Creative Commons Meets Open Access

Abstract

The copyright system allows the creator to establish and legally defend ownership rights in intangible creations. The author does not own the tangible expression (e.g. the book) but she does have property rights in its contents. Permission to use is often granted under certain conditions (for example economic remuneration or limitations to extent of use). Obtaining permission can be a complex affair since there are several barriers on the way. In an effort to remove some of these barriers the Creative Commons (CC) project was launched in 2001. Taking inspiration in part from the Free Software Foundation's GNU General Public License the first project of the CC’s was the release of a set of copyright licenses free for public use.