{"id":484,"date":"2017-08-11T23:29:58","date_gmt":"2017-08-11T23:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/opentextbooked2\/?post_type=chapter&p=484"},"modified":"2022-07-15T19:04:38","modified_gmt":"2022-07-15T19:04:38","slug":"copyright-and-open-licenses","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/selfpublishguide\/chapter\/copyright-and-open-licenses\/","title":{"raw":"Copyright and Open Licences","rendered":"Copyright and Open Licences"},"content":{"raw":"Before you begin writing, make sure you have a firm grasp of what copyright means and how applying an open-copyright licence -- typically a Creative Commons licence<\/a> -- or designating your copyright to the public domain will affect your textbook.\r\n\r\nAccording to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, copyright<\/strong> is\r\n
the exclusive, legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something (such as a literary, musical, or artistic work)[footnote]\"copyright,\" Merriam-Webster,<\/em> https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/copyright (accessed August 1, 2017).[\/footnote]<\/blockquote>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1166\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"150\"]\"One<\/a> Copyright logo[\/caption]\r\n\r\nThe laws that govern copyright vary from country to country. The term \"copyright\" (copy + right) was first recorded between 1725 and 1735.[footnote]\"copyright,\" Dictionary.com,<\/em> http:\/\/www.dictionary.com\/browse\/copyright, (accessed August 1, 2017).[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThe copyright owner of a work, such as a textbook, is permitted to sell or distribute their work as they deem fit. This includes by assigning a licence or offering permissions to another party. For example, if an author decides to sell a book to a publisher, the contract might state that while the author retains copyright, the publisher has the right to print and sell the first copies of the book globally. In other words, the publisher has \"First-time, non-exclusive, worldwide rights,\" and for this right, the publisher pays the author. After the publisher has exercised this right, the author may resell their work.\r\n

<\/a>Exceptions to copyright ownership: employment<\/h2>\r\nSection 13(3) of Canada's\u00a0Copyright Act<\/em>[footnote]Canada, \"13: Ownership of Copyright,\" Copyright Act<\/em>, http:\/\/laws-lois.justice.gc.ca\/eng\/acts\/C-42\/page-4.html#h-7 (accessed December 13, 2017).[\/footnote] explains that one's employer owns copyright.\u00a0Jean-S\u00e9bastien Dupont and Guillaume Lavoie Ste-Marie, <\/i>from the law firm Smart & Biggar, Fetherstonhaugh, describe it this way: \"if the work is created in the course of employment under a contract of service, and absent any agreement to the contrary, the employer will be the owner of the copyright<\/em> (emphasis added) in the work created by the employee without the need for a formal assignment.\"[footnote]Jean-S\u00e9bastien Dupont and Guillaume Lavoie Ste-Marie, \"Do you actually own the IP generated by your Canadian employees?\" Smart & Biggar - Fetherstonhaugh, <\/em>June 16, 2014, http:\/\/www.smart-biggar.ca\/en\/articles_detail.cfm?news_id=866 (accessed December 13, 2017).[\/footnote]\r\n

What can and can't be copyrighted<\/h2>\r\nThere are several things that can't be copyrighted. In the U.S., they include the following:\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Titles, names, slogans, and short phrases. (However, some of these might be protected with a trademark.)<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Facts, ideas, concepts, systems, and methods of operation. (Yet, copyright might protect how these items are expressed such as in a writing or illustration.)[footnote]\"What Does Copyright Protect?\"\u00a0Copyright.gov,\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/www.copyright.gov\/help\/faq\/faq-protect.html (accessed November 16, 2017).[\/footnote]<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nFor more information on this topic, see the Creative Commons blog by Timothy Vollmer, \"The public domain and 5 things not<\/em> covered by copyright\"<\/a>.\r\n\r\nIn Canada, copyright provides protection for \"literary, artistic, dramatic or musical works (including computer programs) and other subject-matter known as performer's performances, sound recordings and communication signals.\"[footnote]\"A guide to copyright,\" Government of Canada, <\/em>https:\/\/www.ic.gc.ca\/eic\/site\/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf\/eng\/h_wr02281.html (accessed November 16, 2017).[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nNote<\/strong>: The terms copyright<\/em> and intellectual property<\/em>\u00a0are not synonymous. As stated above, copyright are permissions that apply to specific creative works whereas intellectual property<\/strong> is a broad term that refers to\r\n
    (a) form of creative effort that can be protected through a trademark, patent, copyright, industrial design or integrated circuit topography.[footnote]\"Glossary of Intellectual Property Terms,\" Government of Canada, <\/em>https:\/\/www.ic.gc.ca\/eic\/site\/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf\/eng\/wr00837.html#i (accessed November 16, 2017).[\/footnote]<\/blockquote>\r\n
    \r\n

    Intellectual property rights<\/strong> are the permissions that cover these creative efforts, of which copyright<\/em> is one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    Works within the public domain<\/strong>\u00a0are not restricted by copyright, so they are owned by the\u00a0public.\u00a0<\/em>However, copyright laws vary from country to country. For a detailed discussion on the public domain in Canada, see UBC's Copyright-Free Materials; or: Why Should I Learn About the Public Domain?<\/a>.<\/div>\r\n

    <\/a>Open-copyright licences<\/h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1167\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"150\"]\"Two<\/a> Creative Commons licence logo[\/caption]\r\n\r\nCreative Commons (CC) licences are open-copyright licences<\/strong>. (Also referred to as copyright licences<\/strong>.) Unlike more restrictive licences or permissions, these set of licences grant the following permissions and conditions. They give:\r\n