I am pretty sure there is a not a free culture labor org or business league in the US, but if there is I'd be happy to hear about it.

My thoughts on this are pretty fluid at the moment, so if there's an idea or organization I've left out, please feel free to share. I tried to get most of the very-connected thoughts in this thread, but I'm going to be starting another thread on a more specific goal.

If you aren't familiar: You can read about labor orgs at http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Other-Non-Profits/Labor-and-Agricultural-Organizations.

You can read about business leagues at http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Other-Non-Profits/Business-Leagues

There have been a variety of attempts to organize around free culture. For example: http://foocorp.net/projects/free-culture-foundation/ and the organization that took that name. Why have the failed? Have they failed? The new FCF hasn't posted anythign on the home page in almost two years (April 23, 2013), but still occasionally RTs things on twitter (do they have an instance on a free culture social network?).

I don't know the answer to why they have failed or at least been forced to take a hiatus, but I do think there is a tactic that no one has tried. I am thinking about new tactics after 3 years of failing to build interest around another potential 501(c)(3): Netizen Empowerment Federation. We haven't filed yet, and talking with the snowdrift.coop people makes me think 501(c)(3) status may not be the way to go. That's why I'm looking at 501(c)(5)s and 501(c)(6)s. The Linux Foundation is a 501(c)(6) if you are looking for a comparison. A lot of people don't like the Linux Foundation for a variety of reasons, but the 501(c)(6) status isn't the reason. They've just made their business association about a particular software application that supports proprietary applications, rather than forming around free culture. Nina Paley and Kevin MacLeod show that there are business models to be had in free culture.

Of course, Nina and Kevin are also both laborers so maybe that means a labor organization is better.

The problem with both organizational tools is that they leave out the hobbyist. Of course, free culture licensing always allows the hobbyist certain rights.

There is also the problem of membership dues. I had hoped 501(c)(3) status would keep us from excluding people based on their finances, but it's not an option that has worked for us.

Of course, Creative Commons and Free Software Foundation support aspects of free culture. Personally, I've looked at various different 501(c)(3)s in the space and they all seem very focused geographically - come work for us in NYC, Boston, or the Bay Area. This is not an option for me, which is why I started working on building my own that was more decentralized. The DC-based organizations are in large part either garbage or focused on narrow things. Public Knowledge seems very preoccupied with 3D printing, for example. Some one needs to protect the rights of 3D printersm, of course, but I'm thinking of a broader organization.