Response to ASCAP's deceptive claims

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en-US"> <head> <title>Response to ASCAP's deceptive claims - Creative Commons</title> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <link rel="icon" href="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/themes/vocabulary-theme/vocabulary/favicon/favicon.ico" sizes="any" /> <link rel="icon" href="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/themes/vocabulary-theme/vocabulary/favicon/favicon.svg" type="image/svg+xml" /> <link rel="manifest" href="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/themes/vocabulary-theme/vocabulary/favicon/manifest.webmanifest" /> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/themes/vocabulary-theme/vocabulary/favicon/apple-touch-icon.png" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/themes/vocabulary-theme/style.css" /> <meta name='robots' content='index, follow, max-image-preview:large, max-snippet:-1, max-video-preview:-1' />  <link rel="canonical" href="https://creativecommons.org/2010/06/30/response-to-ascaps-deceptive-claims/" /> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US" /> <meta property="og:type" content="article" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Response to ASCAP's deceptive claims - Creative Commons" /> <meta property="og:description" content="Last week, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) sent a fundraising letter to its members calling on them to fight “opponents” such as Creative Commons, falsely claiming that we work to undermine copyright.* Creative Commons licenses are copyright licenses – plain and simple. Period. CC licenses are legal tools that creators can…" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://creativecommons.org/2010/06/30/response-to-ascaps-deceptive-claims/" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Creative Commons" /> <meta property="article:published_time" content="2010-06-30T17:04:23+00:00" /> <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2023-09-27T16:53:29+00:00" /> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /> <meta name="twitter:label1" content="Est. reading time" /> <meta name="twitter:data1" content="1 minute" /> <script type="application/ld+json" class="yoast-schema-graph">{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://creativecommons.org/2010/06/30/response-to-ascaps-deceptive-claims/","url":"https://creativecommons.org/2010/06/30/response-to-ascaps-deceptive-claims/","name":"Response to ASCAP's deceptive claims - Creative Commons","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://creativecommons.org/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-06-30T17:04:23+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-27T16:53:29+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://creativecommons.org/2010/06/30/response-to-ascaps-deceptive-claims/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://creativecommons.org/2010/06/30/response-to-ascaps-deceptive-claims/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://creativecommons.org/2010/06/30/response-to-ascaps-deceptive-claims/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://creativecommons.org/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Response to ASCAP's deceptive claims"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://creativecommons.org/#website","url":"https://creativecommons.org/","name":"Creative Commons","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://creativecommons.org/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}</script>   <script src="//www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-J83GSCH0LS" data-cfasync="false" data-wpfc-render="false" type="text/javascript" async></script> <script data-cfasync="false" data-wpfc-render="false" type="text/javascript"> var mi_version = '8.27.0'; var mi_track_user = true; var mi_no_track_reason = ''; var MonsterInsightsDefaultLocations = {"page_location":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/2010\/06\/30\/response-to-ascaps-deceptive-claims\/"}; if ( typeof MonsterInsightsPrivacyGuardFilter === 'function' ) { var MonsterInsightsLocations = (typeof MonsterInsightsExcludeQuery === 'object') ? MonsterInsightsPrivacyGuardFilter( MonsterInsightsExcludeQuery ) : MonsterInsightsPrivacyGuardFilter( MonsterInsightsDefaultLocations ); } else { var MonsterInsightsLocations = (typeof MonsterInsightsExcludeQuery === 'object') ? MonsterInsightsExcludeQuery : MonsterInsightsDefaultLocations; } var disableStrs = [ 