Development of Creative Commons licenses

[Kat Walsh <kat AT creativecommons.org>]

There hasn't been much feedback or interest expressed on this--none
public, and only a small amount from those we've spoken to outside the
lists. We're hesitant to make a public commitment to our license
community, particularly on points where there may be dispute or where
clarification is needed, if there isn't interest and participation. We
did receive some internal input that it would perhaps be better
reworked as something not specific to the ShareAlike licenses and
compatibility, but rather to our versioning process in general, and we
are considering that as a better option.

If this statement isn't accomplishing its intended goals in its
current form, or at least not as a part of working toward license
compatibility with licenses outside the CC suite, we think the best
option is to put this aside to be reworked in the future as something
more general. However, this decision is not yet final, and we welcome
feedback on both the statement itself and CC's course of action.

-Kat

On Mon, Feb 3, 2014 at 2:04 PM, Kat Walsh <kat AT creativecommons.org> wrote:
> Summary: revised version of Statement of Intent posted. Comments open now,
> and closed on the 21st of February, with specific prompt in this
> message about including the last two items.
>
> ----
>
> We have made a few revisions to the draft statement of intent for the
> ShareAlike licenses in preparation to publish it in the next few
> weeks. As described previously, this document will be a commitment by
> Creative Commons to the characteristics of all future versions of the
> ShareAlike licenses. The initial version was posted in November for
> discussion.
>
> As posted Nov. 15:
> http://wiki.creativecommons.org/index.php?title=DRAFT_ShareAlike_Statement_of_Intent&oldid=95367
>
> Previous cc-licenses post:
> https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/cc-licenses/2013-November/007506.html
>
> Comparison of old and new version in legible format:
> http://wiki.creativecommons.org/images/3/39/ShareAlike_intent_changes.pdf
>
> The document is substantially the same, but there are a few changes.
> Some changes involve clarification of points that could otherwise have
> been unclear or open to misinterpretation. Some of the changes include
> mentioning the ported licenses: while we are seeking to minimize
> porting of 4.0, the possibility is still open, both for 4.0 and for
> potential future versions.
>
> The final discussion period is beginning now--we intend to close
> comments and prepare the final version by February 21. The document is
> open for general comments on all aspects, but we'll be sending a few
> specific discussion prompts between now and then.
>
> The first question is on the two final items included in this draft
> for discussion, #9 and #10, that we expect not to keep in the final
> document without persuasive argument in favor of it or significant
> revision:
>
> #9, on sublicensing: while the prohibition on sublicensing is
> currently an important part of the way the licenses function, it is
> possible that exceptions could be made in the future (and, indeed,
> many such proposals were made during the 4.0 process, though
> ultimately none were accepted). We are raising the point as a
> potential item, but are likely to remove it unless a strong case is
> made that this is essential to preserve in any future ShareAlike
> license.
>
> #10, no further restrictions or conditions on reuse. Proposed, but
> difficult to make sufficiently specific to avoid overcommitting and
> restricting future changes that would otherwise be desirable to the
> SA-using community.
>
>
>
> The current text is available on the wiki at:
> http://wiki.creativecommons.org/DRAFT_ShareAlike_Statement_of_Intent
>
> Reproduced here:
>
> With the publication of version 4.0, which allows Adapted Material to
> be used under the conditions of a later license (instead of, and not
> in addition to, the original license applied), it has become important
> to make a public commitment to uphold important attributes of the
> ShareAlike licenses and their key conventions and processes. This is
> in addition to the previous commitment we made, expanding upon it to
> specifically address concerns around the way licensed material may be
> used in adaptations under a later version of the ShareAlike license.
>
> While we intend to ensure that future license versions (including any
> potential ported licenses) maintain the same spirit and general
> operation as the previous versions, with this change to the license we
> think it is important to clarify further what users of our licenses
> can expect. Many of these commitments apply to all of CC's licenses,
> not just ShareAlike, but it is in this context that they are currently
> most important to name.
>
> This is not the same list as the criteria for compatibility. While we
> expect that many of these will also inform considerations of license
> compatibility, there may be reasons for a compatible license to
> differ--for example, while we believe it is important to have a public
> drafting process, there may be licenses drafted privately which should
> nonetheless be candidates for compatibility.
>
> This is a commitment to the license-using community for post-4.0
> versioning efforts of the ShareAlike licenses and any of its official
> translations. (It also applies to any ports of version 4.0 and ports
> of later versions.) It is possible that in the future, CC will decide
> to create a copyleft license that deviates from the statements
> expressed here and in the prior statement; if this happens, it will
> not be called a ShareAlike license.
>
> 1.    Any license that CC calls a ShareAlike license must adhere to
> these commitments, in addition to any previous commitments.
>
> The following commitments are to elements of substance and process
> that CC considers essential to the ShareAlike licenses. Any license CC
> stewards that deviates from these commitments will not be called a
> "ShareAlike" license, and would not be automatically compatible with
> previous versions of ShareAlike.
>
> 2.    The SA licenses will always themselves be revised through a
> public process just as with our other licenses and legal tools.
>
> We believe that community input and development in the open is
> essential to the development of widely-used public licenses,
> especially where future decisions of the license steward will affect
> the expectations of current licensors. Creative Commons is committed
> to continuing to develop the ShareAlike licenses using a public
> process, with input from the community of license users and other
