Open Content Licencing (OCL) for Open Educational Resources
Brian F. Fitzgerald · QUT ePrints (Queensland University of Technology) · 2005
The Internet and associated digital technologies provide us with an enormous potential to access and build information and knowledge networks. Information and knowledge can be communicated in an instant across the globe, cheaply and with good quality, by even the most basic Internet user. In short, recent developments in digital technology have opened up a vast new landscape for knowledge management. However copyright law which takes definition from international conventions and is similar in most countries provides that you cannot reproduce or communicate copyright material (literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, films and sound recordings) without the permission of the copyright owner subject to exceptions for fair use/dealing, private use and educational use. Private use and educational use exceptions are usually subject to the payment of a statutory levy, royalty or licence fee. Therefore while the technology has the capacity, the legal restrictions on the reuse of copyright material, hampers its negotiability in the digital environment. Copyright owners are not obliged to give permission to allow others to reuse their material even with payment of fair compensation unless they are compelled to do so by the law. There are some compulsory licences – for example I can make a recording of any song pursuant to a compulsory licence - but they are not widespread. Going through the process of obtaining permission to reuse copyright material can also be very time consuming and expensive.