Development of Creative Commons licenses

[James Grimmelmann <james.grimmelmann AT yale.edu>]

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