We emerged from the Global Summit in Warsaw with ambitious goals. The 4.0 licenses achieve those goals, and more. These licenses are well-suited for use by governments and publishers of public sector information and other data, especially in the European Union where sui generis database rights exist. Other features include (greatly) improved readability and organization, common-sense attribution, and a new mechanism that permits those who may have violated a license term to regain rights automatically if corrected in a timely manner.
None of these improvements could have been achieved by CC alone. We have always leaned heavily on the brilliance and dedication of our impressive network of legal and public licensing experts. Just as important has been the active, vocal involvement of the broader CC community. We remain true to our stewardship obligations because of them, all of whom are deeply passionate about the issues we tackle. The 4.0 licenses, Creative Commons, and the public license development process are all the better for the involvement of these participants.
You can find highlights of the most significant improvements on our website, track the course of the public discussion and evolution of the license drafts on the 4.0 wiki page, and view a recap of the central policy decisions made over the course of the versioning process.
With the 4.0 licenses published, we will be turning our attention to official translations of the legal code in partnership with CC-Netherlands. Translations of our new deeds are also underway, with the Dutch version already completed.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the process. With your help, the 4.0 licenses are the most global, robust, and user-friendly CC licenses to date. Congratulations everyone!