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Subject: Development of Creative Commons licenses

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  • From: James Grimmelmann <james.grimmelmann AT yale.edu>
  • To: Discussion on the Creative Commons license drafts <cc-licenses AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: Question
  • Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 10:57:32 -0700

At 03:38 AM 8/15/2004, Tom Morris wrote:
Hi all,


So, say we've got Beyond Good and Evil - the book I'm currently converting:

Introduction (from Wikipedia) - GFDL.
or an Introduction based on CC materials - ShareAlike.
Rest of the book (in seperate files for each chapter) - PD.

Is that okay?

It's absolutely okay.

Both GFDL and ShareAlike materials require that any derivative works be relicensed under the same license. Public domain works impose no restrictions at all. So the derivative work that is the whole book is licensed GFDL or ShareAlike, and everyone's happy. [But note that you couldn't combine GFDL and ShareAlike materials in this way, since they are different.]

Or, alternatively, if the book itself as a whole isn't copyrightable -- if it's just the binding together of two independently copyrightable works with no additional creativity -- then things are even easier. The introduction is relicensed under the GFDL or ShareAlike license; the contents themselves are PD. People need to relicense derivative works of the intro under GFDL or ShareAlike if they want to make such derivatives; they can do whatever they want with derivative works based on Nietzsche.

What is important, practically, is that you identify which portions of the book are licensed which way. You don't want to make people think that the contents aren't public domain.

I'm not a lawyer; I don't speak for Creative Commons.

James



  • Question, Tom Morris, 08/15/2004
    • Re: Question, James Grimmelmann, 08/15/2004

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