GNU.media

Open Source™ (Distributed peer review and transparency of process.)

Open Source describes people’s ability to analyze the structure and study the components of an object, usually used in the context of computer software.

Open-ness, honesty and transparency all denote a fundamental, or intimate, understanding. Iterations and generations of efforts can be granted, in a liberated way, to later generations or impediments to access may be implemented.

The Patent System is, hypothetically, a means of encouraging individuals to be open with their knowledge and innovations so that future generations may benefit in timely fashion.

Copyleft

Transparency can be enhanced with additional freedoms. The spectrum of freedoms between Copyright and Public Domain, is commonly referred to as Copyleft.

Patents and license factionalism

Scattering the media reform horizon are critical leaps and collaborations involving our collective knowledge and the ownership of ideas. Our natural inheritance from generations prior is capitalized upon by a narrow minority. Well intentioned efforts to counter the ownership of ideas may conflict with one another, leading to pervasive incompatibilities in End-User License Agreements (EULAs).

One such EULA, known as the cornerstone of software Copyleft, is the GNU Public License (GPL). The GPL extends the source transparency ideal to encompass additional freedoms. These additional freedoms preserve themselves in a self perpetuating [sometimes dubbed viral] fashion. Permit me to recapitulate the four freedoms provided by the GNU, so that we may explore how they can be extended to encompass the multimedia realm.

GNU Four Freedoms

Copied verbatim from gnu.org:

“Free software” is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of “free” as in “free speech”, not as in “free beer”.

Free software is a matter of the users’ freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software:

• The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).

• The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

• The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).

• The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

Software Libre meets Medios Libres.

• ‘Medios’, multimedia infrastructure.

• ‘Libres’, liberties, access and freedom.

Software is sometimes distributed along with multimedia assets (e.g. event sounds and interface graphics.) Distributing Free/Libre Open Source Software with proprietary multimedia may not violate licenses such as GPL but is, per haps, antithetical.

Q: Is it necessitated that the multimedia assets which are distributed with many GPL applications be protected by the full extent of Copyright? Since many GPL packages are released to people with their corresponding documentation released under the GNU Free Documentation License, any included multimedia would desirably be compatibly licensed with GPL, GFDL or both.

Q: Which copyright restrictions can be removed (or are incompatible with the four freedoms outlined above)? The answer to the preceding question is not only beyond the scope of this article, but is also beyond the author’s level of comprehension. This is partially due to the complexity of modern Copyright law. The GPL removes certain restrictions which have evolved into Copyright, as do many other Copyleft licenses.

Copyleft adds to the difficulty of ascertaining necessary stipulations by offering a whole spectrum of licenses. The inherent difficulty in deciphering nearly any End User License Agreement often leads to blind ‘acceptance’, sometimes with detrimental effects. Part of the Creative Commons initiative is to provide simple graphical outlines of many Copyleft licenses, dubbed ‘human-readable terms.’

Infrastructure

Public access to Copylefted software and multimedia, however desirable, isn’t sufficient to attain ‘Medios Libres’. A medium containing software and/or multimedia can only serve a minimal service without a few other fundamental elements.

Hardware

Hardware generally includes any physical device (typically of electronic nature) utilized to preform a task or series of tasks. Hardware manufacturers have, at times, implemented artificial measures of regulating devices to avoid competition and have encouraged consumer tendencies through such activities as designed obsolescence . Negative effects of these proprietary measures include the encouragement of a ‘throw away society’ and a general tendency to avoid modular design and/or interoperability.

Communications Infrastructure

One fundamental means of communications is word-of-mouth, which is protected in the United states via the First Ammendment. A new, yet similar, concept has arisen called peer-to-peer (P2P). These phrases convey the ability of people to freely spread information (A.K.A. data.) The ability of people to express themselves and convey their perspective of life is recognized as an essential freedom. Peoples’ ability to propagate their ideas and expressions, globally and efficiently, is increasing rapidly. It is imperative that we secure, once and for all, the same liberties granted the individual by the constitution regarding speech – to be extended into the electronic communications realm.

The network infrastructure, by which we distribute various information, software and multimedia, is subject to ownership as well as artificial impediment. This infrastructure includes the physical architecture of the internet, bandwidth of the electromagnetic spectrum, protocols for communication, formats for multimedia distribution, &c.

Public File Repositories and the Creative Commons

Our collective consciousness is expanding with the advancement of digital storytelling and recording devices. A great project is at hand, to help store vast quantities of multimedia, called the Internet Archive (iA). the iA allows persons to easily submit cultural works and multimedia artifacts for public access and distribution.

Some multimedia repositories disallow access from non-registered users. Open access is an important feature and is necessary to maintain harmony with GNU Copyleft ideals. Another important function of a multimedia repository is the ability of the users to freely move content to other file mirrors if necessary. This is frequently not the case when many media portals provide only a means for users to submit data and no method to download a users’ multimedia collection in bulk.

GNUmedia Freedoms Remix

GNUmedia Society believes that the principals guiding Software Libre can be contextualized for multimedia,

• Universal access to media, communications infrastructure and multimedia source files.
• The freedom to perform, display and redistribute media; physically and electronically.
• The freedom to create, perform, display and release derivative works of said media.

Expounding upon freedoms

Universal access to knowledge and technology is important for an enlightened and empowered society. Non-discriminatory methods of disseminating knowledge are vital. Current technologies can allow global distribution of information and must not be fettered by artificial and unnecessary restrictions. Access not only implies the ability to receive information but also the freedom to contribute material via the same methods and infrastructure, if one so desires.

Individuals must have access not only to multi-media and technology but also the information with which our multimedia artifacts are constructed. Having access to source material can allow persons to study the construction of an item, allowing for a clearer understanding of the process by which the item was created and how one might produce a similar item. Sourcing, from a journalistic standpoint, can validate – or legitimize – a composition and allow others to further explore related subjects and materials.

Vision and understanding are not, combined, sufficient to attain liberation. Persons must be at liberty to pass along media and information to whomever they see fit, for whatever reason (so long as they do not interfere with others’ ability to do likewise and/or access to the original resource.)

As an extension of the liberties:

• Transparency
• Access
• Redistribution

.. individuals must be free to create derivative works of the media; including the assets used in creation. Derivative works serve to expedite the act of creation, as one can build upon the collective work of others as well as one’s own prior art.

These freedoms can help accelerate the evolution of our culture while promoting diversity and subverting the stagnation perceived in traditional media licensing/distribution methods.

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