'ga-disable-G-J83GSCH0LS', ]; /* Function to detect opted out users */ function __gtagTrackerIsOptedOut() { for (var index = 0; index < disableStrs.length; index++) { if (document.cookie.indexOf(disableStrs[index] + '=true') > -1) { return true; } } return false; } /* Disable tracking if the opt-out cookie exists. */ if (__gtagTrackerIsOptedOut()) { for (var index = 0; index < disableStrs.length; index++) { window[disableStrs[index]] = true; } } /* Opt-out function */ function __gtagTrackerOptout() { for (var index = 0; index < disableStrs.length; index++) { document.cookie = disableStrs[index] + '=true; expires=Thu, 31 Dec 2099 23:59:59 UTC; path=/'; window[disableStrs[index]] = true; } } if ('undefined' === typeof gaOptout) { function gaOptout() { __gtagTrackerOptout(); } } window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; window.MonsterInsightsDualTracker = { helpers: {}, trackers: {}, }; if (mi_track_user) { function __gtagDataLayer() { dataLayer.push(arguments); } function __gtagTracker(type, name, parameters) { if (!parameters) { parameters = {}; } if (parameters.send_to) { __gtagDataLayer.apply(null, arguments); return; } if (type === 'event') { parameters.send_to = monsterinsights_frontend.v4_id; var hookName = name; if (typeof parameters['event_category'] !== 'undefined') { hookName = parameters['event_category'] + ':' + name; } if (typeof MonsterInsightsDualTracker.trackers[hookName] !== 'undefined') { MonsterInsightsDualTracker.trackers[hookName](parameters); } else { __gtagDataLayer('event', name, parameters); } } else { __gtagDataLayer.apply(null, arguments); } } __gtagTracker('js', new Date()); __gtagTracker('set', { 'developer_id.dZGIzZG': true, }); if ( MonsterInsightsLocations.page_location ) { __gtagTracker('set', MonsterInsightsLocations); } __gtagTracker('config', 'G-J83GSCH0LS', {"forceSSL":"true","anonymize_ip":"true"} ); window.gtag = __gtagTracker; (function () { /* https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/ */ /* ga and __gaTracker compatibility shim. */ var noopfn = function () { return null; }; var newtracker = function () { return new Tracker(); }; var Tracker = function () { return null; }; var p = Tracker.prototype; p.get = noopfn; p.set = noopfn; p.send = function () { var args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments); args.unshift('send'); __gaTracker.apply(null, args); }; var __gaTracker = function () { var len = arguments.length; if (len === 0) { return; } var f = arguments[len - 1]; if (typeof f !== 'object' || f === null || typeof f.hitCallback !== 'function') { if ('send' === arguments[0]) { var hitConverted, hitObject = false, action; if ('event' === arguments[1]) { if ('undefined' !== typeof arguments[3]) { hitObject = { 'eventAction': arguments[3], 'eventCategory': arguments[2], 'eventLabel': arguments[4], 'value': arguments[5] ? arguments[5] : 1, } } } if ('pageview' === arguments[1]) { if ('undefined' !== typeof arguments[2]) { hitObject = { 'eventAction': 'page_view', 'page_path': arguments[2], } } } if (typeof arguments[2] === 'object') { hitObject = arguments[2]; } if (typeof arguments[5] === 'object') { Object.assign(hitObject, arguments[5]); } if ('undefined' !== typeof arguments[1].hitType) { hitObject = arguments[1]; if ('pageview' === hitObject.hitType) { hitObject.eventAction = 'page_view'; } } if (hitObject) { action = 'timing' === arguments[1].hitType ? 'timing_complete' : hitObject.eventAction; hitConverted = mapArgs(hitObject); __gtagTracker('event', action, hitConverted); } } return; } function mapArgs(args) { var arg, hit = {}; var gaMap = { 'eventCategory': 'event_category', 'eventAction': 'event_action', 'eventLabel': 'event_label', 'eventValue': 'event_value', 'nonInteraction': 'non_interaction', 'timingCategory': 'event_category', 'timingVar': 'name', 'timingValue': 'value', 'timingLabel': 'event_label', 'page': 'page_path', 'location': 'page_location', 'title': 'page_title', 'referrer' : 'page_referrer', }; for (arg in args) { if (!