> stakeholders. All decisions CC makes on the substantial elements of
> the license will be publicly documented, and open to public or private
> feedback before the text is final.
>
> 3.    Compatibility with ShareAlike for licenses not stewarded by CC
> will always be determined by a public, transparent process.
>
> Because licensors are granting permission for their works to be
> distributed as part of Adapted Material reused under the conditions of
> any compatible Adapter's License, it is important that any such
> license not stewarded by CC be named only after consultation with the
> license-using community, just as CC licenses are developed through a
> community process.
>
> 4.    The scope of rights covered by the licenses will never be
> narrowed, but it may expand.
>
> Future users of the material should have all of the rights and
> freedoms that a licensor intended to grant them, and should know that
> they have them. Ideally, this wouldn't need to change between
> versions. However, new legislation continues to be enacted which has
> an impact on the rights granted under copyright, and which creates new
> rights that have similar effects. We've seen this in the relatively
> recent past with the creation of the sui generis database right and
> with various broadcasting rights, and we expect this to continue.
>
> While CC and many in its global network will continue publicly
> opposing such expansions of copyright-like rights, we need to preserve
> the ability to address them in the licenses where they do come into
> effect. The 4.0 licenses are intended to cover all of the
> copyright-like rights that may affect a licensee's ability to exercise
> the core right licensed, copyright--which is why they are licensed
> alongside the copyright itself. For this to continue to be true, the
> scope of the license may need to expand, either by licensing or
> waiving/not asserting these new rights, as the legal environment in
> which our licenses operate evolves. (However, were we to expand the
> scope of rights licensed, those newly included in subsequent versions
> would not be automatically considered to be granted by the licensor.)
> Rights not asserted in the 4.0 license, including both those
> explicitly not licensed and those not mentioned at all, may be
> included as licensed rights in future versions, but may not become
> reserved rights.
>
> 5.    The ShareAlike licenses will always be designed to operate as
> internationally as possible.
>
> Early versions (pre-3.0) of the licenses were drafted against U.S.
> law, which created complications for material created in and shared
> across many other jurisdictions. With the 3.0 suite, CC made its first
> effort to internationalize the licenses, creating a version that
> licenses rights across the globe. With 4.0, still further improvements
> to internationalization have been made. Future versions will also be
> drafted with this principle in mind, addressing the existing and
> changing legal environments around the world, to better reduce
> barriers to worldwide sharing; this may necessitate many small changes
> in newer versions to address these needs.
>
> 6.    The ShareAlike licenses will never attempt to override
> exceptions and limitations, or regulate uses of material in the public
> domain.
> While copyleft is a valuable tool for creating a commons of free
> works, exceptions and limitations to copyright are essential to free
> expression and upholding the balance that copyright strikes between
> authors and the public. We do not believe any public copyright license
> can or should attempt to override these through contractual or other
> means. To that end, no ShareAlike license will attempt to extend its
> reach to control uses that are in the public domain, uncopyrightable,
> or protected by recognized exceptions and limitations to copyright and
> other rights covered by the licenses.
>
> 7.    The ShareAlike licenses will always require some manner of
> attribution, and permit anonymity.
>
> The attribution requirements have changed across versions, including
> greater flexibility to allow for many different types of usage, but
> proper attribution will always be required by the license,
> particularly an element  or mechanism by which the author or creator
> can be identified. (But anonymous and pseudonymous authorship will
> always be permitted--an author may waive this condition, decline to
> provide a name, or supply a pseudonym to be credited by.)
>
> 8.    The ShareAlike licenses will always be compatible with later
> versions of the same ShareAlike licenses.
>
> Any license that shares the same name should be one that has
> essentially the same features and intended effect as a previous
> version, even if its exact terms accommodate new situations and new
> knowledge. Because of this, when you have material under any post-1.0
> ShareAlike license, all future versions will be permissible adapter's
> licenses.
>
> (Backward compatibility with previous versions is not, however,
> guaranteed--candidates for backward compatibility will be evaluated
> case-by-case and listed on the compatibility page where applicable.)
>
> 9.    The ShareAlike licenses will always prohibit sublicensing.
>
> While we believe that allowing the flexibility of complying with
> conditions of a later version or a compatible license improves the
> usability of the ShareAlike licenses, we think it's important that the
> license always flows directly from the licensor to any reusers. It is
> the original licensor granting the permissions that a user gets, and
> not anyone who has received the material in between.
>
> 10.     No further restrictions or conditions on reuse will be added
> to the ShareAlike licenses.
>
> The conditions in the ShareAlike licenses are limited to those we
> think necessary to allow works to be shared and adapted freely using
> the copyleft mechanism and avoid neutralizing parts of the license. To
> avoid introducing additional friction to reuse, future versions of
> ShareAlike will not impose any other conditions on exercising the
> licensed rights.
>
>
> ----
>
> -Kat
>
> --
> Kat Walsh, Counsel, Creative Commons
> IM/IRC/@/etc: mindspillage * phone: please email first
> Help us support the commons: https://creativecommons.net/donate/
> California Registered In-House Counsel #801759
> CC does not and cannot give legal advice. If you need legal advice,
> please consult your attorney.



-- 
Kat Walsh, Counsel, Creative Commons
IM/IRC/@/etc: mindspillage * phone: please email first
Help us support the commons: https://creativecommons.net/donate/
California Registered In-House Counsel #801759
CC does not and cannot give legal advice. If you need legal advice,
please consult your attorney.