Union for the Public Domain

The BBC has just released its Charter Review report, and they have a *very* nice section on the Archive. Now we have to make sure this gets into the
charter...

Relevant excerpt:

The Creative Archive: opening up the treasure chest

Imagine being able to view and listen – and even download and own – extracts from the world’s largest television and radio archive.

53% of internet users download content for their own compilations. For the first time, the BBC will open up its treasure chest of programmes to the public who own it and make its contents available to individuals and to families for learning, for creativity and for pleasure. Two-thirds of current and prospective broadband users say they are interested in the Creative Archive service.

On Thursday, June 10th, the Friends of the Creative Domain coalition (hosted by CDR), of which UPD is a founding member, sent out the following letter to the Department of Culture, Ministry and Sport, MP's, the Office of the e-Envoy, and the BBC. The letter was signed by artists, filmmakers, educators, students, researchers and archivists. Below are the cover letter, the letter itself, and the signatories.

UPD also sent its own letter to express some additional concerns.

To stay up-to-date on further developments, sign up for the creative-friends e-mail list. For links to more information about the BBC Creative Archive, go here.

Update: Wired just came out with a story mentioning our work.

News

BBC to Open Content Floodgates, Katie Dean, Wired News, 16 June 2004

BBC Creative Archive licensing to be based on Creative Commons, Digital-Lifestyles.info, 26 May 2004

Interview with Paula Le Dieu, joint director of the Archive, Digital-Lifestyles.info, 28 May 2004

Commentary

Wendy Grossman, "The BBC's shagging marmots", The Inquirer, 28 May 2004.

Danny O'Brien's Wired article, November 2003

Lessig on the BBC Archive, Digital-Lifestyles.info, 10 September 2003

Danny O'Brien's Guardian op-ed, 28 August 2003

"The BBC Creative Archive: what the Internet was invented for," The London News Review, 25 August 2003

Danny O'Brien's blog analysis, 24 August 2003

Reference

Full text of Greg Dyke's announcement, 24 August 2003

John Naughton's Testimony to Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport, May 25 2004

BBC's coverage of Archive announcement, 24 August 2003

BBC Charter Review official site

This letter was sent to the Department of Culture, Ministry and Sport, MP's, the Office of the e-Envoy, and the BBC.

14 June 2004

Dear *recipient*,

We write to express our support for the concept of a BBC Creative Archive, and our concerns relating to the form of its implementation.

Union for the Public Domain is a non-profit membership organisation, acting as an independent voice on intellectual property issues. As an organisation whose mission is to protect and enhance the public domain, we were elated to learn of the BBC’s announcement last August that it would make its sound and video archives available to the public in a freely accessible online archive. We also welcome the BBC’s recent embrace of the Creative Commons model.

To sign on to this letter, e-mail davidt at public-domain dot org. If you have an organisational affiliation, that's ideal, but you can also sign as an individual. Please indicate whether you are a TV-licence payer, and your region of the UK, if you feel comfortable doing so. The letter will be sent to the BBC board of governors and director general, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and Members of Parliament.

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Friends of the Creative Domain

*Date*




*Name*

*Organisation*

*Street*

*City*, *Post Code*