Communia Network, a thematic group established by the European Union focused on public policies for copyright and public domain, has just launched the Manifesto of the Public Domain. The document outlines the general principles and recommendations on how to promote a balance between copyright protection and free access to works that shall be considered as public domain.

Willing to support to this innitiative and spread the idea of the Manifesto thoughout Brazil and Portuguese speaking community, the Centre for Technology and Society-CTS, together with a representative from the Ministry of Culture, José Murilo Junior, have prepared the Portuguese version of the document.

As discussed at the Seventh Workshop of the Communia, held between Jan, 31 and Feb, 02 at Luxembourg, the Manifesto is a document that seeks to stimulate the recovery in the public domain and serves as a real calling for society to be proactive on the matter. One of the highlights of the document states that "the public domain is the rule, copyright is the exception."

The CTS / FGV is a member of the network Communia as non-European institution invited to join the group since its inception in 2007.

For further information about the Manifesto and to sign it, click here-