Building Upon Existing Copyright Works and Keeping Protected Works “Public”
Many authors and public research institutions are keen on disseminating their copyright works and allowing others to build upon their work with relatively few restrictions; often only with the condition that they are acknowledged or an attribution to them is made by those using their works. However, because the grant of copyright is automatic upon creation and the duration of protection is arguably long, a user who wants to improve upon or disseminate the copyright work will violate copyright laws if prior permission is not obtained. This is further complicated with works whose authors cannot be identified for such permissions.
Realising that this may not be intended by an owner of copyright work and may therefore increase the transaction costs associated with seeking a licence, there have been a few initiatives (most notably, the free software and open source movement, and Creative Commons®) set up with the aim of keeping copyrighted works “public” through the application of various types of ready-made and jurisdiction-specific licences which can be adopted by creators of copyright works.
If you are a creator of software, for example, who wants to keep the programme that you have created for others to improve upon and redistribute, you can consider using the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL) - see: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/. If you are a scientist working in a public research institution in Colombia, why not encourage your organisation to publish its journal under a suitable Creative Commons® licence available at: http://creativecommons.org/international/co/?
Recently, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) adopted the use of Open Content Licences in its IP Policy, the first among CGIAR centres, aimed at doing away with the lengthy administrative procedure required in giving additional rights to users of its products and ensuring that intellectual creations of its scientists are more globally distributed. The leading funder of biomedical research in the UK, the Wellcome Trust, adopted a policy that requires all publication of articles based upon research that they have funded must be published in an open-access manner.
What steps is your organisation taking to ensure its copyright works are used more widely?
