[Ecommerce] Govt IP under scrutiny in the UK

[Manon Ress]

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http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,39020645,39206465,00.htm
Government intellectual property under scrutiny
The British government is looking towards Creative Commons licences
to handle its content on the Web

The Common Information Environment (CIE) has commissioned a study on
the potential for the deployment of Creative Commons licences or
their equivalent.

These have been developed in North America and set out a framework
within which intellectual-property (IP) owners can make their work
available for reuse, but a set of UK specific licences were launched
in March. It involves various levels of protection under a set of
licences distinct from copyright.

Dr Paul Miller, director of the CIE, told Government Computing News
on 30 June, 2005 that the main emphasis of the study is on content
that has been created and made available for reuse. As things stand,
there are inconsistencies in the licensing agreements used by
different organisations, and this creates uncertainty among users.

"It's currently under a wide range of licences and formulas," he
said. "It's generally quite permissive, but often written in
legalese, and it's difficult to work out what you can and can't do
with the content.

"Individual departments or Web sites are quite open about what
content they are making available, but there is problem when people
try to use more than one of them."

He said the Creative Commons framework could provide more consistency
and clarity for users.

Intrallect, a specialist in learning object management systems, and
the AHRC Research Centre for Studies in Intellectual Property and
Technology Law at Edinburgh University are carrying out the study. It
is funded by the British Educational Communications and Technology
Agency, the British Library, the Department for Education and Skills,
JISC (the Joint Information Systems Committee) and MLA (the Museums,
Libraries and Archives Council) on behalf of the CIE Group.

The two organisations are due to complete the report by late August,
following which the CIE will decide how to take the issue forward.
Miller said it would probably involve an educational process to make
public sector bodies aware of the advantages of Creative Commons.

"This study will go a long way towards recommending a suitable
infrastructure to enable greater accessibility without users having
to negotiate complicated legal terms and conditions," he said.

The CIE is a collaborative group of number of public sector bodies
across the UK. Members include Becta, the British Library, the
Cabinet Office's e-Government Unit, the Department for Education &
Skills (DfES), the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) and
The National Archives.