[DIYbio] Fwd: 3D printing & intellectual property rights - So why are we bothering with GPL,CC etc licenses?

"One way to avoid some of these thorny copyright questions is by distributing objects and designs with permissive licenses such as those provided by Creative Commons.Unfortunately this solution can break down when applied to physical objects beyond the scope of copyright. To put it simply, you cannot license what you do not have."

"All of that being said, licensing of noncopyrightable files can serve at least two useful purposes – one legal and one cultural.

"The legal purpose is something of a hedge against future legal change. As detailed in this paper, there are many open questions surrounding just what types (and parts) of objects are and are not protectable by copyright. Granting a license today means that the usage conditions of the object are clear no matter how copyright law evolves in the future. As long as the creator does not believe that merely granting the license gives them the right to control non-copyrightable parts of the work, there is little downside to futureproofing the status of the object.

The second, cultural, purpose is probably the more important one. Licensing can be an important signaling device even when it is not legally enforceable. Attaching a Creative Commons license is a signal that the creator wants to include her work in an ever-expanding and evolving network of creativity. It gives the rest of the community confidence that they can build on the object."