Celebrity Baby Spread Gets Copyleft License

Who says celebrities have to be Paris Hilton's or Jane Fonda's, either too stupid or too radical to make a practical impact on the habits of ordinary people? There is a happy medium for the privacy challenged apple of the press’ eye, where their actions can influence even the contentious halls of IP licensing. The exhibit A of this phenomenon: Gwen Stefani, who, with her hubby, shunned the typical diamond soaked tabloid contract for centerfold picture spreads of her newborn. Demonstrating both a post election “maverick” streak and an unnerving knowledge of alternative licensing schemes, Stefani instead hired her own photographer and licensed the resulting photos through a Creative Commons license. No that’s not a typo. She licensed her photographs for creative sharing and limited commercial use. Gwen is more than fuel for the dance floor, she’s a copyleft progressive in pop diva clothes. That being said, she did opt for the standard issue space case rock star name for the licensed babe, Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale. Yeah.