[cc-community] Help me decide on a license
drew Roberts
zotz at 100jamz.com
Sat Dec 8 08:35:55 EST 2007
On Saturday 08 December 2007 01:30:25 Michael David Crawford wrote:
> I'm considering placing my "Magnum Opus" under a Creative Commons
> license, but I haven't decided which one. Presently it is All Rights
> Reserved, and has been that way since I published it in 2003.
snip
>
> So the Right Thing to do would be for me to allow commercial
> reproduction. One such use I would have no problem with would be for
> mental health organizations to sell it as a fund-raiser. I was a member
> of the Canadian Mental Health Association in Nova Scotia, and I would be
> very happy if they were to sell it.
>
> What I would have a problem with would be for a traditional book
> publisher to make a best-seller out of it and not give me a cut of the
> profits.
>
> The important difference, in my case, seems to be whether the work is
> sold to truly benefit the mentally ill, or sold merely in a cynical
> effort to make a buck.
>
> What arguments can you make?
This is a tough issue and one and one that I have given some thought to over
my years messing about with Free Software and Free Art / Culture.
The first thought is that if you really want the work out there to as many as
possible as a way to help them, then you might want to bite the bullet and
use Free license. (Of course ND aren't Free even if you make them Gratis.)
I will try to come back to the ND issues later.
So what follows is really my thinking on possible traditional income streams
for those using BY and BY-SA licenses but should work for BY-ND just as well
if you go with that. If they work at all, that is. That remains to be seen.
First, the money issue by a for profit publisher.
One though I have had on this issue is to publish a notice with a work
indicating that you will only ever do book tours, promotions, etc. on behalf
of for profit publishers who sign a royalty agreement with you.
You could also maintain a web page that lists "Approved" or "Endorsed" sellers
of your material. Point out on this page that although you use generous
licenses because you want to benefit your fellow man, that some greedy types
abuse your generosity. Point out that with these greedy types, while you have
used a license that might allow them to do what they do "legally" if they
carefully follow the terms of the license, you do not "Endorse" them and they
are not supporting you in any way and that you instead ask the public nad
your fans to sopport your "Approved" publishers instead.
You could also point out on the web page that you do not hold the same view
towards other humans making use of your works who also license a good amount
of their works under Free licenses.
If you were using one of the FSF licenses with invariant sections (forgive my
poor memory here if it is poor) you could do something like putting in an
invariant section that says something along these lines:
"I consider any publisher of this work not listed below to be greedy and no
good.
Publisher A is a good guy.
Publisher B is a good guy.
Etc."
Or just offer to leave out that section for publishers who make a deal.
I may fill in more above later but I will try and touch on my ND thoughts
now...
If you know my take at all, and I think we have interacted online in various
places before, you know that I am no fan of ND or NC.
So, are there possible ways to at least approximate the outcome you are
looking for without using ND?
I have been pondering the possible benefits of developing "Author approved"
or "Direct from the Author" logos that one could allow to be used only if the
work is in a form you released it in or approve of.
Could one also include a paragraph of text in a textual work saying that:
"This text you are reading is exactly as I, author name, have released it."
Then anyone changing things and leaving in your sentence might have problems.
Just some early thoughts on the ND bit.
snip
>
> Thanks for your help,
>
> Michael David Crawford
> michael at geometricvisions.com
> http://www.geometricvisions.com/
>
> Tilting at Windmills for a Better Tomorrow.
all the best,
drew
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