right ‘to reproduce and Share the Licensed Material, in whole or in part, for NonCommercial purposes only,’ and does not prohibit the schools and school districts from employing third parties, such as Office Depot, to make copies of the Materials…. Because the schools and school districts are the entities exercising the rights granted under the Creative Commons Public License, it is irrelevant that Office Depot may have profited from making copies for schools and school districts.”
Furthermore, the district court stated: “The Creative Commons Public License at issue authorizes schools to: (1) reproduce and use the Materials for NonCommercial purposes, (2) expressly permits the schools to provide those Materials to the public ‘by any means or process,’ and (3) does not prohibit the schools from outsourcing the copying to third-party vendors. Because a licensee may lawfully use a third-party agent or contractor to assist it in exercising its licensed rights, absent contractual provisions prohibiting such activity, Great Minds has failed to allege that Office Depot’s conduct was outside the scope of the license and, thus, Great Minds’ claim for copyright infringement against Office Depot fails.” The court also addressed Office Depot’s alleged solicitation of school districts’ reproduction business. The court did not find the difference urged by Great Minds persuasive or that it should change the outcome. The Office Depot case remains pending on appeal before the U. S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals as of August 15, 2019. Oral argument appears likely in November 2019, and a decision will follow.
More Information about Modifying the Licenses
The following two entries are selected “Frequently Asked Questions,” by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
- “Can I change the license terms and conditions?” https://creativecommons.org/faq/#can-i-change-the-license-terms-or-conditions.
- “Can I enter into separate or supplemental agreements with users of my work?” https://creativecommons.org/faq/#can-i-enter-into-separate-orsupplemental-agreements-with-users-of-my-work.
- “Modifying the CC Licenses,” by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
- This provides Creative Commons policy guidance for modifying the CC licenses: https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Modifying_the_CC_licenses.
