[cc-community] Question about CC-NC licensed works being used in education

Nathan Kinkade nkinkade at creativecommons.org
Tue Jan 5 18:03:30 EST 2010


On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 3:00 PM, Lloyd <cc at phizz.demon.co.uk> wrote:
<snip>
> As someone that applies the CC-NC license to everything, if you were to
> ask me I'd say yes you can use the material I make available.
>
> Almost all academic organizations that have used material have asked
> permission. I'd surmised that they've wanted to get a clear permissions
> trail for a usage rather than rely exclusively on the CC license. IOW
> they've not wanted to run foul of someone uploading ARR material as CC,
> or arguing with some one who later attempts to revoke the license.

I have to agree with Lloyd here.  From my perspective the goal of most
colleges and universities is not principally aimed at commercial
advantage, though there are surely some "universities" in office
buildings next to the highway for which that might not apply.  Are
there 10,001 use cases that someone could come up with where usage in
an academic institution *could* be considered commercial?  Absolutely.
 Trying to find some concrete answer to what is and isn't commercial
will be about as productive as trying to get a consensus on the
meaning of life.

Here is the reality that I have tried to express to some people who
write to info at creativecommons.org with similar questions: how likely
is it that you are going to get sued, and if someone does sue you how
much do you have to lose?  Granted, I didn't couch it quite that
bluntly to them.  Basically, if there is a lot at stake, then don't
rely on a CC license; ask for permission.  I mean, I know people want
to do the right thing, even if it's just for the sake of being correct
privately.  That's noble and there is something to it.  But my basic
thinking is this: if you are a large organization, or a high profile
organization, and/or you have a lot to lose, you had best ask for
permission or you are asking for trouble.  If you are John Q. Public
wanting to use one of Jane Doe's NC-licensed Flickr photos on your
blog that has Google Adsense, then it comes down to personal risk
assessment or morals.  If you are averse to risk or highly moralistic,
then simply ask for permission.  It's not hard.

Best,

Nathan



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