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  • From: Jonathan Mitchell <website3 AT jonathanmitchell.info>
  • To: Sarah Currier <sarah.currier AT strath.ac.uk>, Creative Commons UK <cc-uk AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc:
  • Subject: Re: [Cc-uk] Using CC for our project- advice?
  • Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 22:19:06 +0000

First passwords then the Scottish licence.

Sarah asks:
> Is password protecting a community sharing resource like our repository
> infringing this? Is the "You" referred to here us (the repository) or
> the users of the repository who will actually be using the resources? We
> are thinking that only registered users of the repository may use the
> resources; they may not pass them on to anyone else.
I think the answer to the first question depends on the nature of the
password protection. If password-access is simply being used to make up a
register of users, as many newspapers do (e.g. The Scotsman, Guardian, New
York Times), I see no problem (but mild irritation). If however it is being
used in the manner of a pay-to-view site, or 'academics only', that is a
form of DRM technology which has both the intent and the effect of
restricting the ability of members of the public to exercise their rights to
view the work in question and is accordingly incompatible with the use of CC
licenses as I understand them. Not only could CC licenses not be attached to
material behind a password which was not freely available, but if they were
so attached anyone with a password would be well entitled to put them up on
another site with no protection.

The second question is really answered by both the English and Scottish
current drafts, which (Scots, 2.1.d) refer to "restricting the ability of
any person to exercise those rights"; not simply the repository but any
potential user. If registered users may not pass resources to anyone but
another registered user, this is incompatible with any CC license and, as
Ian Brown said, you would need a different license.

Looking at your website at http://www.storcuram.ac.uk/scope_policy.htm , I
have the impression that the materials you have in mind fall into two
classes, those to which there is no reason why there should not be public
access (so that CC licensing was appropriate) and material which is
restricted, so that it perhaps only the latter that is behind a password.
Incidentally, isn't publishing documents in Microsoft Word .doc format
itself a form of DRM?

Sarah also asks:
> And how is work going on the Scottish version of the CC licences?
I attach the current draft in html; the link to a page on the CC website
isn't yet live. We hope to have the project formally open in the next week
or two; meanwhile see http://www.jonathanmitchell.info/informationlaw.html
for progress (also link to the current draft if the one attached doesn't get
through).

Jonathan
--
Jonathan Mitchell QC

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Please note that my clerk is Iain Murray; tel. 0131 260 5697; fax 0131 220
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unless otherwise notified be channelled via him.
> From: Sarah Currier <sarah.currier AT strath.ac.uk>
> Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 15:00:18 +0000
> To: cc-uk AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Subject: [Cc-uk] Using CC for our project- advice?
>
> Hi all,
>
> I joined this list a wee while ago and have read the list archives and
> the CC website. My project, which is creating a repository for learning
> resources for Scottish social work education, is in the midst of
> grappling with licensing issues and the CC option is one we are looking
> at closely. I have a few questions which I wonder if someone (or some of
> you) wouldn't mind having a look at.
>
> Firstly to explain a bit about what we are doing to give background.
>
> SIESWE (Scottish Institute for Excellence in Social Work Education) is
> funding a repository for the sharing of digital learning resources
> amongst the 9 universities teaching social work in Scotland. These
> resources will come in three ways: from the educational community
> directly; from existing sources of learning resources to be adapted by
> us for the repository e.g. taking a printed pack and converting into
> digital form for sharing; and learning resources which we will be
> creating ourselves with subject experts.
>
> Users of the repository (and hence the resources) will be social work
> educators in Scotland in the short term. It is possible our user base
> will expand to include, for instance, social work educators throughout
> the UK or globally, professional social workers in the field, educators
> in related disciplines such as health care, or college teachers teaching
> social care. Over all, however, the repository will be accessible only
> by registered users, via user name and password.
>
> NB: Much of the following is still under discussion and subject to legal
> advice; this e-mail just summarises some of our ideas at the moment:
>
> We would like the conditions of use attached to each resource to
> include: global non-commercial use only, creators must be attributed,
> and for resources to be adaptable by users. We would also likely have an
> alternative licence in case there are resources which contributors will
> not allow adaptation for.
>
> It does seem that we are working within the capabilities of CC as a
> licensing system. We do question, however, the meaning of:
>
> "You may not distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, or publicly
> digitally perform the Work with any technological measures that control
> access or use of the Work in a manner inconsistent with the terms of
> this License Agreement."
>
> Is password protecting a community sharing resource like our repository
> infringing this? Is the "You" referred to here us (the repository) or
> the users of the repository who will actually be using the resources? We
> are thinking that only registered users of the repository may use the
> resources; they may not pass them on to anyone else.
>
> Are there any other issues that you can see arising from the scenario I
> have described?
>

>
> Many thanks
> Sarah
>
> --
> *******************************************
> Ms. Sarah Currier
> Librarian, Stòr Cùram Project
> "A Storehouse of Learning Resources for Social Care"
> Dept. of Social Work, University of Strathclyde
> c/o: Centre for Academic Practice, University of Strathclyde
> Graham Hills Building, 50 George Street
> Glasgow G1 1QE, Scotland, United Kingdom
> Web: http://www.storcuram.ac.uk/
> Tel.: +44 (0)141 548 4573 Fax: +44 (0)141 553 2053
> E-mail: sarah.currier AT strath.ac.uk Mob.: +44 (0)7980 855 801
> Stòr Cùram is Gaelic for Storehouse of Care
> *******************************************
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Cc-uk mailing list
> Cc-uk AT lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/cc-uk
>

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