What is COCOA?

COCOA is an acronym for Copyright Owners' Control Of Access. It is both a concept -- that copyright owners know how best to promote their work -- and a technical specification for how to make visibility grants simply and easily.

Who we are

COCOA was formed as a committee with participants from many different authors groups, publishers, and experts in copyright law and publishing rights. The views of the members range from "conservative" to "liberal" with respect to copyrights — thus, this consensus reached, which satisfies all members, represents a view that should be acceptable to most people no matter where they stand on the copyright spectrum.

COCOA efforts are lead by Dr. Andrew Burt (former Vice President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc., chair of SFWA's Copyright Issues Committee and Electronic Piracy Committee, computer science professor at the University of Denver, and Co-Director of the Institute for Digital Security).

The other committee members are:

• William Barton, science fiction writer and computer programmer.
• Nicole Burnham, Region 1 Director, Romance Writers of America.
• Michael Capobianco, former President of SFWA and SFWA's liaison to the Authors Coalition.
• James A. Crutchfield, Executive Director of Western Writers of America, Inc. (WWA).
• Eric Flint, writer and editor for Baen Publishing, founder of the Baen Free Library
• Sean Fodera, writer and rights expert, President of Fodera Rights Agency.
• Charlie Petit, attorney whose practice includes copyright law.
• John Scalzi, writer and tech-savvy media critic.
• Susan Swift, Novelists, Inc.
• Gordon Van Gelder, Editor & Publisher of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and former editor for St. Martin's Press.

The COCOA Association

The original COCOA Committee (with the exception of Nicole Burnham, for contractual reasons) has become the founding Board of Directors for the COCOA Association, a non-profit established to implement and operate the COCOA protocol (such as authenticating members), disseminate information about COCOA, and promote its use.

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