Creative Commons: Defining Noncommercial

Creative Commons (CC) has published a substantial – massive even – report (plus data), Defining Noncommercial, which represents a year-long study funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and conducted by Netpop Research "under advisement from academics and a working group consisting of several CC jurisdiction project members as well as CC staff and board members." From the CC blog:

Almost one year ago we launched a study of how people understand “noncommercial use.” The study, generously supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, included in-depth interviews and two waves of in-person and online focus groups and online questionnaires. The last included a random sample of U.S. (geographic restriction mandated by resource constraints) internet users and in an extended form, open questionnaires promoted via this blog (called “CC Friends & Family” in the report).

Today, we’re publishing the Defining Noncommercial study report and raw data, released under a CC Attribution license and CC0 public domain waiver respectively — yes, this report on “noncommercial” may unambiguously be used for commercial purposes. Also see today’s press release.

Read on for a full rundown on the findings and implications, plus ways to contribute to and participate in ongoing discussion of the report+data and the future of CC's noncommercial licenses.