4.0/License subject matter

Defining the licensed rights

As noted above, CC licenses were initially designed to address copyright. In version 3.0, the definition of “work” was expanded to include many neighboring rights:

"Work" means the literary and/or artistic work offered under the terms of this License including without limitation any production in the literary, scientific and artistic domain, whatever may be the mode or form of its expression including digital form, such as a book, pamphlet and other writing; a lecture, address, sermon or other work of the same nature; a dramatic or dramatico-musical work; a choreographic work or entertainment in dumb show; a musical composition with or without words; a cinematographic work to which are assimilated works expressed by a process analogous to cinematography; a work of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving or lithography; a photographic work to which are assimilated works expressed by a process analogous to photography; a work of applied art; an illustration, map, plan, sketch or three-dimensional work relative to geography, topography, architecture or science; a performance; a broadcast; a phonogram; a compilation of data to the extent it is protected as a copyrightable work; or a work performed by a variety or circus performer to the extent it is not otherwise considered a literary or artistic work.

As one of the goals for version 4.0 is to craft a license suite that allows use of the work consistent with the expectations of both licensors and licensees (and rights closely related to copyright may impede that), the permissions granted by the licenses may need to account for other laws that grant copyright-like rights in a particular subset of jurisdictions (such as sui generis database rights discussed below). "Copyright-like" rights are those that overlap with the exclusive rights of copyright and are exclusively held by the same person as the copyright.

What should be the limiting principle for choosing which rights to license in 4.0 if more than copyright? How should CC identify and then account for such rights in the licenses recognizing that citing every such statute is likely neither feasible nor advisable? How do we ensure the definition covers rights held by the licensor and not third parties (e.g., publicity rights), or rights that are held by the licensor but not related to or overlapping copyright (e.g., trademark)?

Considerations regarding scope of license; other copyright-like rights

Please add other important considerations to this discussion here. In particular, please help CC identify those exclusive rights that exist in your jurisdiction or region that are closely related to, or could interfere with one's ability to exercise, copyright and neighboring rights as expected by licensors or licensees.

• Rights that do not exist yet. If in 2025 another copyright-like (gained by creating some fixed expression, not an idea or 3rd party right) right is established, licensees using 4.0-licensed works would already have the permissions necessary to continue using as they had.

Sui generis database rights (SGDRs)

In their current form, CC licenses do not require attribution or compliance with other applicable license conditions where use of a licensed work triggers SGDRs and not copyright.

In version 3.0 of the licenses, CC attempted to harmonize treatment of SGDRs worldwide by neutralizing those rights in jurisdictions where they existed. This was done by explicitly waiving the license conditions with respect to SGDRs in licenses ported to the laws of jurisdictions where SGDRs are granted if only SGDRs are implicated. The international license and ported licenses in jurisdictions without SGDRs do not address those rights directly. The effect of this differing treatment is as noted above - uses of licensed works that only implicate SGDRs do not require compliance with the license conditions.

CC’s treatment of SGDRs has been criticized for the following reasons:

1. If someone applies an international license to a database that has SGDRs protection, there is a possibility they are not granting licensees any rights to use the database in a way that implicates SGDRs.^[1] Licensees may not realize they could need extra permissions to use a substantial portion of the licensed database, an exclusive right granted database makers in the EU and a few other jurisdictions.
2. Some major potential license adopters, including the UK government, have indicated they are not willing to use CC licenses because our licenses do not affirmatively license SGDRs on par with copyright (i.e., without waiving conditions when only SGDRs exist).

Regardless of whether CC begins to license SGDRs on the same terms as copyright, there is widespread consensus within the CC community on a few basic concepts:

• SGDRs are bad policy and have not proven to garner the economic benefits they were designed to achieve. Accordingly, CC needs to be careful not to do anything that would be seen as an endorsement of SGDRs or that would have the effect of encouraging compliance with license conditions in jurisdictions where SGDRs do not apply.
• The ported and unported licenses should grant the same permissions to licensees. The differing treatment among EU ports and the unported license is sub-optimal and may cause confusion.