(!args.hasOwnProperty(arg) || !gaMap.hasOwnProperty(arg))) { hit[gaMap[arg]] = args[arg]; } else { hit[arg] = args[arg]; } } return hit; } try { f.hitCallback(); } catch (ex) { } }; __gaTracker.create = newtracker; __gaTracker.getByName = newtracker; __gaTracker.getAll = function () { return []; }; __gaTracker.remove = noopfn; __gaTracker.loaded = true; window['__gaTracker'] = __gaTracker; })(); } else { console.log(""); (function () { function __gtagTracker() { return null; } window['__gtagTracker'] = __gtagTracker; window['gtag'] = __gtagTracker; })(); } </script>  <script type="text/javascript"> window._wpemojiSettings = {"baseUrl":"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/14.0.0\/72x72\/","ext":".png","svgUrl":"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/14.0.0\/svg\/","svgExt":".svg","source":{"concatemoji":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-emoji-release.min.js?ver=6.3.5"}}; /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(i,n){var o,s,e;function c(e){try{var t={supportTests:e,timestamp:(new Date).valueOf()};sessionStorage.setItem(o,JSON.stringify(t))}catch(e){}}function p(e,t,n){e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(t,0,0);var t=new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data),r=(e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(n,0,0),new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data));return t.every(function(e,t){return e===r[t]})}function u(e,t,n){switch(t){case"flag":return n(e,"\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f","\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200b\u26a7\ufe0f")?!1:!n(e,"\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf3","\ud83c\uddfa\u200b\ud83c\uddf3")&&!n(e,"\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc65\udb40\udc6e\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc7f","\ud83c\udff4\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc62\u200b\udb40\udc65\u200b\udb40\udc6e\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc7f");case"emoji":return!n(e,"\ud83e\udef1\ud83c\udffb\u200d\ud83e\udef2\ud83c\udfff","\ud83e\udef1\ud83c\udffb\u200b\ud83e\udef2\ud83c\udfff")}return!1}function f(e,t,n){var r="undefined"!=typeof WorkerGlobalScope&&self instanceof WorkerGlobalScope?new OffscreenCanvas(300,150):i.createElement("canvas"),a=r.getContext("2d",{willReadFrequently:!0}),o=(a.textBaseline="top",a.font="600 32px Arial",{});return e.forEach(function(e){o[e]=t(a,e,n)}),o}function t(e){var t=i.createElement("script");t.src=e,t.defer=!0,i.head.appendChild(t)}"undefined"!=typeof Promise&&(o="wpEmojiSettingsSupports",s=["flag","emoji"],n.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},e=new Promise(function(e){i.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",e,{once:!0})}),new Promise(function(t){var n=function(){try{var e=JSON.parse(sessionStorage.getItem(o));if("object"==typeof e&&"number"==typeof e.timestamp&&(new Date).valueOf()<e.timestamp+604800&&"object"==typeof e.supportTests)return e.supportTests}catch(e){}return null}();if(!n){if("undefined"!=typeof Worker&&"undefined"!=typeof OffscreenCanvas&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&URL.createObjectURL&&"undefined"!=typeof Blob)try{var e="postMessage("+f.toString()+"("+[JSON.stringify(s),u.toString(),p.toString()].join(",")+"));",r=new Blob([e],{type:"text/javascript"}),a=new Worker(URL.createObjectURL(r),{name:"wpTestEmojiSupports"});return void(a.onmessage=function(e){c(n=e.data),a.terminate(),t(n)})}catch(e){}c(n=f(s,u,p))}t(n)}).then(function(e){for(var t in e)n.supports[t]=e[t],n.supports.everything=n.supports.everything&&n.supports[t],"flag"!==t&&(n.supports.everythingExceptFlag=n.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&n.supports[t]);n.supports.everythingExceptFlag=n.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&!n.supports.flag,n.DOMReady=!1,n.readyCallback=function(){n.DOMReady=!0}}).then(function(){return e}).then(function(){var e;n.supports.everything||(n.readyCallback(),(e=n.source||{}).concatemoji?t(e.concatemoji):e.wpemoji&&e.twemoji&&(t(e.twemoji),t(e.wpemoji)))}))}((window,document),window._wpemojiSettings); </script> <style type="text/css"> img.wp-smiley, img.emoji { display: inline !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; height: 1em !important; width: 1em !important; margin: 0 0.07em !important; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; background: none !important; padding: 0 !important; } </style> <style id='classic-theme-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> /*! This file is auto-generated */ .wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none} </style> <style id='global-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> body{--wp--preset--color--black: #000000;--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray: #abb8c3;--wp--preset--color--white: #ffffff;--wp--preset--color--pale-pink: #f78da7;--wp--preset--color--vivid-red: #cf2e2e;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange: #ff6900;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber: #fcb900;--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan: #7bdcb5;--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan: #00d084;--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue: #8ed1fc;--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue: #0693e3;--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple: #9b51e0;--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(6,147,227,1) 0%,rgb(155,81,224) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(122,220,180) 0%,rgb(0,208,130) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(252,185,0,1) 0%,rgba(255,105,0,1) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(255,105,0,1) 0%,rgb(207,46,46) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(238,238,238) 0%,rgb(169,184,195) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(74,234,220) 0%,rgb(151,120,209) 20%,rgb(207,42,186) 40%,rgb(238,44,130) 60%,rgb(251,105,98) 80%,rgb(254,248,76) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,206,236) 0%,rgb(152,150,240) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(254,205,165) 0%,rgb(254,45,45) 50%,rgb(107,0,62) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,203,112) 0%,rgb(199,81,192) 50%,rgb(65,88,208) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,245,203) 0%,rgb(182,227,212) 50%,rgb(51,167,181) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(202,248,128) 0%,rgb(113,206,126) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--midnight: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(2,3,129) 0%,rgb(40,116,252) 100%);--wp--preset--font-size--small: 13px;--wp--preset--font-size--medium: 20px;--wp--preset--font-size--large: 36px;--wp--preset--font-size--x-large: 42px;--wp--preset--spacing--20: 0.44rem;--wp--preset--spacing--30: 0.67rem;--wp--preset--spacing--40: 1rem;--wp--preset--spacing--50: 1.5rem;--wp--preset--spacing--60: 2.25rem;--wp--preset--spacing--70: 3.38rem;--wp--preset--spacing--80: 5.06rem;--wp--preset--shadow--natural: 6px 6px 9px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--deep: 12px 12px 50px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);--wp--preset--shadow--sharp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--outlined: 6px 6px 0px -3px rgba(255, 255, 255, 1), 6px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);--wp--preset--shadow--crisp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);}:where(.is-layout-flex){gap: 0.5em;}:where(.is-layout-grid){gap: 0.5em;}body .is-layout-flow > .alignleft{float: left;margin-inline-start: 0;margin-inline-end: 2em;}body .is-layout-flow > .alignright{float: right;margin-inline-start: 2em;margin-inline-end: 0;}body .is-layout-flow > .aligncenter{margin-left: auto !important;margin-right: auto !important;}body .is-layout-constrained > .alignleft{float: left;margin-inline-start: 0;margin-inline-end: 2em;}body .is-layout-constrained > .alignright{float: right;margin-inline-start: 2em;margin-inline-end: 0;}body .is-layout-constrained > .aligncenter{margin-left: auto !important;margin-right: auto !important;}body .is-layout-constrained > :where(:not(.alignleft):not(.alignright):not(.alignfull)){max-width: var(--wp--style--global--content-size);margin-left: auto !important;margin-right: auto !important;}body .is-layout-constrained > .alignwide{max-width: var(--wp--style--global--wide-size);}body .is-layout-flex{display: flex;}body .is-layout-flex{flex-wrap: wrap;align-items: center;}body .is-layout-flex > *{margin: 0;}body .is-layout-grid{display: grid;}body .is-layout-grid > *{margin: 0;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;}.has-black-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red) !important;}.has-very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-cool-to-warm-spectrum-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum) !important;}.has-blush-light-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple) !important;}.has-blush-bordeaux-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux) !important;}.has-luminous-dusk-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk) !important;}.has-pale-ocean-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean) !important;}.has-electric-grass-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass) !important;}.has-midnight-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--midnight) !important;}.has-small-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--small) !important;}.has-medium-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--medium) !important;}.has-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--large) !important;}.has-x-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--x-large) !important;} .wp-block-navigation