Librarians' Guide to Alternative Licensing
Rachel Bridgewater, Washington State University Vancouver
Nicholas Schiller, University of Washington Bothell
Alternative licenses
"Alternative license" is a term we are using to describe any of a number of licenses that allow content creators to grant the public use of some of the rights reserved under traditional "all rights reserved" copyright.Alternative Licenses
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Alternative licenses have the potential to meet some of
the needs of libraries better than standard copyright.
- Briefly explain the evolution of copyright and the public domain
- Discuss radical changes in technology and copyright law
- Highlight innovations with great potential
- Explain practical applications
To justify this claim, we will:
Copyright: Historical Perspective
- Article 1 § 8 of US Constitution:
"Congress shall have the power...To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;"
- Based on the Statute of Anne (1710)
- English law establishing public domain
Copyright: Historical Perspective
- Court cases throughout the 1800s and early 1900s favored public domain
- 1976 Revision to the Copyright Act
- Technological developments
- Creation of automatic copyright in anticipation of adherance to the Berne Convention
Conditions Ripe for an Innovation
- Changes to copyright law have had radical consequences
- Unsustainable price increases for content
- Enabling technology is now ubiquitous
Radical Changes in Copyright Law
Big Content vs. the Public Domain- Copyright law adapted to apply to changes in technology
- Copyright fundamentally changed to protect the interests of
content owners at the expense of the public domain, fair use rights,
and the right of first sale
Radical Changes in Copyright Law
1998 Sony Bono Copyright Term Extension Act- Extended the copyright monopoly from 75 to 95 years
- Works published in the US in 1922 or earlier are in the public domain
- No new works will automatically enter the Public Domain until January 1, 2019
Radical Changes in Copyright Law
Digital Millennium Copyright Act- Fair use and first sale countered by TPM anti-circumvention rules
- Digital Rights Management: an example of limited access to
library-owned materials
Unsustainable Price Increases
Serials crisis- Typically, journals do not pay for scientific research or for the peer review editorial process
- Journals own copyrights and sell access to peer-reviewed research
Unsustainable Price Increases
Eyes on the Prize- Currently illegal to broadcast or re-release on DVD
- License has expired, $500,000 to re-license
- $700 - $1500 per VHS copy
- Common issue for documentary film makers
Unsustainable Price Increases
No magic bullets- Free as in libre not as in gratis
- Publications have costs involved, libraries will pay sustainable rates
Ubiquitous Technologies
The Internet (of course)- In-home broadband
- Digitization of publishing and content distribution
- Media are no longer tangible — Media as packaging
Ubiquitous Technologies
P2P, Blogs et. al.- Peer to peer (P2P) filesharing decentralizes distribution
- Blogs and content distribution from outside the established publishing sphere
Ubiquitous Technologies
Unintended consequences- Copyright laws do not anticipate new techniques
- New methods of content distribution may not technically be legal
- Restrictive copyright legislation can be seen as an impediment to innovation
Alternative Licenses
- Open source movement and the GPL
- Open Content Licenses - 1998 - Bruce Perens books
- GNU Free Documentation License - 2000 - Wikipedia
- Other minor licences including:
- FreeBSD Documentation License
- Apple's Common Documentation License
- Design Science License
Creative Commons: Origins
- Inspired by the GPL but made for content
- Founded in 2001 with support from the Center for the Public Domain
- Brainchild of Lawrence Lessig and others, housed at Stanford Law School
- Issued first license in 2002
The Creative Commons Concept
- Conceived of as a "spectrum of rights"
- Offer wide array of licensing options
Choosing a license
