open source copyright minus

[Thomas Bennett]

An article published 1-23-03 concerning Open Source Copyright or as they put
it, copyright minus is at:

http://www.open-mag.com/2054683279.htm

Off hand it appears to allow you to reprint a book on the WEB without
infringing copyrights.

>From the article:
" With this license, authors in any medium can release their work for
reproducing and modifying while still having a means to preserve their
rights. Starting with standard copyright, the Open Publication License sets
forth the terms and conditions under which the material may be distributed.
Two important options can be invoked on the license. The first prohibits
distribution of substantively modified versions without the explicit
permission of the author. The second prohibits publication of the work or
derivative works in standard book form for commercial purposes unless prior
permission is obtained from the copyright holder. The Perens' Open Source
Series from Prentice Hall uses the Open Publication License with no options.
...  Since the books are under the Open Publication License with no options,
Perens writes on his site that the books “are legal to copy, modify, and
redistribute.” "

Thomas

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