GRAPPLING WITH COPYRIGHT AND THE FREEDOM CULTURE

The cost of buying or licensing educational material is reduced when educators use open access material, which the authors make available without charging royalties. In May 2007, COL published a paper that supported producing and using open licence material ( www.col.org/copyright). Reactions to this paper led COL to return to this topic to deal with some issues in greater detail. There are some key points to consider when dealing with copyright issues.

First, although different licences lay down different conditions for how material may be used, there is nothing in principle to prevent an author from producing material that uses existing material that is subject to different licences. This can only be done, of course, if the new material respects the conditions in the original licences and acknowledges each piece of work. The new material, as a new work, will then need to be licensed with its own licence.

Second, COL encourages those who produce educational material to use open licences and make the material freely available. COL recognises, however, that some of those who produce educational material may need to receive royalties as well as recognition for the work they do. They might in rare situations even find it important to restrict derivative works from being produced, although the use of this restriction should be used most sparingly and for good reason.

Third, we understand the expression "non-commercial" in some Creative Commons and other similar licences to mean that the material is not used to generate a profit. The non-commercial (NC) restriction allows users to charge for copying and distributing the material and for the associated salaries and overhead expenses, irrespective of the nature of the business (public sector, non-profit or for-profit). Where NC materials are planned to generate a profit, the user should approach the owner of the material for permission.

For a more detailed discussion of these and other copyright issues, go to www.col.org/copyright.