Draft intro to conference paper that will eventually form into my thesis:

Copyright is lauded as protecting and motivating creativity, but does it achieve that? Creative Commons (CC) – a legal1 addition to copyright law – is a fast growing alternative to the increasingly draconian interpretations of copyright law. Defendants of copyright are persecuting followers of given creative works, while CC is aimed to reward them.

Copyright’s original purpose is to spread knowledge, but it hasn’t yet attained that mantle. It may well motivate artists to create as many commercially viable works as possible, but this is subverting the objective of Art. CC  – as distinct from Copyright – does not emphasise commercial viability, and does not emphasise quantity; it does, however, emphasise quality and artistic integrity. By re-prioritising artists away from aiming for a work that has monetary value, CC allows artists to create works that are artistically honest. This in turn removes any temptations of quantity over quality, further stimulating the true intent of Art. CC is a justifiable copyright alternative for Art, it successfully promotes the emerging artists, and draws more followers to established Artists, but is does not necessarily impair commercial success.