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Definition/Unstable
This document provides a definition of "Free Cultural Works" [the Definition], which are roughly works or expressions that can be freely studied, applied, copied and modified, by anyone and for any purpose. The Definition distinguishes between free works and free licenses which can be used to legally protect the status of a free work. The definition itself is not a license; it is a tool to determine whether a work or license should be considered "free." This document also describes restrictions that respect or protect the freedoms of Free Cultural Works.
Summary
Free Cultural Works are works which anyone can
- Use
- Study
- Copy
- Change and Improve
Free Culture Licenses are legal instruments by which copyright owners grant users these freedoms and make their works into Free Cultural Works.
In addition to the 4 freedoms listed above Free Cultural licenses may also include certain restrictions. These can include:
- Attribution - acknowledge other authors
- Share-alike or Copyleft- derived works must be licensed under the same or compatible license as the original
- Protection of Freedoms - the license may require additional permissions or information is distributed with the works (such as source code, design drawings, musical scores, access codes) where these are needed to create new versions of the work.
- Due Credit Give credit where credit is due. If it's not your work do not claim it as yours.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.
Free Cultural Works
Free Cultural Works are works where
- anyone, i.e. rich or poor, socialist or fascist, man, woman or corporation;
- anywhere, i.e. worldwide;
- anytime, i.e. unlimited and irrevocable and forever.
has each of the following freedoms
The freedom to use and perform the work
to make any use, private or public, of the work. For kinds of works where it is relevant, this freedom should include all derived uses ("related rights") such as performing or interpreting the work. There must be no exception regarding, for example, political or religious or commercial considerations.
The freedom to study the work and apply the information
to examine the work and to use the knowledge gained from the work in any way. The license may not, for example, restrict "reverse engineering".
The freedom to redistribute copies
whether they are sold, swapped or given away for free, as part of a larger work, a collection, or independently. There must be no limit on the amount of information that can be copied. Neither may there be a limit on who can copy the information or on where the information can be copied. The license may not, for example, forbid "Commercial' exploitation of the work.
The freedom to distribute derivative works
including modified versions (or, for physical works, a work somehow derived from the original), regardless of the intent and purpose of such modifications.
Permissible restrictions
There are certain requirements and restrictions on the use or interchange of works that we feel do not impede the essential freedom in our definition. These restrictions can therefore be included in Free Culture licenses. They are described below.
Attribution of authors
Attribution protects the integrity of an original work, and provides credit and recognition for authors. A license may therefore require attribution of the author or authors, provided such attribution does not impede normal use of the work. For example, it would not be acceptable for the license to require a significantly more cumbersome method of attribution when a modified version of the licensed text is distributed.
In addition to the requirement for attribution the license may include restrictions to ensure the original author is not seen to be responsible for changes to the work made by others. This may include restrictions on the use of trademarks.
Transmission of freedoms
The license may include a clause, often called copyleft or share-alike, which ensures that derivative works themselves remain free works. To this effect, it can for example require that derivative works are made available under the same free license as the original.
The license may restrict