Creative Commons Licensing
- 1. Creative Commons Licensing Benefits for NEPA Webdesign By Tracy Lagana
- 2. Who is NEPA Webdesign? NEPA Webdesign is “Your Partner in eCommerce Success.” We like to say we're “non-traditional” at NEPA Webdesign, you're not just another client in a portfolio, you're a partner in whom we take a vested interest to do whatever we can to make you successful.
- 3. We've assembled a team of world-class creative and programming talent from around the world that takes each project personally and makes recommendations during the implementation process based on years of experience. So why not offer clients the use of “non-traditional” web application that helps people dedicate their creative works to the public domain or retain their copyright while licensing them as free for certain uses, on certain conditions.
- 4. What is Creative Commons? Developed by a nonprofit group of technologists and legal experts, Creative Commons licensing is a way for copyright holders automatically grant certain permissions on their works. Creative Commons provides licenses from “all rights reserved” to “some rights reserved”. Some people may not want to exercise all of the intellectual property rights that the law affords them.
- 5. Many entrepreneurs have come to prefer relying on pioneering business models rather than complete copyright to secure a return on their creative investment. The power to reuse, modify, and distribute their work with others on generous terms is now available. Creative Commons helps people express their preference for sharing by granting certain “rights”, such as the right to distribute the copyrighted work without changes, at no charge.
- 6. How can Creative Commons Benefit our Clients? Creative Commons licenses would provide our clients the ability to stipulate how others may use their copyright rights. Since Creative Commons license are based on copyright, they apply to all works that are protected by copyright law. Our website clients would be able to use the Creative Commons licenses & tools for FREE!
- 7. Creative Commons license are based on copyright. The kinds of works that are protected by copyright law are books, websites, blogs, photographs, films, videos, songs and other audio & visual recordings. Creative Commons licenses give you the ability to dictate how others may exercise your copyright rights—such as the right of others to copy your work, make derivative works or adaptations of your work, to distribute.
- 8. Creative Commons licenses attach to the work and authorize anyone who comes in contact with the work to use it consistent with the license. Creative Commons licenses are expressed in different formats and you don’t need to sign anything to get a Creative Commons license. Creative Commons licenses are all non-exclusive. This means that you can permit the general public to use your work under a Creative Commons license and then enter into a separate and different non-exclusive license with someone else, in exchange for money.
- 9. The Commons Deed (human readable code). A summary of the key terms of the actual license. Advises others what they can and cannot do with the work. The deed has no legal value and does not appear in the license. Legal Code (lawyer readable code). This is the actual license and can be enforced in a court of law. Metadata (machine readable code). This describes the license elements that apply the content to be able to be discovered through search engines. Available in three different formats:
- 10. Creative Commons licenses are currently available in 34 different jurisdictions worldwide, with nine others under development.
- 11. Some basic things that you should think about before you apply a Creative Commons license to your work: Make sure your work falls within the Creative Commons license Make sure you have the rights Make sure you understand how Creative Commons licenses operate Be specific about what you are licensing Are you a member of a collecting society? If so, does it allow you to CC-license your works?
- 12. Impact: The impact of Creative Commons is huge. This new licensing policy gives organizations a way to enhance their Web sites and supplement their training materials. Whatever you do, take pride in knowing that you're participating in something that wasn't possible just a decade ago.
- 13. Before Creative Commons, the options for openly licensing content were limited and difficult to use. And in most cases, if you were to reprint another organization's article without paying for it or asking for permission, you'd likely get slapped with a lawsuit alleging copyright theft. Creative Commons marks an incredible shift from those days one that especially benefits profit and nonprofit organizations alike.
- 14. Now NEPA Webdesign can now be a part of this movement and maintain our “non-traditional” methods.