[cc-licenses] ShareAlike extent

Will Martin wdmartin at mail.utexas.edu
Mon May 21 03:14:33 EDT 2007


All,

Hiya.  I've got some questions about just how the ShareAlike clause  
works when we're talking about incorporating photos into web pages as  
backgrounds.

I've put together a test case to illustrate.  I started with a  
BY-NC-SA licensed photo on flickr,[1] and used a portion of the photo  
as a background in a web page.[2]  Note that the page displays one of  
ten Shakespeare quotes at random when you load it, so it won't be the  
same for every visitor.  So here are my questions:

1) Does the ShareAlike clause apply to the HTML and CSS?

2) Does the ShareAlike clause apply to the other images in the page?

3) One image bears text saying "Who needs a typewriter?"  Does the  
ShareAlike clause apply to the font I used to create the text in that  
image?  I don't think it does, I just want to know precisely where I  
stand.

4) The Shakespeare quotes are in the public domain.  Does the  
ShareAlike clause apply to them in this context?  If I copy and paste  
a quote from this web page, does the ShareAlike clause apply to  
whatever I paste it into?

5) I wrote some PHP to pick a quote each time the page is loaded.   
That code executes on the server, and never appears in the web page.   
But it is part of the file.  Does the ShareAlike code apply to the PHP  
code?

6) If I had linked my PHP code to an external PHP file produced by  
somebody else, would the ShareAlike clause have applied to that  
external file? (I didn't link to anything in this case, but it'd be  
nice to know, since that's common practice.)

7) If I had used this as a background image in a site allowing  
user-contributed content, such as a forum, would the posts by my users  
fall under the ShareAlike provision too?

Hmm.  I think that about covers it for now.  I just want to know for  
certain how far that ShareAlike clause extends.  If it really does  
extend to absolutely everything, then (for example) I won't be able to  
use a BY-SA photo as a background in a project for a client who isn't  
willing to share their entire web site.  For another example, I won't  
be able to use a BY-NC-SA licensed photo in a web site for a college  
course (assuming you count education as non-commercial), unless I as a  
teacher am willing to license the syllabus, assignments, and any  
student-generated content under the same license.

Thanks.

Will Martin

[1] The original macaque photo by Nao-cha:  
http://flickr.com/photos/nao-cha/282002836/

[2] My web page: http://atuan.com/MonkeyShines/

P.S.  I wish CC offered a web-based forum instead of these clunky  
mailing lists.



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