One of the things we are working hard on here in the Zingerworks is licensing of works. One of the main goals is to enable our artists to both share their work with the world and enable them and Zingerding to make money from it. It’s one of the more intellectually fascinating things we are grappling with and we have been doing a lot of research on the subject.

One of the interesting things we’ve uncovered is that in today’s digital media world, copyright law falls a bit short. Copyright law basically says that you can’t do anything with your works unless you have expressed written consent of the copyright holder (the creator of the works). That means that even if you want people to freely share it with the world, they can’t unless you tell them to. The process, by design, is really cumbersome and painful and prevents artists for enabling others to share or even alter their works legally even if the artist wants it.

Creative Commons is the antidote to this ambiguity. Set up by Larry Lessig, a Stanford Law professor and political activist, Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that provides more options that many modern artists need. Consider remixed songs: altered songs that can provide a new dimension on its original and thus increase the reach of the original artist. Dido, for example, was made into a multiplatinum start only after Eminem used her lick in Stan. While I’m not privy to the actual dealings, I can guarantee that there had to be significant negotiations to enable Eminmen to use Dido’s work. Creative Commons cuts through this “red tape” and provide artists express rights to make new works of the original without needing negotiations.

Creative Commons license are very useful but are not easy to understand.

Fortunately, Creative Commons has recognized this problem and has created comics to help people navigate the licenses. You can check it out here: http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Sharing_Creative_Works While the comic is a bit cheesy and not the best drawn, it does summarize the whole concept well.

What does this mean for Zingerding? Who knows. Still, it’s interesting to note as we start to dive into the complexities of setting ourselves up.

I just read a great article about how comedians are having a tough time making jokes about President Elect Obama. Craig Ferguson of the “Late Late Show” said of Senator Obama, “A dignified, thoughtful, charismatic, smart man who doesn’t run at the mouth. Is it a challenge to our creative juices to find something funny about Obama? God, yes!”

What is true about spoken words will also be true about comics?

A brief survey of some Senator Obama cartoons, the vast majority are extremely favorable: images of him giving knuckles to Martin Luther King, Jr. , cleaning of the “mess” of the Bush GOP as represented by an elephant. All seem to echo the tenor of the country: Obama is well liked and needs to be given some latitude to get our country back on track.

Still, undoubtedly, over time, President Obama will need to make tough, unpopular decisions. When that happens, comedians and comics will undoubtedly change too.

Congrats, Obama. Enjoy the ride!