1 EFF Open Audio License:
5 Changes from ver. 1.0[.0]: Typo corrections; no substantive changes.
8 3. III. How to Use this License
14 Digital technology and the Internet can eMPOWER ARTISTS TO REACH A
15 WORldwide audience and to build upon each other's ideas and imagination
16 with extremely low production and distribution costs. Many software
17 developers, through both the open source software initiative and the
18 free software movement, have long taken advantage of these facts to
19 create a vibrant community of shared software that benefits creators and
22 EFF's Open Audio License provides a legal tool that borrows from both
23 movements providing freedom and openness to use music and other
24 expressive works in new ways. It allows artists to grant the public
25 permission to copy, distribute, adapt, and publicly perform their works
26 royalty-free as long as credit is given to the creator as the Original
29 As in the software communities, this license is intended to help foster
30 a community of creators and performers who are free to share and build
31 on each others' work. This also frees their audience to share works that
32 they enjoy with others, all for the purpose of creating a rich and
33 vibrant public commons.
35 More specifically, this license is designed to serve as a tool of
36 freedom for artists who wish to reach one another and new fans with
37 their original works. It allows musicians to collaborate in creating a
38 pool of "open audio" that can be freely modified, exchanged, and
39 utilized in new ways. Artists can use this license to promote themselves
40 and take advantage of the new possibilities for empowerment and
41 independence that technology provides. It also allows the public to
42 experience new music, and connect directly with artists, as well as
43 enable "super distribution" where the public is encouraged to copy and
44 distribute a work, adding value to the artist's reputation while
45 experiencing a world of new music never before available.
47 Why is the EFF advocating a license?
49 Because, despite the fact that we are uneasy with the licensing, as
50 opposed to sale, of both music and software, we see this particular
51 license as a tool of freedom. Our goal is to use the tools of copyright
52 to free artists and audiences from the portion of current copyright law
53 that seems, to us, to be getting in the way of copyright's original
54 purpose -- the creation of a vibrant public commons of music that we all
55 can enjoy and that artists can build upon. As part of it, we hope to
56 demonstrate some of what we believe should be the best practices in
57 licenses, including respect for the rights and limitations of copyright
58 law including fair use, first sale rights, as well as consumer
59 protection laws and of course freedom of speech. The aim of this license
60 is to use copyright tools to achieve copyright's stated objectives of
61 spreading knowledge and culture while preserving incentives for the
64 For legal purposes, this document is the official license under which
65 Open Audio is made available for public use. The original version of
66 this document may be found at:
67 http://www.eff.org/IP/Open_licenses/eff_oal.html
69 Specific terms and conditions for accessing, copying, distribution,
70 adaptation, public performance, and attribution follow.
72 II. TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR USE:
74 Access, Copying, Distribution, Public Performance, Adaptation, and Attribution
76 This license applies to any work offered by the Original Author(s) with
77 a notice indicating that it is released under the terms of the EFF Open
78 Audio License, "(O)". If used in conjunction with a sound recording
79 (whether in digital or analog form), this license encompasses the
80 copyright in both the sound recording (the "master" rights) and the
81 underlying musical composition (the "songwriter" rights).
83 The Original Author retains the copyrights to works released under this
84 license, but grants the worldwide public permission to use the work in
85 the ways authorized herein. Activities other than those specifically
86 addressed below are outside the scope of this license.
88 1. Access, Reproduction, Distribution, Modification, and
89 Performance Rights. Subject to the terms and conditions of this
90 license, the Original Author irrevocably and perpetually grants to
91 the public authorization to freely access, copy, distribute, modify,
92 create derivative works from, and publicly perform the work released
93 under this license in any medium or format, provided that Original
94 Author attribution be included with any copies distributed or public
95 performances of the work, as well as any derivative works based on
96 the work, as further described below.
