On Wednesday, November 24, Creative Commons (CC) shared an article on our social media channels from Cuseum titled How 21 Museums & Cultural Organization Engaged with NFTS in 2021.

At CC, we pride ourselves on raising issues thoughtfully and often share articles on our platforms about the digital space where we work. Many times CC staff will expand on these topics through our blog, to provide a perspective that reflects CC’s experiences around our work to support, steward and provide legal and technical assistance for the maximization of digital creativity, innovation and sharing. It is our hope that this open space of conversation will generate different viewpoints and promote civil debate.  

So it came as a surprise that yesterday a blog post shared about our nascent thoughts on NFTs dating back to May 2021 could lead to such a personal attack on myself, our Board and the CC team. We encourage healthy debate and welcome feedback but will not tolerate unfair and inaccurate attacks.   

CC has been researching and having conversations with others about NFTs, as referenced in the blog post from May 2021. We continued the dialogue during the CC Global Summit in September 2021 including sessions from stakeholders with different perspectives about NFTs.

For the record I hold no crypto currency or own any NFTs – my interest is looking into how NFTs relate to our licenses and our mission. From discussions so far, many artists and creators are benefiting from being fairly and justly compensated, whilst others have broader concerns about NFTs, which is why there should be a debate. In such a nascent space and as with any new technology, there are differing views and it is important that debate and discussion can be conducted respectfully. Sadly this was not always the case during the recent exchange online.

CC will continue to thoughtfully explore emerging and controversial issues affecting our licenses, our community and our belief in the value of open sharing. We will continue to share our views and ideas in this space and encourage civil debate both online and offline. Guided by our value of informed intention as stated in our strategy, we will continue to “take care with the work that we do, and … act with integrity, accountability, insight and humility.”