As a practical guide, the new Handbook Open Content: Navigating Creative Commons Licenses provides people working in science, education, culture and public institutions with information about what Open Content licenses are and how they can be used to make content freely accessible. The publication by Dr. Till Kreutzer was published by Wikimedia Deutschland and the German UNESCO Commission. It is a major upgrade of the first edition which was translated into various languages, including Indonesian, German and Finnish.
Over the years, Open Content has become more and more important in education, science, culture and the media, to name a few. Open Content licenses enable people to access knowledge, information and culture, and they make sure they are following the law when sharing content.
Using content legally
In its expanded and completely revised version, the guide explains Creative Commons licenses and clarifies how they are used. Readers will learn about the legal principles on which they are based and how to choose the right license for their individual needs. The author Till Kreutzer explains the general principles and objectives of open licensing and he gives an overview of the various Creative Commons license modules (for example, CC BY and CC BY-SA); he explains the topics of public domain and CC0 licenses in more detail.
The guide also provides brief overviews of other forms of intellectual property law, such as patents and trademarks and it explains legal questions in the context of AI and Open Content and licensing. The guide offers legal explanations (e.g. about the interpretation of the license restrictions "no derivatives" and "non commercial") as well as many practical tips, inter alia on how to find free content online. Also, it contains a glossary of terms.
Openly available in print and digital form
The practical guide Open Content: Navigating Creative Commons Licenses is now available as an openly licensed and free PDF. You may also request a print version by emailing education@wikimedia.de.