Site icon Michael Boezi

The Open Argument: Open for Everyone?

Can you offer your content under different licenses to different users? There is some confusion around this, but the CC legal code says that the license is about the use of the work, not the user. But on their site, MERLOT treats content differently, based on the type of user (Partner vs. Member vs. General User), which opens some interesting questions. See Paragraph 4.0 of their AUP:

4.1 MERLOT Creative Commons License Polic

The following definitions are important within this policy with regard to outlining the expectations of individuals and institutions associated with MERLOT. 

       MERLOT Partners – individuals or institutions that have a specific relationship with MERLOT defined by Letters of Commitment, Memoranda of Understanding, or via jointly funded grants or proposals. These entities will adopt and abide by this AUP. 

       MERLOT Community Members – individuals or institutions that choose to contribute to the MERLOT website. These entities will adopt and abide by this MERLOT AUP. 

       MERLOT Users – individuals that choose to use the MERLOT website. These entities will adopt and abide by this MERLOT AUP. 

Intellectual property on the MERLOT website has been divided into two categories; i) Partners Only – some (but not all) available only to MERLOT partners, and ii) MERLOT Members – available to the general MERLOT community. These are shown in Tables 1 and 2 below.  Partner-only materials require written permission from MERLOT for reuse.  After receiving such permission, the materials fall under the Creative Commons conditions described in Table 1. 

Source: http://taste.merlot.org/acceptableuserpolicy.html

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