Page:The digital public domain.pdf/81

54 non-market decisions, often referred to as “social sharing”. This latter group taking the “short route” — currently encompassing the open content made available by Wikipedia and other wikis, websites offering free music and pictures, blogs, and the massive volumes of other user-generated content — will exponentially grow, dwarfing the market segment based on the “long route”. These two components of creativity will not be mutually exclusive but will interact.

This is why any agenda for law-making for the digital environment should meet at least three requirements. First, it should incorporate rules that are appropriate not only for the long route but also for the short route. Second, it should allow for the “peaceful coexistence” of the two sets of rules, making them interoperable, in such a way that the continued existence and specific contribution of the two sectors is maximized. Third, obstacles inherited by the past that unduly inhibit the emergence of the short route should be gradually phased out in ways that should minimize the disruption of the workings of the old route.

3. Copyright 2.0: interests and rules

Against this background, let us think for a moment about the set of rules which would appear to be appropriate to meet the demands of creators operating along the short route.

3.1 The interests

In the market-based model it was essential for creators and even more so for businesses to control and restrict access to works, as the monopoly granted by expansive exclusive rights enabled them to charge whatever price the market would bear. However, this would not appear to be the goal of creators currently operating along the short route. The great majority of them, be it 9 out of 10 or 95 out of 100, do not make a living out of “sales” of “copies” of their works; they earn their livelihood in another