{{Short description|Project to define free content}}[[File:Definition of Free Cultural Works logo notext.svg|thumb|upright=0.85|Definition of Free Cultural Works logo, selected in a logo contest in 2006<ref>[http://freedomdefined.org/Logo_contest Logo contest] on freedomdefined.org (2006)</ref>]]The '''Definition of Free Cultural Works''' is a project that evaluates and recommends compatible free content licenses. Launched in 2006 by Creative Commons' Erik Möller in collaboration with Richard Stallman, Lawrence Lessig, Benjamin Mako Hill, and others, it was created to establish a clear standard for defining free content. The project is used as a reference by the Wikimedia Foundation in its licensing policy. In 2008, the Creative Commons Attribution and Attribution-ShareAlike licenses were formally designated as "Approved for Free Cultural Works." The ''Definition of Free Cultural Works'' has since become closely aligned with other open content frameworks, including the Open Knowledge Foundation's Open Definition, the Open Source Definition, and the Free Software Definition.
== History== The Open Content Project by David A. Wiley in 1998 was a predecessor project which defined open content. In 2003, Wiley joined the Creative Commons as "Director of Educational Licenses" and announced the Creative Commons and their licenses as successors to his Open Content Project.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030802222546/http://opencontent.org/ OpenContent is officially closed. And that's just fine.] on opencontent.org (30 June 2003, archived)</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030806102812/http://creativecommons.org/press-releases/entry/3733 Creative Commons Welcomes David Wiley as Educational Use License Project Lead] by matt (June 23rd, 2003)</ref>
Therefore, Creative Commons' Erik Möller<ref name="history"/> in collaboration with Richard Stallman, Lawrence Lessig, Benjamin Mako Hill,<ref name="history"/> Angela Beesley,<ref name="history">{{cite web|url=http://freedomdefined.org/History |title=History - Definition of Free Cultural Works |publisher=Freedomdefined.org |access-date=2012-11-14}}</ref> and others started in 2006 the Free Cultural Works project for defining free content. The first draft of the ''Definition of Free Cultural Works'' was published 2 April 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://freedomdefined.org/?title=Definition&offset=20070213&action=history |title=Revision history of "Definition" - Definition of Free Cultural Works |publisher=Freedomdefined.org |access-date=2012-11-14}}</ref> The 1.0 and 1.1 versions were published in English and translated into several languages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://freedomdefined.org/Definition |title=Definition of Free Cultural Works |publisher=Freedomdefined.org |date=2008-12-01 |access-date=2012-11-14}}</ref>
The ''Definition of Free Cultural Works'' is used by the Wikimedia Foundation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Licensing_policy |title=Resolution:Licensing policy |publisher=Wikimedia Foundation |access-date=2012-11-14}}</ref> In 2008, the Attribution and Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons licenses were marked as "Approved for Free Cultural Works".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/8051 |title=Approved for Free Cultural Works |publisher=Creative Commons |date=2009-07-24 |access-date=2012-11-14}}</ref>
Following in June 2009, Wikipedia migrated to use two licenses: the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike as main license, additionally to the previously used GNU Free Documentation License (which was made compatible<ref name="onepoint3faq">{{cite web|url=https://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl-1.3-faq.html |title=FDL 1.3 FAQ |publisher=Gnu.org |access-date=2011-11-07}}</ref>).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Licensing_update_approval|title=Resolution:Licensing update approval - Wikimedia Foundation}}</ref> An improved license compatibility with the greater free content ecosystem was given as reason for the license change.<ref>[https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/15411 Wikipedia + CC BY-SA = Free Culture Win!] on creativecommons.org by Mike Linksvayer, June 22nd, 2009</ref><ref>[http://blog.wikimedia.org/2009/06/30/licensing-update-rolled-out-in-all-wikimedia-wikis/ Licensing update rolled out in all Wikimedia wikis] on wikimedia.org by Erik Moeller on June 30th, 2009 ''"Perhaps the most significant reason to choose CC-BY-SA as our primary content license was to be compatible with many of the other admirable endeavors out there to share and develop free knowledge"''</ref>
In October 2014, the Open Knowledge Foundation's Open Definition 2.0 for ''Open Works'' and ''Open Licenses'' described "open" as synonymous to the definition of free in the "Definition of Free Cultural Works" (and also the Open Source Definition and Free Software Definition).<ref>[http://opendefinition.org/od/2.1/en/ Open Definition 2.1] on opendefinition.org</ref> A distinct difference is the focus given to the public domain and that it focuses also on the accessibility ("open access") and the readability ("open formats"). The same three creative commons licenses are recommended for open content (CC BY, CC BY-SA, and CC0<ref>[http://opendefinition.org/licenses/ licenses] on opendefinition.com</ref><ref>[https://blog.creativecommons.org/2013/12/27/creative-commons-4-0-by-and-by-sa-licenses-approved-conformant-with-the-open-definition/ Creative Commons 4.0 BY and BY-SA licenses approved conformant with the Open Definition] by Timothy Vollmer on creativecommons.org (December 27th, 2013)</ref><ref>[https://blog.creativecommons.org/2014/10/07/open-definition-2-0-released/ Open Definition 2.0 released] by Timothy Vollmer on creativecommons.org (October 7th, 2014)</ref>) as additionally three for open data intended own licenses, the Open Data Commons Public Domain Dedication and Licence (PDDL), the Open Data Commons Attribution License (ODC-BY) and the Open Data Commons Open Database License (ODbL).
=="Free cultural works" approved licenses== * Against DRM * BSD-like non-copyleft licenses * CERN Open Hardware License * CC0 * Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) * Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) * Design Science License * Free Art License * FreeBSD Documentation License * GNU Free Documentation License (without invariant sections)<ref>[http://freedomdefined.org/Licenses licenses] on freedomdefined.org</ref> * GNU General Public License * MirOS Licence * MIT License * Open Publication License
==References== {{reflist| 40 hours}}
==External links== * Definition of Free Cultural Works on freedomdefined.org * 2006 Announcement on freedomdefined.org * [https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/freeworks Understanding Free Cultural Works] on creativecommons.org * [https://wikieducator.org/Wikieducator_tutorial/What_is_free_content/Free_content_defined Free content defined] on WikiEducator * [https://www.deviantart.com/freeculturalworks FreeCulturalWorks] on DeviantArt
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Category:Free content licenses Category:Computer-related introductions in 2006