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cc-licenses - Re: library use (was: no subject)

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Subject: Development of Creative Commons licenses

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  • From: "Branko Collin" <collin AT xs4all.nl>
  • To: Discussion on the Creative Commons license drafts <cc-licenses AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc: Ignasi Labastida i Juan <ilabastida AT ub.edu>
  • Subject: Re: library use (was: no subject)
  • Date: Fri, 3 Dec 2004 14:34:53 +0100

On 2 Dec 2004, at 10:42, Mike Linksvayer wrote:

[I am afraid I missed Christiane's original mail]

> Christiane Asschenfeldt wrote:
> > *From: *Ignasi Labastida i Juan <ilabastida AT ub.edu>
> > *Date: *11. November 2004 12:20:55 GMT+00:00
> > *To: *cc-icommons AT lists.ibiblio.org
> > *Subject: [Cc-icommons] Question about libraries
> >
> > We are working with some librarians from Universities and we
> > have many open questions about CC. licenses. Question about
> > rights and libraries:
> >
> > If a library downloads music with a CC license, could it let
> > that sample as an item of the library? What about a text? Could
> > it print it?
> >
> > And if the license is with the noncomercial label, what about a
> > library where the users have to pay for use?
> >
> > I would like to know the situation in other countries.

This is the sort of question you often hear from people who view a
license as a set of constrictions. This is not a strange view,
because a lot of licenses are indeed worded as constrictions, often
even using wording that would extend copyright law if that were
legally possible.

However, in most countries it is the law that provides the
constrictions; licenses add permissions. A license cannot increase
the scope of the law. So, if libraries in your countries are allowed
certain uses of works, a license cannot further restrict those uses;
it can only open up more uses than the library was allowed before.

The only exception, thanks to some extremely boneheaded law-making on
both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, is digital content, such as
software, and ebooks. In that area, laws are in place that enable
content producers to extend the scope of the law.

As far as I am aware (IANAL, and I do not work for CC), the CC
licenses however do not extend the scope of the law, but stay firmly
within pre-1999 intentions of the law.

--
branko collin
collin AT xs4all.nl




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