OpenDock Project

The article raises some very real concerns with the use of Creative Commons attribution to Learning Materials in HE and FE and has particular reference to it's use within repositories. Amongst the issues raised are:

• Do the Learning Materials contain copyright material to which the institution requires permission to publish under a Creative Commons (CC) licence?
• Employers generally own the copyright on the materials produced by their employees. Do the employees have the expressed permission of their employers to publish under a CC licence?
• Does producing materials under a CC licence infringe upon other third party business relationship?
• Certain research materials are proscribed for use in other countries, precluding publishing under the "global" CC licence.
• Are CC licences actually valid under specific national legislatures, ie. no "I agree" button.
• Restricting access to specific groups, ie. students only, is incompatible with the CC licence.

This is a considered and balanced article and should be read by those using the CC licence. My personal view is that this issue has some way to run; it may be of small concern to those producing and publishing their own materials within their own controlled environment but for a project such as OpenDock, covering many institutions, countries and individual situations this may well be an issue we need to address and not simply just accept the CC licence as a universal panacea.

Alan
Knownet Ltd