Three young entrepreneurs tell Siti Syameen Md Khalili how they use technology know-how to help society
AN established digital artist, Muid Latif is no stranger to the arts and digital community. When he is not creating works with his brush, colours and graphic tablet, Muid spends time educating people about Creative Commons (CC) through talks, activities and outreach programmes through his role as project lead for CC Malaysia.
“I was introduced to Creative Commons in 2005. I was active in the design community and MDeC invited me to become one of the honorary judges for CC Malaysia’s first competition. I was later appointed as Board of Members. I met Professor Lawrence Lessig who inspired me about this interesting movement. It has been almost eight years that I’ve been with CC on a pro-bono basis,” says Muid, who spends weekends collaborating with project leaders from around the world, get updates and spread the word on CC.
CC has the potential to elevate the activities of content creators of the world, Malaysia included. As copyright law is like a foreign language for many, CC makes it easy for creators to establish how other people can reuse their content and retain full ownership of their work.
As CC is a recognised concept, works marked with CC licences immediately gain global recognition and application. For Muid, CC is important for national development as it promotes a culture of sharing and motivates productivity.
The most common misconception is that CC is a license to protect creative content and intellectual property. “There were even individuals who agonised that their work had been stolen due to CC licence. Others think CC is a public domain,” says Muid.
“A CC licence is a way of obtaining permission from human subjects. It is a mutual agreement between content creator and user. Personally, if someone uses my digital art with my consent then display it in their office or home, I’d be flattered instead of offended because usually artists tend to feel motivated when someone appreciates our works. That said, of course it is rewarding to get paid luxuriously too!
“CC is a tool to enable certain exclusivity of our creative content to be shared without feeling terrified or threatened, as long it’s attributed or credited.”
Muid feels being part of the CC movement is a life-changing experience. “I try to keep the spirit of CC Malaysia sustainable. I have become more aware of crafting better creative content, opening up to more creative collaboration, understanding Intellectual Property and Copyright Act. When you do creative collaboration with poets, filmmakers, musicians or photographer, you are open to more challenges and ideas.
“As a digital artist, I share my artworks to gain more appreciation and recognition.”
He stays driven to help creative people harness the full potential of CC as the content development fraternity and the nation as a whole stand to benefit in the long run.
“Many don’t realise the country has already embarked on an open data culture through data.gov.my, in which facts, figures, statistics and reports from various ministry are shared to help researchers, academicians, analyst and others strengthen their paperwork or case studies. Some of the data are available under CC licence, others for public domain and while some are free. MDeC pioneered this effort together with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation agencies and I feel they have done an admirable job.”
He is also involved in collaborative efforts with peers from other countries.
“We would communicate and correspond about new updates, projects and upcoming events. I just finished working on a translation of CC licence with the help of Dewan Bahasa Pustaka experts in simplifying related terms,” he says.
“The CC team has a systematic method and technological tools to expedite our productivity in translating content or gathering data. In addition, when time permits, I share updates through Creative Commons Malaysia Twitter account (@CCMalaysia) with Malay language updates.”
Already working with a team of like-minded individuals and local portals to build awareness on the CC movement here, Muid is constantly looking for more support. “The only thing lacking at the moment are professionals who can help on a pro-bono basis. I hope more volunteers and passionate creative content owners can collaborate with CC and build a greater network with us. Soon, I hope to work with those enthusiastic about CC. I also plan to approach local poets to have poetry slam sessions and to find volunteers to be part of CC Malaysia.”