a:where(:not(.wp-element-button)){color: inherit;} :where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;} :where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;} .wp-block-pullquote{font-size: 1.5em;line-height: 1.6;} </style> <link rel='stylesheet' id='tablepress-default-css' href='https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/plugins/tablepress/css/build/default.css?ver=2.3.2' type='text/css' media='all' /> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/plugins/google-analytics-for-wordpress/assets/js/frontend-gtag.min.js?ver=8.27.0' id='monsterinsights-frontend-script-js'></script> <script data-cfasync="false" data-wpfc-render="false" type="text/javascript" id='monsterinsights-frontend-script-js-extra'>/* <![CDATA[ */ var monsterinsights_frontend = {"js_events_tracking":"true","download_extensions":"doc,pdf,ppt,zip,xls,docx,pptx,xlsx","inbound_paths":"[]","home_url":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org","hash_tracking":"false","v4_id":"G-J83GSCH0LS"};/* ]]> */ </script> <link rel="https://api.w.org/" href="https://creativecommons.org/wp-json/" /><link rel="alternate" type="application/json" href="https://creativecommons.org/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/22643" /><link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="https://creativecommons.org/xmlrpc.php?rsd" /> <link rel='shortlink' href='https://creativecommons.org/?p=22643' /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/json+oembed" href="https://creativecommons.org/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcreativecommons.org%2F2010%2F06%2F30%2Fresponse-to-ascaps-deceptive-claims%2F" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/xml+oembed" href="https://creativecommons.org/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcreativecommons.org%2F2010%2F06%2F30%2Fresponse-to-ascaps-deceptive-claims%2F&format=xml" /> </head> <body class="blog-post"> <a class="skip-to-content" href="#main-content-marker">Skip to content</a> <header> <div class="masthead"> <h1><a class="identity-logo" href="/">Creative Commons</a></h1> <button class="expand-menu">Menu</button>  <nav class="primary-menu" aria-label="Primary navigation"> <ul> <li><a href="/about/mission">Who We Are</a></li> <li><a href="/about">What We Do</a></li> <li><a href="/share-your-work">Licenses and Tools</a></li> <li><a href="/blog">Blog</a></li> <li><a href="/about/support-cc/">Support Us</a></li> </ul> </nav> <nav class="ancillary-menu" aria-label="Ancillary navigation"> <ul>    <li><a class="search icon-attach fa-search" href="/?s">Search</a></li> <li><a class="donate icon-attach fa-heart" href="https://www.classy.org/give/313412/#!/donation/checkout?c_src=website&c_src2=top-of-page-banner" target="_blank">Donate</a></li> <li><button class="explore">Explore CC</button></li> </ul> </nav> </div> <div class="explore-panel">   <nav class="explore-menu" aria-label="Explore menu"> <ul> <li> <a href="https://network.creativecommons.org/" target="_blank">Global Network</a> <p>Join a global community working to strengthen the Commons</p> </li> <li> <a href="https://certificate.creativecommons.org/" target="_blank">Certificate</a> <p>Become an expert in creating and engaging with openly licensed materials</p> </li> <li> <a href="https://summit.creativecommons.org/" target="_blank">Global Summit</a> <p>Attend our annual event, promoting the power of open licensing</p> </li> <li> <a href="/choose" target="_blank">Chooser</a> <p>Get help choosing the appropriate license for your work</p> </li> <li> <a href="https://search.creativecommons.org/" target="_blank">Search Portal</a> <p>Find engines to search openly licensed material for creative and educational reuse</p> </li> <li> <a href="https://opensource.creativecommons.org/" target="_blank">Open Source</a> <p>Help us build products that maximize creativity and innovation</p> </li> </ul> </nav> </div> </header> <span id="main-content-marker"></span> <main> <header> <h1>Response to ASCAP's deceptive claims</h1> <span class="byline">by <a href="https://creativecommons.org/person/ericcreativecommons-org/">Eric Steuer</a> </span>  <span class="categories"> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/category/uncategorized/" rel="category tag">Uncategorized</a></span>  </header> <div class="content"  <p>Last week, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) sent a fundraising letter to its members calling on them to fight “opponents” such as Creative Commons, falsely claiming that we work to undermine copyright.