[cc-licenses] NC considered harmful? Prove it...

Jonathon Blake jonathon.blake at gmail.com
Thu Mar 15 15:02:20 EDT 2007


Massey wrote:

> > a)  The current Creative Commons NC guidelines allow a company, under
> > specific circumstances, to _sell_ material with an NC licence. This is

> How is that possible? Both the cases you mention seem to me to fall

Simple.The vendor simply looks at the current CC Guidelines, and says
"Aha., We can sell this product, under this exception." Certain
restrictions do apply, but it is trivial to blow those exceptions to
smithereens.

So they proceed to sell the product.

I figure it is simply a matter of time before CC-NC material shows
upon eBay,and the licensor won't be able to do a thing about.

[ I am about ready to pony up the $1 000 it costs, to a have lawyer
rewrite the CC-BY-NC-SA licence to specify that distribution has to be
gratis, and it it may not be distributed in any manner that even hints
at being a non-gratis transaction.]

> > b) The current Creative Commons NC guidelines prohibits government
> > agencies ---which includes most public schools and colleges --- from
> > using  material with an NC licence;
> Probably because there is "monetary compensation" involved at some
> level or other? Yet I am sure most authors would grant exceptions if

The CC Guidelines permit NC usage by individuals,or non-profit
organizations with tax exempt status.( For the US, it requires both a
specific type of incorporation, and a specific tax exemption.  In
other countries, the requirements are for whatever their equivalent
is.
 For the UK, I think it listing as a "registered charity",and
incorporation as "limited by guarantee".)

As a general rule, public schools and colleges do not fall into that exemption.

xan

jonathon



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