98 2. Original Author Attribution Requirement. Original Author
99 attribution is generally defined as a method in the regular course
100 of dealing that reasonably conveys to the recipient of a copy or
101 performance the following information: (1) The notice "(O)" that
102 indicates the work is released under the EFF Open Audio license; (2)
103 the identity of the Original Author; (3) the title of the work (at
104 Original Author's option); and (4) how the first listed Original
105 Author may be contacted (at Original Author's option).
107 Where a common, widely-adopted method for attribution is available
108 (such as ID3 tagging for MP3 files), Original Author attribution
109 should be implemented using the common, widely-adopted method. In
110 other circumstances, Original Author attribution may be implemented
111 in any reasonable fashion, such as by including attribution in the
112 public performance, or affixing it to the physical media, or
113 embedding it in the digital file. See the Suggested Guidelines for
114 general attribution requirements for giving proper credit to the
115 work's Original Author in differing circumstances.
117 3. Agree Not to Limit Others' Use. Any new work that in whole or in
118 part contains or is derived from a work (or part thereof) made
119 available under this license, must itself be licensed as a whole
120 under the terms of this license.
122 Notwithstanding the foregoing, mere aggregation on a volume of a
123 storage or distribution medium of an independently created work with
124 one that is made available under this license does not bring the
125 other work under the scope of this license. It is not the intent of
126 this section to contest the rights of others in works created
127 entirely by them; rather, the intent is to exercise the right to
128 control the distribution of derivative or collective works based
129 upon a work subject to this license.
131 4. Acceptance of Terms. Because you have not signed this license,
132 you cannot be required to accept it. But nothing besides this
133 license grants you authorization to copy, distribute, adapt, or
134 publicly perform royalty-free the copyrighted works released under
135 it. These activities are prohibited by law without a license or
136 other contractual right granted by the copyright owner. By
137 exercising one of the rights granted herein you indicate your
138 acceptance of this license and agree to be bound by all its terms
141 5. License Version. This license is Version 1.0. New versions of
142 this license will be published from time to time at:
143 http://www.eff.org/IP/Open_licenses/eff_oal.html
145 Anyone who releases a work under the license without specifying a
146 version number allows the recipient to use the work subject to the
147 then-current version of this license.
149 6. Civil Liberties Unrestricted. Nothing in this license is
150 intended to reduce, limit, or restrict any fair use, the first sale
151 doctrine, or the public side of the copyright bargain under
152 copyright law, or to in any other way limit any rights bestowed
153 under consumer protection or other applicable laws.
155 7. Warranty. By offering an original work for public release under
156 this license, the Original Author warrants that (i) s/he has the
157 power and authority to grant the rights conveyed herein, and (ii)
158 use of the work within the scope of this license will not infringe
159 the copyright of any third party.
161 III. HOW TO USE THIS LICENSE
163 If you are a musician, band, or other artist and you want your creative
164 works to be experienced by the widest audience possible and touch the
165 hearts and minds of the greatest number of people around the world, the
166 EFF Open Audio License allows your fans and supporters to market and
167 distribute your work through viral marketing that creates attention and
168 adds value to your identity. You can also help build a common pool of
169 creative expression that can be accessed and improved upon by all of
172 To do so, convey or affix the following information to or about the copy
173 or performance of the work:
176 The designation "(O)", representing "open" which indicates that the
177 Original Author(s) have released the work subject to the terms and
178 conditions of this public license;
180 Name of work's Original Author(s) (both the performer and the song
183 Name or title of work (at option of author);
185 First Original Author's specified contact means usually an email or
186 Internet address (at option of author);
188 notice, year created; and license version number.
191 Examples: (O) Future Tribe "Gaian Smile" www.VirtualRecordings.com
195 or (O) Future Tribe "Imitatio Mundi" future@virtualrecordings.com
199 This license is designed to provide artists with a mechanism to promote
200 their creative talents and identity to millions of people through
201 releasing certain recordings to the public. It is also designed to serve
202 as a tool to allow musicians to experiment with new business models that
203 do not depend solely on a payment of fee-per-copy. Changing times
204 require artists be creative in devising new business models for assuring
205 payment and adequate compensation for their important contributions to