*</p> <p>Creative Commons licenses are copyright licenses – plain and simple. Period. CC licenses are legal tools that creators can use to offer certain usage rights to the public, while reserving other rights. Without copyright, these tools don’t work. Artists and record labels that want to make their music available to the public for certain uses, like noncommercial sharing or remixing, should consider using CC licenses. Artists and labels that want to reserve all of their copyright rights should absolutely not use CC licenses.</p> <p>Many musicians, including acts like <a href="http://ghosts.nin.com/main/faq">Nine Inch Nails</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/wired">Beastie Boys</a>, <a href="http://www.intrahealth.org/section/open">Youssou N’Dour</a>, <a href="http://urlyd.com/releases/tone-small-arm-of-sea/">Tone</a>, <a href="http://www.curtsmithofficial.com/music/album/all-is-love">Curt Smith</a>, <a href="http://bush-of-ghosts.com/remix/bush_of_ghosts.htm">David Byrne</a>, <a href="https://code.google.com/p/radiohead/">Radiohead</a>, <a href="http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Yunyu">Yunyu</a>, <a href="http://kristinhersh.cashmusic.org/">Kristin Hersh</a>, and <a href="http://www.indabamusic.com/featured_programs/show/remixsnoop">Snoop Dogg</a>, have used Creative Commons licenses to share with the public. These musicians aren’t looking to stop making money from their music. In fact, many of the artists who use CC licenses are also members of collecting societies, including ASCAP. That’s how we first heard about this smear campaign – many musicians that support Creative Commons received the email and forwarded it to us. Some of them even included a donation to Creative Commons.</p> <p>If you are similarly angered by ASCAP’s deceptive tactics, I’m hoping that you can help us by <a href="https://support.creativecommons.org/donate">donating to Creative Commons</a> – and sending a message – at this critical time. We don’t have lobbyists on the payroll, but with your support we can continue working hard on behalf of creators and consumers alike.</p> <p>Sincerely,<br /> Eric Steuer<br /> Creative Director, Creative Commons</p> <p>* For background on ASCAP’s anti-Creative Commons fundraising campaign, see <a href="https://www.boingboing.net/2010/06/23/ascap-raising-money.html">Boing Boing</a>, <a href="https://techdirt.com/articles/20100627/0142469971.shtml">Techdirt</a>,<a href="http://www.zeropaid.com/news/89494/ascap-declares-war-on-free-culture/"> ZeroPaid</a>, and <a href="http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/06/ascap-assails-free-culture-digital-rights-groups">Wired</a>.</p>  <span class="pub-date">Posted 30 June 2010</span> <article class="tags"> <h2>Tags</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://creativecommons.org/tag/ascap/">ascap</a></li> <li><a href="https://creativecommons.org/tag/copyright/">copyright</a></li> <li><a href="https://creativecommons.org/tag/legal/">legal</a></li> <li><a href="https://creativecommons.org/tag/media/">media</a></li> <li><a href="https://creativecommons.org/tag/milestone/">milestone</a></li> <li><a href="https://creativecommons.org/tag/weblog/">Weblog</a></li> </ul> </article> </div> <article class="posts related"> <h2>Related posts</h2> <ul> <li> <article class="post"> <header> <h3><a href="https://creativecommons.org/2024/03/12/recap-recording-maximizing-the-values-of-open-access-in-cultural-heritage-institutions/">Recap & Recording: Maximizing the Value(s) of Open Access in Cultural Heritage Institutions</a></h3> <span class="byline">by <a href="https://creativecommons.org/person/brigittevezina/">Brigitte Vézina</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/person/jocelyncreativecommons-org/">Jocelyn Miyara</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/person/connorbenedict/">Connor Benedict</a> </span> <span class="categories"> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/category/uncategorized/" rel="category tag">Uncategorized</a> </span> </header> </article> </li> <li> <article class="post"> <header> <h3><a href="https://creativecommons.org/2023/12/13/cc-certificate-translations-in-slovak-bengali-and-localized-french/">CC Certificate Translations in Slovak, Bengali, and localized French</a></h3> <span class="byline">by <a href="https://creativecommons.org/person/jennryncreativecommons-org/">Jennryn Wetzler</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/person/shannacreativecommons-org/">Shanna