[License-discuss] Beginner question on CCSA and derivative work

Elmar Stellnberger estellnb at gmail.com
Mon Nov 18 15:19:55 UTC 2013


Simply ask 'the University of Oxford'! I would presume the work has 
entirely be done by the university.
They could thus give you permission to use the document without running 
into license-infection issues.
i.e. they are always entitled to share some of their property rights 
with you.
Depends of course on who will be responsible for such issues at this 
university and who is
entitled to give you these usage rights there.

Elmar Stellnberger

Am 18.11.2013 14:57, schrieb David Woolley:
> On 18/11/13 14:24, Nick Yeates wrote:
>> I am unsure if this forum is the correct place for this question, so let
>> me know if I need to ask elsewhere…
>>
>> I am considering using a Work, on the public web, that is clearly
>> licensed under the CCSA: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0
>> England & Wales license
>> <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/uk/>. The work also
>> states this: "this page is © 2007-2013 University of Oxford."
>>
>> I am considering using a piece of this work, in a commercial document.
>> It is not likely that the commercial work will be distributed to the 
>> public.
>> So far, CCSA seems to be OK with this occurring.
>>
>> My question is, if I am incorporating it into a work that is
>> considerable larger, do I need to license the entire piece of work as 
>> CCSA?
>> The parts from U of Oxford will be, say, 3% of the complete content
>> (derivative work???). Really, most of the content is new/mine.
>> I don't want to have to make my entire work CCSA, because I am including
>> a comparatively small chunk of work that is CCSA.
>>
>
> 1) this sounds like it is not software, so not really on topic for 
> this list.
>
> 2) the answer depends on whether or not it constitutes a derivative 
> work, and that tends to be a very controversial area on this list 
> (with several people using a more limited definition than many authors 
> assume).  You probably need to consult a lawyer for an answer that you 
> can rely on.  It will probably depend on whether your work is 
> meaningful without the U of O document being included.
>
> The safest thing to do is to clear it with the University.
>
>
>
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