Press releases/Public domain day: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:59, 21 December 2009

This press release is currently a draft; it has not yet been released.

What do Howard Carter, discoverer of the famed tomb of King Tutankhamen, author Zane Grey, who penned the cowboy classic "Riders of the Purple Sage", and sexologist Havelock Ellis all share in common? They all died in 1939. On New Year's Day 2010 all their works enter the public domain and become free for any use.

Each year the opening of Public Records in Britain is a well-publicised event; the press pore over interesting items could only be speculated about before. There is a lesser-known addition to Britain's cultural commons; all authors and artists who died seventy years ago have their work freed of any copyright restrictions. In the Internet age, their works can now be used any way people can conceive. Text can be freely downloaded to e-book readers, a rising electronic item; and anyone can create audio versions.

Wikimedia UK anticipates January 1, "Public Domain Day", 2010 being a great year for additions to the Wikimedia digital Commons. The poetry of W. B. Yeats, the works of Sigmund Freud, and Arthur Rackham's classic children's book illustrations all enter the public domain. When the complexities of copyright no longer encumber reuse of old works, a work that has been a "sleeper" can become a new classic. This happened to "It's a Wonderful Life", the 1946 Frank Capra film that became a Christmas classic in the 1980s.

Wikimedia UK actively promotes the uploading of copyright-free text to Wikisource, a complementary site to Wikipedia. Audio recordings of public domain works may be added to the Wikimedia Commons site, and Wikimedia UK invites you to join us and help digitise and preserve our common cultural heritage. You can make it available for everyone to share, build on, and simply enjoy.

EDITORS' NOTES

About Wikisource: (text to go here)

About Wikimedia Commons: Wikimedia Commons is a free image and media file repository, and is a sister project to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It was started on 7 September 2004, and is operated by the Wikimedia Foundation.

About Wikimedia UK:

Wikimedia UK is an independent organisation that supports free and open knowledge throughout the United Kingdom, including promoting and supporting the projects of the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation.

About the Wikimedia Foundation:

The Wikimedia Foundation Inc. is the US-based non-profit organisation that operates some of the largest collaboratively-edited reference projects in the world. These include Wikipedia, one of the world's 10 most-visited websites, and Wikimedia Commons.

Further information:

Wikisource: http://www.wikisource.org/
Wikimedia Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/

Contact details: Michael Peel, Chair, Wikimedia UK

Email: michael.peel@wikimedia.org.uk
Phone: +44 (0)7988 013 646

Andrew Turvey, Secretary, Wikimedia UK

Email: secretary@wikimedia.org.uk
Phone: +44 (0)7988 013 646

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-''DRAFT PRESS RELEASE''
+{{notice|This press release is currently a draft; it has not yet been released.}}
+''What do [[:wikipedia:Howard Carter|Howard Carter]], discoverer of the famed tomb of King Tutankhamen, author [[:wikipedia:Zane Grey|Zane Grey]], who penned the cowboy classic "''Riders of the Purple Sage''", and sexologist [[:wikipedia:Havelock Ellis|Havelock Ellis]] all share in common? They all died in 1939. On New Year's Day 2010 all their works enter the [[:wikipedia:public domain|public domain]] and become free for any use.
-What do Howard Carter, discoverer of the famed tomb of King Tutankhamen, author Zane Grey, who penned the cowboy classic "''Riders of the Purple Sage''", and sexologist Havelock Ellis all share in common?
+Each year the opening of Public Records in Britain is a well-publicised event; the press pore over interesting items  could only be speculated about before. There is a lesser-known addition to Britain's cultural commons; all authors and artists who died seventy years ago have their work freed of any copyright restrictions. In the Internet age, their works can now be used any way people can conceive. Text can be freely downloaded to e-book readers, a rising electronic item; and anyone can create audio versions.
-The answer is that they all died in 1939; New Year's Day 2010 sees all their works become free for any use as they enter the public domain.
+Wikimedia UK anticipates January 1, "Public Domain Day", 2010 being a great year for additions to the Wikimedia digital Commons. The poetry of [[:wikipedia:W. B. Yeats|W. B. Yeats]], the works of [[:wikipedia:Sigmund Freud|Sigmund Freud]], and [[:wikipedia:Arthur Rackham|Arthur Rackham]]'s classic children's book illustrations all enter the public domain. When the complexities of copyright no longer encumber reuse of old works, a work that has been a "sleeper" can become a new classic. This happened to "It's a Wonderful Life", the 1946 Frank Capra film that became a Christmas classic in the 1980s.
-Each year the opening of Public Records in Britain is a well-publicised event; the press pore over interesting items they could only speculate about before. There is a lesser-known addition to Britain's cultural commons; all authors and artists who died seventy years ago have their work freed of any copyright restrictions. In the Internet age, their works can now be used any way people can conceive. Text can be freely downloaded to e-book readers, a rising electronic item; and anyone can create audio versions.
+Wikimedia UK actively promotes the uploading of copyright-free text to Wikisource, a complementary site to Wikipedia. Audio recordings of public domain works may be added to the Wikimedia Commons site, and Wikimedia UK invites you to join us and help digitise and preserve our common cultural heritage. You can make it available for everyone to share, build on, and simply enjoy.
-Wikimedia UK anticipates January 1, "Public Domain Day", 2010 being a great year for additions to the Wikimedia digital Commons. The poetry of W. B. Yeats, the works of Sigmund Freud, and Arthur Rackham's classic children's book illustrations all enter the public domain. When copyright complexities no longer encumber, a work that has been a "sleeper" can become a new classic: this happened to "It's a Wonderful Life", the 1946 Frank Capra film that became a Christmas classic in the 1980s.
+'''EDITORS' NOTES'''
-Wikimedia UK actively promotes the uploading of copyright-free text on Wikisource, a complementary site to Wikipedia. Audio recordings of public domain works may be added to the Wikimedia Commons site, and Wikimedia UK invites you to join us and help digitise and preserve our common cultural heritage. Make it available for everyone to share, build on, and simply enjoy.
+'' About Wikisource:''
+(text to go here)
-'''EDITORS' NOTES'''
+''About Wikimedia Commons:''
+Wikimedia Commons is a free image and media file repository, and is a sister project to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It was started on 7 September 2004, and is operated by the Wikimedia Foundation.
 ''About Wikimedia UK:''
 Wikimedia UK is an independent organisation that supports free and open knowledge throughout the United Kingdom, including promoting and supporting the projects of the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation.
+''About the Wikimedia Foundation:''
+The Wikimedia Foundation Inc. is the US-based non-profit organisation that operates some of the largest collaboratively-edited reference projects in the world. These include Wikipedia, one of the world's 10 most-visited websites, and Wikimedia Commons.
+''Further information:''
+* Wikisource: http://www.wikisource.org/
+* Wikimedia Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/
 ''Contact details:''
+Michael Peel, Chair, Wikimedia UK
+* Email: michael.peel@wikimedia.org.uk
+* Phone: +44 (0)7988 013 646
 Andrew Turvey, Secretary, Wikimedia UK

Press releases/Public domain day: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:59, 21 December 2009

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