Just heard about this:

http://newstex.com/2014/12/...

I’ve had a few discussions on ccM in the past about the “dangers” of CC-BY usage. Proponents of the license had begun to convince me that CC-BY really just helps the mom-and-pop businesses and that major corporations don’t profit off of CC-BY licensed media. Even though big corps legally could make big profits off CC-BY media, in practice, it just doesn’t happen.

Well, this is my first time seeing a major corporation try to do exactly that. Seems like they are legally in the clear but this is a definite reminder of what can end up happening to your work if you decide to go with a CC-BY license.

Choose that license carefully!

Yeah, I think it is fair to say this will happen from time to time - and not just with marginal businesses. So this is a good warning that you’re right to give.

If you think about all the volunteer developers who made BSD, and how many big companies plundered that code without giving back, there’s no reason to think music and art couldn’t go the same way.

That said, I’m personally OK with seeding the near-public domain like this. So little work has gone into the public commons in the last 90 years, that I feel like it is starved for ideas. I have no hesitation with occasionally adding my limited contributions in this regard. :)

Sorry but I feel obligated to respond because I feel the original post is very misleading.

It is estimated there are 9 million websites using CC licenses with over 880 million CC licensed works on the internet. 20% of it CC-BY. [ source]

Seems to me, the problem isn’t the license. The problem is a website who is willing to exploit it’s own contributors.

Really late to the game here, but there was a huge kerfuffle a few years ago when Virgin Mobile was using CC-BY content from Flickr in their ads and maintaining attribution. People were upset that a big company was taking advantage of individuals’ content in that way, even thought the individuals had released the content to a CC license and even though Virgin Mobile was honoring said license.

Most of the people who saw their work used ended up stating that they didn’t understand what this “creative commons” thing was about, and it was really an issue of end-user education.