# Outreach Letter: Creative Commons

**Date:** 22 November 2025
**To:** Creative Commons Headquarters
**From:** Palimpsest Stewardship Council
**Subject:** Partnership Proposal: Extending Attribution Logic for the AI Era

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Dear Creative Commons Team,

We write to you with deep respect for the foundational work Creative Commons has accomplished in establishing a globally recognised framework for sharing creative works. For over two decades, CC licenses have empowered creators to balance openness with protection, fostering a vibrant culture of legal sharing and collaboration.

## Introducing the Palimpsest License

The **Palimpsest License** is a next-generation licensing framework designed to extend and complement the principles established by Creative Commons, specifically addressing challenges that have emerged in the age of artificial intelligence, synthetic content generation, and quantum computing. Currently in version 0.4, the Palimpsest License builds upon CC's attribution logic whilst introducing novel protections for:

1. **Emotional Lineage** – Preserving the narrative intent, cultural context, and symbolic depth of creative works, particularly those dealing with trauma, mythology, and diaspora narratives.

2. **AI Training Consent** – Requiring explicit, informed consent before creative works can be used to train non-interpretive AI systems, addressing a gap in current licensing frameworks.

3. **Quantum-Proof Traceability** – Implementing synthetic lineage tags and mandatory metadata preservation to ensure attribution persists through AI-generated derivatives and future technological paradigms.

4. **Symbolic Attribution** – Expanding beyond traditional credit to include indirect, thematic, and environmental attribution methods suitable for immersive and synthetic environments.

## Legal Framework and Governance

The Palimpsest License operates under a bilingual framework with Dutch law as the primary jurisdiction and Scottish courts for enforcement. This reflects our commitment to European legal standards whilst maintaining global accessibility through comprehensive English documentation.

Governance is managed by the **Palimpsest Stewardship Council**, a seven-member body comprising creator representatives, legal experts, technologists, and cultural heritage advocates. Our decision-making process prioritises transparency and community input, echoing CC's own commitment to open collaboration.

## Alignment with Creative Commons Values

We see significant synergy between our missions:

- **Both frameworks prioritise creator autonomy** – giving artists, writers, and creators the tools to define how their work is shared.
- **Both embrace standardisation** – providing machine-readable metadata and clear, accessible documentation.
- **Both balance openness with protection** – enabling remix culture whilst preventing exploitation.

Where Palimpsest extends CC's vision is in addressing the specific vulnerabilities created by generative AI, synthetic content, and the erosion of cultural context in digital reproduction.

## Proposed Collaboration Opportunities

We would welcome the opportunity to explore partnership with Creative Commons in the following areas:

### 1. Interoperability Standards
Developing technical specifications that allow Palimpsest and CC licenses to coexist and complement one another, enabling creators to "layer" protections (e.g., CC BY-SA + Palimpsest Emotional Lineage protections).

### 2. Joint Educational Resources
Collaborating on guidance materials that help creators understand when traditional CC licenses suffice and when additional protections for AI training, cultural context, or emotional lineage may be appropriate.

### 3. Metadata Harmonisation
Working together to develop JSON-LD schemas and machine-readable formats that enable both licensing frameworks to be recognised by AI systems, content management platforms, and digital archives.

### 4. Case Studies and Best Practices
Jointly documenting use cases where CC and Palimpsest protections address complementary needs, particularly for:
- Indigenous communities managing cultural heritage
- Journalists protecting trauma narratives
- Artists working with generative AI tools
- Cultural institutions digitising sensitive collections

### 5. Advocacy Alignment
Coordinating on policy advocacy regarding AI training datasets, creator rights in synthetic content generation, and the preservation of cultural context in digital works.

## Invitation to Dialogue

We would be honoured to present the Palimpsest License framework to Creative Commons leadership and explore how our organisations might collaborate to serve creators navigating the complexities of the AI era.

Would you be available for an initial conversation in the coming months? We are flexible regarding format—whether a video conference, written exchange, or in-person meeting should your schedule permit.

We have prepared comprehensive documentation including our license text, user guides, compliance toolkit, and ethical framework, which we would be pleased to share at your convenience.

## Contact Information

**Palimpsest Stewardship Council**
Email: [contact information to be provided]
Repository: https://github.com/[repository-path]
Documentation: [documentation URL]

Thank you for considering this proposal. Creative Commons has demonstrated that principled licensing can transform how creative works are shared globally. We believe that together, we can extend those principles to meet the challenges and opportunities of generative AI whilst preserving what makes creative work meaningful: its emotional resonance, cultural context, and symbolic depth.

With sincere respect and anticipation of future collaboration,

**The Palimpsest Stewardship Council**

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## Appendices Available Upon Request

- Full text of Palimpsest License v0.4 (English and Dutch)
- Technical specifications for synthetic lineage tags
- Comparative analysis: CC licenses and Palimpsest protections
- Case studies: Cultural heritage and AI training consent
- Governance framework and decision-making processes