Hollich</a> </span> <span class="categories"> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/category/cc-certificate/" rel="category tag">CC Certificate</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/category/community/" rel="category tag">Community</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/category/open-knowledge/open-education/" rel="category tag">Open Education</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/category/uncategorized/" rel="category tag">Uncategorized</a> </span> </header> </article> </li> <li> <article class="post"> <header> <h3><a href="https://creativecommons.org/2023/11/02/ccs-bettersharing-collection-november-shared-knowledge-shared-future/">CC’s #BetterSharing Collection | November: Shared Knowledge, Shared Future</a></h3> <span class="byline">by <a href="https://creativecommons.org/person/corrinecreativecommons-org/">Corrine Murray</a> </span> <span class="categories"> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/category/uncategorized/" rel="category tag">Uncategorized</a> </span> </header> </article> </li> <li> <article class="post"> <header> <h3><a href="https://creativecommons.org/2020/12/02/introducing-the-newest-cc-chapter-cc-czech-republic/">Introducing the Newest CC Chapter, CC Czech Republic!</a></h3> <span class="categories"> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/category/uncategorized/" rel="category tag">Uncategorized</a> </span> </header> </article> </li> </ul> </article> </main> <footer> <a class="identity-logo" href="/">Creative Commons</a> <nav class="footer-menu" aria-label="Footer menu"> <ul> <li><a href="/about/contact">Contact</a></li> <li><a href="https://mail.creativecommons.org/subscribe" target="_blank">Newsletter</a></li> <li><a href="/privacy">Privacy</a></li> <li><a href="/policies">Policies</a></li> <li><a href="/terms">Terms</a></li> </ul> </nav> <div class="contact">  <h2>Contact Us</h2> <p>Creative Commons <br /> PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042</p> <p><a href="mailto:info@creativecommons.org">info@creativecommons.org</a></p> <nav class="social-menu" aria-label="Social menu"> <ul>  <li><a class="icon-replace fa-bluesky" href="https://bsky.app/profile/creativecommons.bsky.social" target="_blank">Bluesky</a></li> <li><a class="icon-replace fa-mastodon" href="https://mastodon.social/@creativecommons" target="_blank" rel="me">Mastodon</a></li> <li><a class="icon-replace fa-facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/creativecommons" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li> <li><a class="icon-replace fa-linkedin" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/creative-commons/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li> </ul> </nav> </div> <div class="subscribe"> <h2>Subscribe to our Newsletter</h2> <form action="https://creativecommons.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=fd30364b6577b471373d6076c&id=4603fe102a" method="post" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" class="validate newsletter" target="_blank"> <input type="email" value="" name="EMAIL" class="email input" id="mce-EMAIL" placeholder="Your email" required>  <div style="position: absolute; left: -5000px" aria-hidden="true"> <input type="text" name="b_fd30364b6577b471373d6076c_4603fe102a" tabindex="-1" value=""> </div> <input type="submit" value="subscribe" id="mc-embedded-subscribe" class="button small"> </form> </div> <div class="donate"> <h2>Support Our Work</h2> <p>Our work relies on you! Help us keep the Internet free and open.</p> <a class="donate icon-attach cc-heart-filled" href="https://www.classy.org/give/313412/#!/donation/checkout?c_src=website&c_src2=top-of-page-banner" target="_blank">Donate Now</a> </div> <div class="license"> <p>Except where otherwise <a href="/policies/#license">noted</a>, content on this site is licensed under a <a href="/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license</a>. Icons by <a href="https://fontawesome.com/" target="_blank">Font Awesome</a>.</p> <svg> <use href="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/themes/vocabulary-theme/vocabulary/svg/cc/icons/cc-icons.svg#cc-logo"></use> </svg> <svg> <use href="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/themes/vocabulary-theme/vocabulary/svg/cc/icons/cc-icons.svg#cc-by"></use> </svg> </div> </footer> <script src="https://creativecommons.org/wp-content/themes/vocabulary-theme/vocabulary/js/vocabulary.js"></script> </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

Response to ASCAP's deceptive claims - Creative Commons