OPEN ACCESS - KNOWLEDGE FOR ALL | HOME PAGE

One of the most important issues about open access concerns the limits and legal restrictions of copyright. The two major factors of the copyrights discussion are:

• The ethical aspect of the academic and scientific work

The existing copyright laws protecting novels, movies and music are inadequate for the academic and research results being considered public goods.

• The special nature of the Internet

Authors feel threatened by the Internet as it is very easy for everybody to copy, disseminate and use the published material without payment or the author's approval.

The most prevalent position

OA models do not object to the existing legal framework. The copyrights of OA models are based on:

• the rights granted by the author
• the use of the work after a limited period of time during which it is protected by patents and copyrights.

In both cases the author should be acknowledged.

The most popular permissions for open access content

1. Creative Commons (CC) Licenses

The Creative Commons Organization founded by Lawrence Lessing, Professor of Law at Stanford University Law School, proposes tools that make it easy for authors to protect their creative work by freeing it only for certain uses.

The Creative Commons (CC) licenses:

• Are provided for free through the Internet
• Are not exclusive
• Do not require that creators waive their copyrights

Creative Commons (CC) licenses are expressed in three ways:

• The Commons Deed (introductory part of the license addressed to the creator)
• The Legal Code (the legal part of the license)
• The metadata (the part addressing the technological issues)

Creative Commons licenses can be applied to all works that are protected by copyright law and are characterized by their flexibility, because they give the creators the ability to dictate how others may exercise their copyright rights.

2. Open Content Licenses

General Public License is the legal basis for the production and distribution of free software. A useful guide about the Open Content Licenses can be found here.