Proposals for addressing SGDRs in 4.0

After discussion at the Global Summit in Warsaw, CC intends to license SGDRs SGDRs on the same terms and conditions as copyright and neighboring rights absent yet-to-be-identified, unacceptable consequences. Therefore, the following proposal is the course of action CC is pursuing at this time, though we welcome further debate and discussion. Please add your input on the pros and cons of the proposals identified.

SGDR Proposal No. 1: License SGDRs on par with copyright. The licenses currently cover copyright and neighboring rights. This option would require amending the legal code to license SGDRs in the same manner. To be clear, just as the license currently operates with respect to copyright and neighboring rights, a license of SGDRs would only take effect in jurisdictions where such rights exist.

• Pros:
• Cons
• Other comments:

SGDR Proposal No. 2: (alternative proposal) License SGDRs and waive conditions. This would effectively put the unported license in line with the 3.0 EU ports with respect to SGDRs. The licenses would grant permission to use works implicating SGDRs (where SGDRs apply per applicable law only), but the license conditions (BY, NC, NC and/or SA, as applicable) would not apply to those uses unless copyright was also implicated.

• Pros:
• Cons
• Other comments:

Automatic localization of the license

Regardless of what rights are ultimately covered by the 4.0 license, the scope of the rights being licensed (including the exceptions and limitations that apply) will continue to vary depending on applicable law.

In the international license, the definition of "work" is qualified by Section 8(f) ^[2], which explains that the licensed rights and subject matter take effect according to the national implementation of the treaty provisions in the jurisdiction where the license is enforced. This provision is tantamount to an “automatic localization” of the international licenses, whereby the licenses operate differently in various jurisdictions depending on national laws.

There are, however, several instances in the licenses where we arguably depart from this principle, at least under the laws of some jurisdictions. The following is a list of provisions in the international license that could be construed as modifying the default provided by applicable law.

• Definition of "adaptation" – ‘’[A] work that constitutes a Collection will not be considered an Adaptation for the purpose of this License. For the avoidance of doubt, where the Work is a musical work, performance or phonogram, the synchronization of the Work in time-relation with a moving image (“synching”) will be considered an Adaptation for the purpose of this License.’’ ^[3]
• Definition of "collection" – ‘’A work that constitutes a Collection will not be considered an Adaptation (as defined above) for the purposes of this License.’’^[4]
• Section 3(e) – ‘’The above rights may be exercised in all media and formats whether now known or hereafter devised. The above rights include the right to make such modifications as are technically necessary to exercise the rights in other media and formats.’’

In the 4.0 international licenses, should we remove any of these provisions that potentially modify applicable law in some cases? Are there other clarifying provisions we should consider adding in order to increase certainty for licensors and licensees as to matters left to interpretation under applicable law?

Note: A different but related proposal about clarifying language for the NC definition is included on the 4.0/NonCommercial page.

Considerations regarding how the license operates with respect to applicable law

Please add other important considerations to this discussion here.

• ShareAlike scope. Proposals relating to clarifying the definitions of "adaptation" and "collection" of the SA condition in this regard are further discussed on the 4.0/ShareAlike page.

Proposals regarding how the licenses operate with respect to applicable law

For ease of reference on discussion lists, please do not alter proposal numbers.

App. Law Proposal No. 1: Modify Section 8(f) (or its equivalent) to clarify intended interpretation of license terms and conditions.

• Pros:
• Cons:
• Other comments:

Please add other applicable law proposals here, and number them sequentially.

Related debate

We encourage you to sign up for the license discussion mailing list, where we will be debating these and other 4.0 proposals. HQ will provide links to related email threads from the license discussion mailing list here.

Relevant references

Please add citations that ought inform this 4.0 issue below.

1. Presentation by Judge Jay Yoon at the CC Global Summit on 17 September, 2011: "Creative Commons Licenses and Databases"
2. CC blog post dated 1 February, 2011: "CC and databases: huge in 2011, what you can do"
3. CC memorandum dated 15 August, 2007: "On the treatment of sui generis database rights in Version 3.0 of the Creative Commons Licenses"

Notes