Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

cc-licenses - Re: [cc-licenses] CC-BY and - or versus - open access

cc-licenses AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Development of Creative Commons licenses

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Diane Peters <diane AT creativecommons.org>
  • To: Development of Creative Commons licenses <cc-licenses AT lists.ibiblio.org>, cc-community AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [cc-licenses] CC-BY and - or versus - open access
  • Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2012 07:33:12 -0700

Hi Heather,

Thanks for the post. I'm moving your post over to cc-community for
discussion there, as it doesn't contain a specific proposal for 4.0
(at least not yet).

Diane

On Fri, Aug 17, 2012 at 9:46 AM, Heather Morrison <hgmorris AT sfu.ca> wrote:
> This is more a matter of interpretation than updating the licenses per se,
> but I'm not sure what is the best forum to raise this question, so I'll
> raise it here as well as open access discussion venues.
>
> Many in the open access movement consider CC-BY to be the very embodiment
> of the spirit of the Budapest Open Access Initiative - giving away all
> rights to one's work, including commercial rights, for open access. My own
> take on this is that while CC-BY can provide a useful tool for those fully
> engaged in the open access spirit, the license is problematic for open
> access. This is important now that funding agencies in the U.K. are
> beginning to require CC-BY licenses when they fund open access article
> processing fees. That is to say, we are now looking at a situation where
> organizations that do not have any commitment to (or even liking for) open
> access, may be required to use this license.
>
> Some questions that I think should be raised at this point:
>
> The CC-BY legal code, as I read it, does not mention open access, nor is
> there any wording to suggest that the license can only be applied to works
> that are open access. Here is the URL for the legal code:
> http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
>
> Questions:
>
> 1. Am I missing something in the legal code, i.e. does it say
> somewhere that this license is only for open access works?
>
> 2. Is there any reason why a publisher could not use a CC-BY license
> on toll-access works? (Here I am talking about an original publisher, not a
> licensee).
>
> 3. Is there anything to stop a publisher that uses CC-BY from changing
> their license at a later point in time? (Assuming the license is the
> publisher's, not the author's).
>
> 4. Is there anything to stop a toll-access publisher from purchasing
> an open access publisher that uses CC-BY, and subsequently selling all the
> formerly open access journals under a toll-access model and dropping the
> open access versions? The license would not permit a third party to do
> this, but what I am asking about is if the original licensor sells to
> another publisher.
>
> To sum up, my perspective is that CC-BY, while superficially appearing to
> be the embodiment of BOAI, is actually a problematic license with
> significant loopholes and serious thought should be given to this before it
> is recommended as a standard for open access.
>
> best,
>
> Heather Morrison, MLIS
> Doctoral Candidate, Simon Fraser University School of Communication
> http://pages.cmns.sfu.ca/heather-morrison/
> The Imaginary Journal of Poetic Economics
> http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> List info and archives at
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/cc-licenses
> Unsubscribe at http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/options/cc-licenses
>
> In consideration of people subscribed to this list to participate
> in the CC licenses http://wiki.creativecommons.org/4.0 development
> process, please direct unrelated discussions to the cc-community list
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/cc-community



--
Diane M. Peters, General Counsel
Creative Commons
cell: +1 503-803-8338
skype: peterspdx
email:diane AT creativecommons.org
http://creativecommons.org/staff#dianepeters

______________________________________

Please note: the contents of this email are not intended to be legal
advice nor should they be relied upon as, or represented to be legal
advice. Creative Commons cannot and does not give legal advice. You
need to assess the suitability of Creative Commons tools for your
particular situation, which may include obtaining appropriate legal
advice from a licensed attorney.




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page