Re-Shaping Creativity: Proposals for Classification of Works and Flexible Opt-In Mechanisms

Abstract

An unprecedented number of works circulate on the Internet. Users not only share this “artistic and scientific pandemonium” but also play a key-role in present-day participatory procedures of culture production. Some authors call it “bastard” culture, while others speak of an “amateur” culture capable of wakening users from their sleep of ages. User-generated content has become the driving force of the internet informational revolution, which brings back to the discussion table some good-old-fashioned academic opinions related to non-economic incentives for creation and a “direct and immediate causal link” between the unimpeded use of works and the promotion of arts and science. Given that competent cultural bodies aim at promoting education, the former could look out of the window and undertake initiatives so as to innovatively classify works and activate flexible mechanisms, so that users would be enabled to take maximum advantage of present-day possibilities of accessing culture and science. This would allow people to experiment on previous artistic and scientific knowledge and would, thus, guarantee the prerequisite for the rise of new intellectual movements. Each user might, then, have the capacity to submit her unique proposals and ideas, not only to support informational revolution but, to declare informational democratization as well.

Keywords: Intellectual Property, participatory culture, incentives, access, creativity, classification, opt-in mechanisms