Creative Commons

• How does the Creative Commons project alter the way we understand ownership and copyright? 
• My understanding of copyright and ownership before looking through the Creative Commons website was that there are strict rules in copyright.  That if there is an owner of a piece of work, their permission must always be given to use their work or to make reproductions of their work.  The Creative Commons has varied levels of copyright and seems to be aimed at people that would like to popularize their work without profit being their main goal.  It seems to be a good way to put your name on something but still allow reproductions and allow other to build on your ideas.

• How does this project affect the subject(s) of a work? 
• It allows the work to be accessible and modifiable by many other people.  This can popularize the work and allow it to expand in ways it couldn't have before if it was just restricted to one person or company.  This could be a good thing, but if an artist does not wish their work to be built on or used, and if they have only one idea for an image or text that they would not like to be altered, then this type of copyright is not the one for them.

• How would a Creative Commons license have altered the works in our textbook reading (Gone with the Wind, the work of Sherrie Levine and Michael Mandiberg)?
• Like I stated above, it could have allowed the characters to continue on in other stories and times.  Spinoffs could have been made as well.  One thing to consider though, is if the Creative Commons type of licensing was applied to Gone with the Wind, if it would have continued to be as popular as it was.  Perhaps the Creative Commons type of licensing would have diluted the characters and story and it wouldn't have remained such a classic.  There are many reasons for and against this type of licensing.  

• Does the Creative Commons project afford any protection to the right of publicity (the Bela Lugosi case)?
• This part gets a bit confusing for me.  I'm not quite sure how this would work under the CC type of licensing.  Since it is basically meant to be for people who wish to spread their work without strict guidelines, what would happen if someone profited from their work? Would they get some kind of a percentage? How would all this work?  It seems like a messy ordeal to me.  If someone felt strongly about their work and wanted to make profit, I would refrain from the CC type of licensing, and go with a lawyer and do this the more traditional way.