Press Release: ‘Open Stories’ Now Available on Wattpad for Creators and Remixers Worldwide

Toronto, Canada - July 21, 2014 - Wattpad, the world's largest community of readers and writers, has upgraded to Creative Commons (CC) 4.0 licensing options to give creators around the world the ability to search millions of stories to remix and reimagine. It is the largest implementation of CC 4.0 by a social media platform.

Copyright has long been a hot-button issue for writers. As the nature of storytelling evolves to become more social and interactive, many writers want to share their stories without restrictions. They actively encourage reader participation and the creation of fan art. On Wattpad, fans remix work, write fan fiction, translate Wattpad stories into other languages, and make anything from story trailers to story covers for their favorite writers.

Wattpad stories using CC 4.0 licensing options will be tagged and searchable by anyone in the world. To-date more than 300,000 stories are shared under a CC licensing option on Wattpad. With the integration of CC 4.0, the global Wattpad community has improved licensing options that are internationally recognized. These options respect the desire of Wattpadders to remain anonymous (if they choose), without restricting creativity of others.

"The biggest question facing new writers today isn't how to protect their work; it's how to find a readership for it, said Cory Doctorow, science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger. "It makes complete sense that so many Wattpad writers are gravitating toward Creative Commons licenses: by giving others permission to share your writing, you can open doors to new audiences and new creative opportunities." Cory Doctorow has shared five stories on Wattpad under CC licenses, including New York Times best-selling novels Homeland and Little Brother. Today, to coincide with the roll out of CC 4.0, he will share his first novel Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom on Wattpad.

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. The Creative Commons licenses provide a simple, standardized way to give the public permission to share and use creative work - on conditions of the creator's choice.

"All knowledge and culture owes something to what came before it -- it's this public commons of ideas that forms the foundation of our society," said Creative Commons CEO Ryan Merkley. "I'm excited that the Wattpad community will have Creative Commons' simple, free tools to share their work, to re-use the works of others, and to contribute to the global creative community."

"From day one Wattpad has been about self-expression and creativity. With the integration of CC 4.0 creators from around the world will be able to search millions of stories on Wattpad and use them for their own artistic pursuits," said Co-founder and CEO of Wattpad Allen Lau. "Licensing creative works under CC 4.0 makes total sense in today's remixing culture."