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  • From: "Aurelia J. Schultz" <aurelia AT creativecommons.org>
  • To: ccafrica AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [ccAfrica] Recap of 4.0 Discussions at Summit - Next Steps; Blog Pre-Post
  • Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:53:41 -0700

Hello All,

This forward is mostly for the lawyers in the group.  Here's the follow-up on the 4.0 conversations from the Summit.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  This one's a long one!

Best,
Aurelia

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Diane Peters <diane AT creativecommons.org>
Date: Sat, Oct 22, 2011 at 06:29
Subject: [cc-affiliates] Recap of 4.0 Discussions at Summit - Next Steps; Blog Pre-Post
To: cc-affiliates AT lists.ibiblio.org


Dear all,

It was great to see so many of you at the Summit in Warsaw.  For those
of you unable to attend, you were missed.  We hope to see you at the
next Summit or at a regional meeting soon.

This is the promised email providing all affiliates with a summary of
the 4.0 issues discussed at the Summit, and an overview of next steps
with the versioning process.  Please excuse the length.  The below
discussion can also be found in the document (pdf), attached.

Additionally, I attach for your preview a blog post going out next
Tuesday, October 25th, which lays the groundwork for our plans for 4.0
and highlights the legal sessions at the summit.  As always, feedback
welcome.

An enormous thanks to all of you who contributed ideas and opinions
during the Summit, and to the many of you who reached out post-Summit.
 For those not present, please feel free to contact me (or your fellow
affiliates who did attend) if you have questions.  The information
contained in this email (and more) will also be posted to the 4.0 wiki
page, which we are populating with information and detailed process
information.  Look for information and a link to that wiki page the
first week of November.

Best,

Diane

<<< 2011 Global Summit Summary (4.0 Discussions) for Affiliates >>>

I.      Overview

The legal sessions at the Summit focused on several important 4.0
topics.  The discussions were intended to ensure affiliates have a
voice in shaping key issues early in the process, prior to CC HQ
producing a first draft of the licenses.  This is an intentional
departure from how CC has operated in the past when developing new
license versions.

The central 4.0 topics discussed are summarized briefly below,
together with CC's planned next steps for producing a first draft of
the 4.0 licenses.  Please note the plans are not set in stone.
However, given the nature of the discussions at the Summit, we believe
these plans align with the opinions of a sufficiently large number of
affiliates and we will start drafting accordingly.

•       Timing;
•       Developing a global license suite;
•       Licensing sui generis database rights; and
•       Process.

As for other potential changes, many have been identified by CC and
affiliates.  We are working to populate a wiki with those of which we
are aware, as well as with the topics discussed at the Summit.  We
will finalize and announce the discussion wiki the first week of
November.


II.     Timing

Several reasons were identified for starting the versioning process
now, including important adoption-related opportunities that could be
lost if we delay versioning. Briefly stated, the main reasons include
the following:

•       It is increasingly apparent that the current treatment of sui
generis database rights in the CC licenses (v3.0) is sub-optimal for
at least some important producers and users of data, databases and
public sector information.  Our current treatment of those rights in
the EU ported licenses is a factor hindering adoption of CC by
would-be adopters, including governments.

•       Several IGOs would like to adopt CC licenses for their own works.
Their unique legal situation, however, hinders their ability to use CC
licenses at this time.

•       Other reasons for versioning at this time were also discussed,
including the desire to create a license that is more "international"
than the current 3.0 suite.   Improving the licenses on this point
would assist with adoption efforts in countries that have not ported,
or that have ported but not versioned up to 3.0.

Net:   We plan to proceed with the 4.0 versioning process now.


III.    Developing a global license suite

The proposition put forth by CC -- that we should work to create a 4.0
license suite that operates without porting in as many jurisdictions
as possible -- is an idea that had been raised with several affiliate
teams prior to the Summit, with a good amount of support.  The Summit
provided the first opportunity to surface the idea with the larger
network and discuss its merits as a group before committing.

Benefits and complications for pursuing the idea were identified and
discussed in several sessions.  Reasons articulated in support of a
global suite included avoiding the confusion caused by multiple ported
licenses, avoiding (further) license proliferation, eliminating
differences between those jurisdictions with resources to port and
those that have not ported and will not port for the foreseeable
future, the resource-intensive processes and opportunity costs,
accounting for the reality that CC is unique among public license
stewards (no other public licenses are ported), and academic questions
about whether porting was/is required as a legal matter for
enforceability purposes.

Similarly, a number of affiliates voiced concerns over the proposal.
Those included questions as to whether it is possible to create a
single license suite that operates as intended around the world,
anticipated resistance to adoption by national governments who are
accustomed to using a localized version, the wisdom of eliminating a
process that plays a role in building community and understanding for
the licenses, and more.

Emerging from the discussion was a consensus supported by a majority
of the affiliates present, to pursue an international license suite
(without porting) if possible.

Net:  We agreed to delay a decision on whether to continue porting
until we are farther along in the process.  Notwithstanding, we also
agreed to proceed in our drafting with the intention of creating
licenses that can be used in, and are acceptable in, as many
jurisdictions as possible.

Important side note: We need all affiliates to participate actively
throughout the process, more so than perhaps some have during past
versioning efforts.  We need your expertise to understand and address
any limits on how the licenses will operate around the world.  This
will help us make a fully informed decision on the future of porting.

Second side note:  Many subsidiary issues were also discussed.  Those
included license usability, drafting from an international (not a
U.S.) perspective, and official translations.  These will be
summarized on the wiki with links to relevant presentation materials.


IV.     Licensing sui generis database rights

An important argument made in support of versioning at this time is
the treatment of sui generis database rights (SGDRs) in the v3.0
licenses. The 3.0 licenses (unported and ported) are silent with
respect to licensing of SGDRs except in those licenses ported to the
laws of EU jurisdictions (and a few others).  In those licenses ported
to EU jurisdictions (and a few others), SGDRs are licensed alongside
copyright but the license conditions are waived (BY, NC, SA and ND, as
appropriate) when SGDRs alone are implicated by use of the database.
This policy, forged with affiliates in Dubrovnik in 2007, was intended
to neutralize SGDRs, considered ill-advised and bad policy by many,
particularly in the sciences.

At the Summit, we explored whether CC's approach ought change in 4.0
given both the license adoption opportunities noted above, and the
complexities and usability issues associated with licensing these
rights differently than copyright and differently among the CC 3.0
licenses.  The affiliate network expressed their strong dislike for
SGDRs.  At the same time, it was recognized that such rights will
continue to exist for the foreseeable future and continue to hinder
their adoption work.

While opinions were expressed both in favor of and against changing
the CC policy, most of the EU affiliates in particular (where the
issue is most pressing) expressed support for changing the policy
however much SGDRs are disliked.  Several affiliates strongly
cautioned that were a change in policy to be effected, care must be
taken not to have CC's shift in policy misinterpreted as support for
SGDRs or for their expansion to other jurisdictions.  Relatedly,
affiliates also strongly recommended that CC take active steps to
educate users where such rights do not exist on the licenses’
inapplicability.

Net:  On balance, support for changing the policy exists among the
affiliates found support, particular from those in jurisdictions where
SGDRs (or similar) exist and challenges felt most acutely.  CC intends
to pursue this course in 4.0 absent some yet-to-be identified,
unacceptable consequences.

Important note: The discussion also touched on other related rights
that similarly complicate the re-use of CC-licensed works.  We will
continue to work with the affiliates and others to identify and
consider treatment of those rights in 4.0 throughout the versioning
process.


V.      Process

With the Summit now behind us, the immediate next step is to launch
and announce the 4.0 wiki (with related announcements to lists).  The
wiki will be an important forum for posting suggestions and comments
for improvements to the licenses.  It will also be populated with
discussions that take place on the CC license discuss list.

Please expect an announcement to this list the first week of November
with information and a link to the wiki, prior to the public
announcement.

CC HQ is starting work on the first draft of the licenses consistent
with the plans mentioned above.  Note, however, that we will wait to
publish the first a draft until early 2012 to allow further discussion
on the issues above as well as discussions on other suggested
improvements to the licenses.

_______________________________________________
cc-affiliates mailing list
cc-affiliates AT lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/cc-affiliates




--
------------------------
Aurelia J. Schultz (Miss), Counsel
Creative Commons 
+1 415 501 0257
Skype: aurelia.schultz

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.

Attachment: 4_0 blog post.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document

Attachment: Summit Summary for Affiliates.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document



  • [ccAfrica] Recap of 4.0 Discussions at Summit - Next Steps; Blog Pre-Post, Aurelia J. Schultz, 10/25/2011

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