Yahoo Inc., a leading global Internet company, today announced the launch of Yahoo! Search for Creative Commons beta (), a service that provides Internet users with access to the largest collection of Creative Commons content on the Web.
Creative Commons content is identified with special license information by its owners, indicating that their copyrighted works are available for free through required attribution or non-commercial use.
In partnership with Creative Commons, a non-profit organization whose licensing encourages personal use, reuse and repurposing of digital content, Yahoo! Search is the first major search engine to make it easier for users to freely find and share creative works. Available through a dedicated interface that enables users to quickly tap into millions of Web pages with a Creative Commons license, Yahoo! users now have access to this content on a large scale.
“Yahoo! has always been about adding human brains to computer algorithms, to create something more than either alone. This innovation is in that line,” said Lawrence Lessig, chairman of the board of directors of Creative Commons and a professor of law at Stanford Law School. “By giving users an easy way to find content based on the freedoms the author intends, Yahoo! is encouraging the use and spread of technology that will enable creators to build upon the creativity of others, legally.”
The launch of Yahoo! Search for Creative Commons beta is an important step in a broader movement to enable people to find, share and expand content within a new, more flexible set of copyright laws that ultimately enable the creation of a “remix” culture and new generation of creative works. For example, if a user is searching for a specific artist or subject, the results will be limited to relevant information on the appropriate license as well as specific usage rights and conditions. The resulting information can then be used, mixed, or repurposed by students, musicians, writers, educators and other content creators to ultimately create new content.
“Yahoo! Search is focused on providing innovative, useful technologies that enable people to find, use, share, and expand human knowledge,” said David Mandelbrot, vice president of search content at Yahoo!. “We are excited to be working with Creative Commons to enable millions of Yahoo! Search users to easily find and use Creative Commons content, and we look forward to helping enable a new generation of creative works based on this new medium.”
Murdok | Breaking eBusiness News
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