What are open licences?
Traditionally, copyright ranged from full copyright where ‘all rights are reserved’, to the public domain or ‘no rights reserved’.
In the light of advances in digital technologies and the internet more and more people, organisations and governments are making their resources available online.
Open licences were created to make it easier for a creator to share works freely with the public.
An open licence is any licence that applies to copyrighted content that allows any person to reuse that content without asking for prior permission.
Open licences are public licences and allow anyone worldwide to use a copyrighted work without necessarily having to pay a fee or royalty or ask permission as long as they adhere to the conditions specified in the licence. It is only if a person desires to use a work in a way other than that specified in the licence that permission needs to be sought from the copyright holder.
What are Open Educational Resources (OER)?
The concept of Open Educational Resources (OER) describes any educational resources (including curriculum maps, course materials, textbooks, streaming videos, multimedia applications, podcasts, and any other materials that have been designed for use in teaching and learning) that are openly available for use by educators and students, without an accompanying need to pay royalties or licence fees.
For more information on Open Educational Resources, go to Understanding OER or download the following documents: