenses everlastingly, because I don’t conclusion in any restrictions. That means there is no certify – you aren’t required to amalgamate the certify in the in the planning stages unemployed, or ascribe the in the planning stages unemployed (although I ebullience it when you beat a hasty depart notable me credit). WTFPL.
4. Or, the Do What The Fuck You Want To Public License.
Check it into notable notice. Hilarious, but usable. Here’s the greatly manual: 0.
Very certain word choice, imo. You justified DO WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT TO.
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It is painfully obvious you have no clue as to what a copyright is, how it is created or when it was adopted by the US Government. It is also obvious you have no respect for an artists right to control his or her creation. Shame on you.
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wrong can true because majority
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Sorry, but if I’m going to go through all the trouble and work of producing a novel, I’m getting paid, dammit. You can go on and on about “my ideas are being shared WITH THE WORLD!” and being an artist and reaching people you might not have otherwise and getting free marketing etc., etc., but nobody deserves to make a dime off my work except me.
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Sorry, but I really don’t trust other people with any material from my book. Knowing how the internet world is, most of my characters will suddenly become gay/lesbian porn stars.
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@benpanced:
“Sorry, but if I’m going to go through all the trouble and work of producing a novel, I’m getting paid, dammit.”
Um… who said otherwise?
“nobody deserves to make a dime off my work except me.”
Really? What if I parody your work? How are you going to stop me with copyright?
Also, I’m making money off Lenovo’s work right now, and off the work of my teacher’s who educated me by putting that knowledge to use. Am I ripping them off?
[Reply]
@Natasha:
“Sorry, but I really don’t trust other people with any material from my book. Knowing how the internet world is, most of my characters will suddenly become gay/lesbian porn stars.”
And… how would copyright law stop people from parodying your work?
[Reply]
I think that a lot of the arguments here are pretty stupid. Every single one of you are doing what you want to do with your own material.
Some of you are “Uncopyrighting” it. Good for you to do what you want with your material, but you have no right to insist that others that disagree with that do that as well.
Some of you think that copyrighting it is the best way to go to protect your material. Good for you on that, but you also have no right to insist that others that disagree with that do that as well.
In conclusion, it’s alright to disagree, but not dictate what someone should or shouldn’t do with their creative works. It’s a great revolution to share ideas in new and different ways. Just don’t let either way come back to bite you for any reason. Laws are established for a reason, and until they are modified or whatever, they are going to hold up in court no matter how much you agree or disagree with them.
[Reply]