We live in a civilisation of diversity, which means enormous freedom, but also responsibility and vigilance in regard to various temptations and dangers. Our intention is not to lose core values in that diversity, values that are fundamental to culture, such as being fair to  others, having the ability to choose, and having the right for our input in the cultural development to be respected.

The aim of Legal Culture is to help us to keep these seemingly simple things in mind every day; to promote fair and loyal actions and grateful attitudes towards artists. Our mission is based on a positive message – we show how to use everything that modern technology can offer and, at the same time, remain ethical and  aware that we live among other people  – on the Internet as well.

We want to make recipients of culture aware of a connection between the two kinds of culture – the digital one and the material one. The Internet is not  a completely isolated  world – many laws and unwritten rules concerning material pieces of art remain in force when we enter the digital realm of art.  We don't take on new identity on the Internet; it is not as simple as that. "You shall not steal" applies equally to both – a book in the bookstore and to a book on the Internet. Yet both have been written by a similar and sometimes by the same author, who put his heart, energy, time, and a large amount of work into it.

Digital society is an open network of interactions we can all benefit from;to which, however , we all contribute greatly as well. Together, we can create non-material cultural goods on the internet, but our mindset and behaviour on Internet are of crucial importance.

Nowadays we are building a digital civilization, just like for centuries we have  been building a material one. Once again we have to establish rules on which it relies – rules that will  enable us  to satisfy our needs without violating the rights of virtual community's members or hurting their feelings.

The Internet is common good. The web, just like culture, is created by all the people together. And together we are responsible for it. As it is digital culture which shapes us nowadays, we have to care about its quality.

Legal Culture strives towards solving one of modern culture's biggest problems – how to make use of it and at the same time hold onto your freedom and not constrict anybody else's? We remind you every day that there are other human beings on the other side of the screen, on the Internet – not just anonymous people, not systems, not numbers, but living human beings who can think and feel and who have their rights. Just as we do.

Shaping our culture and our social activities on the web has many aspects. Legal Culture promotes ideas, values and attitudes which are important to those who use culture in a new, digital reality: fellowship, widespread accessibility, diversity, willingness to cooperate, honesty, trust, awareness, knowledge, transparent rules, responsibility, safety, mutual respect, kindness, and gratitude. All this should form a basis for our actions on the Internet.

Legal Culture sets itself 3 major goals:

• We care about increasing KNOWLEDGE

Education is our mission. We know how important reliable information is – that is  why we do our best in order to make internet users  consciously navigate among considerable resources of the web.

• We care about CULTURE

Through our projects we want to make the recipients of culture aware that all things available on the internet – outstanding films, beautiful music, fascinating books – are the results of other people's efforts. Integration and dialogue are vital for us: we believe that in the  complex world of today we are able to reach an understanding, because we have common goals – to create and to develop.

• We care about COOPERATION

We cooperate with acclaimed creators, however, any aspiring artists, at the beginning of their creative path, are also welcome to work with us. The vast experience of lawyers, who help us to understand the rules of copyright or fair use,  often proves a great help to us. We cooperate  with researchers and methodology specialists to stay up-to-date with cultural trends. We also believe that it is possible to make a change – a change of our attitudes and behavior on the web – we explain, make a point, inform and share.

By running an educational interactive campaign, Legal Culture creates a community of culture producers and recipients. We are in touch with those who use culture – with pupils and teachers, students and seniors, with representatives of different professional groups – we answer their questions, solve problems, prepare special offers towards specific user groups and share diverse educational materials. Web users can contribute to creating culture from legal sources, promoting and sharing those sources  – e.g. by adding links to our database.
We would  like our actions to have a positive impact – we promote, share, explain, teach, remind about core values, set a good example and connect.
Our mission is to make recipients of culture aware that cultural goods are not created in a social void, that the way we make use of culture has an enormous impact on culture itself. Our actions are aimed at  those who care about culture, but also at  those  not yet aware of how important it is to participate in culture based  on a mutual exchange - giving and receiving. We strive for  the recipients of culture to use its resources consciously, responsibly and legally.

We create a common, yet diverse world, based on trust and openness. It is  a world where we exchange with each other what we can create. However, we cannot  forget that freedom and universal access to culture are also connected with various obligations – the obligations towards culture creators in the first place.
We make an effort to be an active and responsible partner in the  debate on legal sources of culture and to have an influence on the public opinion, attitudes, and behaviour of culture creators and recipients. We are  not afraid to confront our opponents. We oppose financing of internet portals which make culture from illegal sources available through placing of advertisements. We put an emphasis on the social responsibility of business; not only the users of content from illegal sources should be blamed, but also those who share it or make the process of sharing it easier.
The question of safety on the Internet is also of great importance to us. We inform recipients of culture about possible threats, first of all about these connected to downloading contents of doubtful origin – we provide users with legal sources instead.
It is  high time to undertake determined, extensive action. Temporary, short-term projects or single-issue campaigns are not enough nowadays.  People of culture should unite around the idea of culture legality on the Internet. Current generations are brought up on the Internet, they grow up in the digital culture. That is  why we need a long-term  strategy and a holistic education to ensure that even the youngest citizens are taught the sense of responsibility  for our common good, which is culture on the Internet.

Translated by:
Biuro Tłumaczeń Diuna www.diuna.biz