4.0/Draft 4

Welcome to the Public Discussion of 4.0d4

(view and download the 4.0d4 licenses)

This page provides information specific to the public discussion of the fourth draft of version 4.0 (4.0d4). These drafts are the result of discussions with the CC community and CC’s many affiliates through the license development email list, the community email list, the 4.0 wiki pages, and consultations with our affiliates.

Please review those discussion archives and web pages for context and details of the discussions and related decisions, and contribute to the discussion by subscribing to the license development list.

During this fourth and final phase of the 4.0 development cycle, we will limit the consultation to reviewing a few remaining policy decisions that resulted in changes to the licenses from prior drafts.

Treatment of issues and proposals in 4.0d4

The discussion topic pages on our 4.0 pages provide details on policy and drafting decisions reflected in 4.0d4. You should review the explanations at the top of each page (marked as "Draft 4 Treatment" for each particular topic) for the most comprehensive explanation. These pages provide details on changes and proposals for this final discussion period.

Policy and Drafting Decisions

The third public comment period focused on a small number of remaining issues. It was originally intended to be the final discussion period, but enough changes were incorporated that we concluded a new public draft was warranted before final publication. The conversation focused on issues specifically identified for discussion, which were formally raised during several consultation periods, but also included other issues raised by our global community as they conducted final reviews. Here are highlights from the public discussion and corresponding revisions in the draft 4 legal code.

• Internationalization. After feedback from affiliates, we are no longer specifying a default rule for choosing the jurisdiction whose law should apply in case of dispute, as was introduced in draft 3, though recommended interpretive guidelines will be provided outside of the license. More detail is available on the Internationalization page.

• Warranties and customization of the license. Based on affiliate feedback, in draft 4 we have eliminated the ability of licensors to customize the disclaimers or provide warranties within the license itself. Warranties may be offered alongside the license without forming part of it. Additionally, an interpretation clause has been added that states the license is to be interpreted in such a way that most closely approximates an absolute disclaimer and waiver of liability. This will help ensure that the disclaimer is given maximum effect across all jurisdictions. More detail is available on the Warranties page.

• Sui generis database rights. Draft 4 makes minor changes to the treament of sui generis database rights, and makes significant changes to the organization of the license. All of the provisions regarding these rights have been consolidated into a single section of the license, now Section 4, for ease of reading and to avoid confusion where these rights do not apply. Additionally, the permissions language has been expanded to include language from the Database Directive, from “use and Share” to “extract, reuse, reproduce, and Share.” See the Sui Generis Database Rights page for details of these changes.

• Effective technological measures We have introduced a definition of Effective Technological Measures in the license that is tied to the language in the WIPO Copyright Treaty. This will assist licensees in understanding what is and is not prohibited by the licenses. All references in the license to "Technical Protection Measures" have been replaced with the terminology "Effective Technological Measures", to make clear that the definition is not one we are creating, but should be tied to the definitions existing in jurisdictions' implementations of these laws. Please see the TPM page for more details.

• Other changes.
  • The scope of the license has been slightly revised to be more consistent with 3.0, and the definition of Share adjusted accordingly.
  • We are now using the term "Adapter's License" throughout the text instead of "Adaptation License".
  • In the section on moral rights, the right of integrity is now specifically named.

Structure and Timing of d4 Comment Period

In this fourth public discussion period, we plan to have an abbreviated process that focuses attention on the few remaining policies and issues that draft 4 implements. We expect this period to last approximately two weeks.

Legal Code: Topics for Feedback

While we welcome feedback on all aspects of draft 4, we will not be revisiting previously-settled policy decisions. We are actively seeking feedback on the following drafting and policy decisions:

• ShareAlike and adaptations. As part of our ongoing effort to ease complexities associated with license-stacking issue, including compliance challenges for downstream users of adapted material, we have been persuaded to introduce an express provision that allows those downstream users to comply with all obligations to all upstream licensors with reference to the terms and conditions of the Adapter's License. We introduce this change in the ShareAlike licenses only -- BY and BY-NC will operate as always. This is intended to reduce the complexity for reuse when adaptations are created using different versions of ShareAlike or Share-Alike compatible licenses. See the ShareAlike page for further explanation.

• Attribution and marking In this draft, we have revised the URI requirement to more closely resemble the treatment in 3.0. URIs must be retained if supplied with the licensed material. The requirement to indicate modifications is no longer tied to this requirement; it is now independent. Additionally, indications of prior modifications must be retained, so that downstream users know if the licensed material has been previously modified. Any notice of disclaimer of warranties must also be retained. For a detailed comparison, please view the attribution page and the comparison chart (link to follow).

Other Pending Topics

We plan to follow the above discussions with consideration of these and other final topics related to implementation and adoption.

Please join the CC license-discuss list or add your input directly to the 4.0 wiki pages.