COMMUNIA is a thematic project funded by the European Commission within the eContentplus framework addressing theoretical analysis and strategic policy discussion of existing and emerging issues concerning the public domain in the digital environment - as well as related topics, including, but not limited to, alternative forms of licensing for creative material; open access to scientific publications and research results; management of works whose authors are unknown (i.e. orphan works).
Coordinated by Prof. Juan Carlos De Martin of the Politecnico of Torino's NEXA Research Center for Internet and Society,[2] COMMUNIA started its activities on 1 September 2007 and ended on 28 February 2011.
The third and final conference[5] was held on 28–30 June 2010 in Torino, Italy, under the title of Universities & Cyberspace: Reshaping Knowledge Institutions for the Networked Age.
How can our educational institutions promote ideals of free exchange of information yet cope with the complex intellectual property challenges presented by the Net?
The COMMUNIA network also drafted the Public Domain Manifesto,[12] a document aimed at "reminding citizens and policy-makers of a common wealth that, since it belongs to all, it is often defended by no-one".