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cc-licenses - Re: [gnu.org #238740] Derivatives of dual-licensed Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike and GFDL works

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Subject: Development of Creative Commons licenses

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  • From: evan AT bad.dynu.ca (Evan Prodromou)
  • To: Discussion on the Creative Commons license drafts <cc-licenses AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [gnu.org #238740] Derivatives of dual-licensed Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike and GFDL works
  • Date: Thu, 5 May 2005 17:24:21 -0400

On Thu, May 05, 2005 at 04:34:01PM -0400, drew Roberts wrote:

> > I'm afraid I just can't see how granting permission to use a work
> > under two different licenses makes it into two different works. If I
> > give you permission to enter my house through either the back door or
> > the front door, that doesn't mean I have two houses.
>
> One reason is that if it didn't, even the original author could not release
> under CC BY-SA and another license.

No, the copyright holder can do whatever the fudge they want with the
work. They're not bound by the terms of the license in any way.

> I say this because the CC BY-SA license claims to be the whole agreement.
> Which means it is claiming that the terms of the other license don't matter
> legally. See what I mean?

Yeah, I see what you mean. I think it says something about having a
separate written agreement, though.

I guess I fail to be convinced by arguments along the lines of,
"There's all these other things that, technically speaking, you can't
do with a dual-licensed work. That proves that technically speaking
doesn't count." I think it proves, more likely, that dual-licensing is
a dicey proposition.

> And if that won't work, the original author just neads to actually release
> it
> twice with the different licenses. Which I will do now (in abbreviated
> form)
> by way of example with a short poem I wrote back in high school.
>
> -----
> The following poem is release under the CC BY-SA license:
>
> Someone touched their canle to mine,
> And brought me out of my darkness.
> -----
>
> -----
> The following poem is release under the GFDL license:
>
> Someone touched their canle to mine,
> And brought me out of my darkness.
> -----
>
> See what I mean?

Doesn't that strike you as just the tiniest bit ridiculous? Doesn't
calling the same work two different works seem to stretch credibility?
Wouldn't you rather just grant some extra rights to people?

~Evan




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