EFF
Open Audio License - courtesy of LOCA
records
Version 1.0.1
Changes from
ver. 1.0[.0]: Typo corrections; no substantive changes.
1.
I. Preamble
2.
II. Terms of Use
3.
III. How to Use this License
I. PREAMBLE
Principles
Digital technology
and the Internet can empower artists to reach a worldwide audience and
to build upon each other's ideas and imagination with extremely low
production and distribution costs. Many software developers, through
both the open source software initiative and the free software movement,
have long taken advantage of these facts to create a vibrant community
of shared software that benefits creators and the public.
EFF's Open
Audio License provides a legal tool that borrows from both movements
providing freedom and openness to use music and other expressive works
in new ways. It allows artists to grant the public permission to copy,
distribute, adapt, and publicly perform their works royalty-free as
long as credit is given to the creator as the Original Author.
As in the
software communities, this license is intended to help foster a community
of creators and performers who are free to share and build on each others'
work. This also frees their audience to share works that they enjoy
with others, all for the purpose of creating a rich and vibrant public
commons.
More specifically,
this license is designed to serve as a tool of freedom for artists who
wish to reach one another and new fans with their original works. It
allows musicians to collaborate in creating a pool of "open audio" that
can be freely modified, exchanged, and utilized in new ways. Artists
can use this license to promote themselves and take advantage of the
new possibilities for empowerment and independence that technology provides.
It also allows the public to experience new music, and connect directly
with artists, as well as enable "super distribution" where the public
is encouraged to copy and distribute a work, adding value to the artist's
reputation while experiencing a world of new music never before available.
Why is the
EFF advocating a license?
Because, despite
the fact that we are uneasy with the licensing, as opposed to sale,
of both music and software, we see this particular license as a tool
of freedom. Our goal is to use the tools of copyright to free artists
and audiences from the portion of current copyright law that seems,
to us, to be getting in the way of copyright's original purpose -- the
creation of a vibrant public commons of music that we all can enjoy
and that artists can build upon. As part of it, we hope to demonstrate
some of what we believe should be the best practices in licenses, including
respect for the rights and limitations of copyright law including fair
use, first sale rights, as well as consumer protection laws and of course
freedom of speech. The aim of this license is to use copyright tools
to achieve copyright's stated objectives of spreading knowledge and
culture while preserving incentives for the author.
For legal
purposes, this document is the official license under which Open Audio
is made available for public use. The original version of this document
may be found at:
http://www.eff.org/IP/Open_licenses/eff_oal.html
Specific terms
and conditions for accessing, copying, distribution, adaptation, public
performance, and attribution follow.
II. TERMS
AND CONDITIONS FOR USE:
Access, Copying,
Distribution, Public Performance, Adaptation, and Attribution
This license
applies to any work offered by the Original Author(s) with a notice
indicating that it is released under the terms of the EFF Open Audio
License, "(O)". If used in conjunction with a sound recording (whether
in digital or analog form), this license encompasses the copyright in
both the sound recording (the "master" rights) and the underlying musical
composition (the "songwriter" rights).
The Original
Author retains the copyrights to works released under this license,
but grants the worldwide public permission to use the work in the ways
authorized herein. Activities other than those specifically addressed
below are outside the scope of this license.
1.
Access, Reproduction, Distribution, Modification, and Performance
Rights. Subject to the terms and conditions of this license, the Original
Author irrevocably and perpetually grants to the public authorization
to freely access, copy, distribute, modify, create derivative works
from, and publicly perform the work released under this license in any
medium or format, provided that Original Author attribution be included
with any copies distributed or public performances of the work, as well
as any derivative works based on the work, as further described below.
2.
Original Author Attribution Requirement. Original Author attribution
is generally defined as a method in the regular course of dealing that
reasonably conveys to the recipient of a copy or performance the following
information: (1) The notice "(O)" that indicates the work is released
under the EFF Open Audio license; (2) the identity of the Original Author;
(3) the title of the work (at Original Author's option); and (4) how
the first listed Original Author may be contacted (at Original Author's
option).
Where a common,
widely-adopted method for attribution is available (such as ID3 tagging
for MP3 files), Original Author attribution should be implemented using
the common, widely-adopted method. In other circumstances, Original
Author attribution may be implemented in any reasonable fashion, such
as by including attribution in the public performance, or affixing it
to the physical media, or embedding it in the digital file. See the
Suggested Guidelines for general attribution requirements for giving
proper credit to the work's Original Author in
differing
circumstances.
3.
Agree Not to Limit Others' Use. Any new work that in whole or
in part contains or is derived from a work (or part thereof) made available
under this license, must itself be licensed as a whole under the terms
of this license.
Notwithstanding
the foregoing, mere aggregation on a volume of a storage or distribution
medium of an independently created work with one that is made available
under this license does not bring the other work under the scope of
this license. It is not the intent of this section to contest the rights
of others in works created entirely by them; rather, the intent is to
exercise the right to control the distribution of derivative or collective
works based upon a work subject to this license.
4.
Acceptance of Terms. Because you have not signed this license,
you cannot be required to accept it. But nothing besides this license
grants you authorization to copy, distribute, adapt, or publicly perform
royalty-free the copyrighted works released under it. These activities
are prohibited by law without a license or other contractual right granted
by the copyright owner. By exercising one of the rights granted herein
you indicate your acceptance of this license and agree to be bound by
all its terms and conditions.
5.
License Version. This license is Version 1.0. New versions of
this license will be published from time to time at:
http://www.eff.org/IP/Open_licenses/eff_oal.html
Anyone who
releases a work under the license without specifying a version number
allows the recipient to use the work subject to the then-current version
of this license.
6.
Civil Liberties Unrestricted. Nothing in this license is intended
to reduce, limit, or restrict any fair use, the first sale doctrine,
or the publicside of the copyright bargain under copyright law, or to
in any other way limit any rights bestowed under consumer protection
or other applicable laws.
7.
Warranty. By offering an original work for public release under
this license, the Original Author warrants that (i) s/he has the power
and authority to grant the rights conveyed herein, and (ii) use of the
work within the scope of this license will not infringe the copyright
of any third party.
III. HOW TO
USE THIS LICENSE
If you are
a musician, band, or other artist and you want your creative works to
be experienced by the widest audience possible and touch the hearts
and minds of the greatest number of people around the world, the EFF
Open Audio License allows your fans and supporters to market and distribute
your work through viral marketing that creates attention and adds value
to your identity. You can also help build a common pool of creative
expression that can be accessed and improved upon by all of society.
To do so,
convey or affix the following information to or about the copy or performance
of the work:
The designation
"(O)", representing "open" which indicates that the Original Author(s)
have released the work subject to the terms and conditions of this public
license;
Name of work's
Original Author(s) (both the performer and the song writer);
Name or title
of work (at option of author);
First Original
Author's specified contact means usually an email or Internet address
(at option of author);
notice, year
created; and license version number.
Examples:
(O) Future
Tribe "Gaian Smile" www.VirtualRecordings.com 2001 V.1.0
or
(O) Future
Tribe "Imitatio Mundi" future@virtualrecordings.com 2001 V.1.0
This license
is designed to provide artists with a mechanism to promote their creative
talents and identity to millions of people through releasing certain
recordings to the public. It is also designed to serve as a tool to
allow musicians to experiment with new business models
that do not
depend solely on a payment of fee-per-copy. Changing times require artists
be creative in devising new business models for assuring payment and
adequate compensation for their important contributions to society.