An implicit license to encourage open-source use
Posted: 21 Mar 2010, 16:32
One thing that stifles innovation is the fact that full copyright is the default when you create something, be it a game or something else.
On the other hand, you don't want to choose a free/open license for every little thingy you put on your website/blog/whatever.
And not many are comfortable with releasing an entire portfolio under CC0 or WTFPL. And sometimes you do want to choose a specific license
Wouldn't it be great if you could just say “You can use any content on this website/blog/... that does not have a specific license attached freely for private or open-source use. For anything else, full copyright conditions apply”?
We could have a standard boilerplate for such an “implicit license”, one that encourages sharing, but is overridable on a project-by-project basis.
A while ago, I tried to do just that, as you can read on my blog. I've also written a few follow-ups. You can find everything posted on that topic under the tag implict-license on Wordpress.com.
I hope to start some serious discussion about this, because this could help open up a ton of creative content or code for existing open-source projects. Do you feel the same way? Do you think it is impractical, impossible to execute, unlikely to spread? Please comment.
On the other hand, you don't want to choose a free/open license for every little thingy you put on your website/blog/whatever.
And not many are comfortable with releasing an entire portfolio under CC0 or WTFPL. And sometimes you do want to choose a specific license
Wouldn't it be great if you could just say “You can use any content on this website/blog/... that does not have a specific license attached freely for private or open-source use. For anything else, full copyright conditions apply”?
We could have a standard boilerplate for such an “implicit license”, one that encourages sharing, but is overridable on a project-by-project basis.
A while ago, I tried to do just that, as you can read on my blog. I've also written a few follow-ups. You can find everything posted on that topic under the tag implict-license on Wordpress.com.
I hope to start some serious discussion about this, because this could help open up a ton of creative content or code for existing open-source projects. Do you feel the same way? Do you think it is impractical, impossible to execute, unlikely to spread? Please comment.