[GOAL] BLOG: Is CC-BY really a problem or are we boxing shadows?

[Andrew A. Adams]

Danny,

My opinion is that CC-BY-SA is the correct license for academic works. All 
the claims I have seen for people wanting to use "NC" terms (NC is a 
controversial element whose meaning is not properly clear) are generally 
fixed by using SA instead. The copyleft or "share-alike" principle does not 
prevent enclosing something in a paywall, but ddoes require that there are no 
restrictions placed on anyone who then does have access, and for anything 
reasonably deemed a derivative work, it means that it must also be a CC-BY-SA 
licensed work, which generally discourages exploitive terms since then any 
consortium can club together, purchase access and then re-distribute.

For a small class of works there is a justification for CC-BY-ND which 
prevents derivatives beyond fair use/fair dealing (which are the basis on 
which m,ost academic quoting works anyway under "all rights reserved" 
licenses) for material which is controversial or sensitive. However, these 
cases are rare and should be used very sparingly.


-- 
Professor Andrew A Adams                      aaa at meiji.ac.jp
Professor at Graduate School of Business Administration,  and
Deputy Director of the Centre for Business Information Ethics
Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan       http://www.a-cubed.info/