The Open Works License

The Open Works License, henceforth also referred to as the OWL, was developed to fill the need for an alternative Copyfree Free/Libre/Open Works license that does not contain the explicit strong heritability of the CCD CopyWrite License. Like the CCD CopyWrite License, it is intended to be understandable to the layman while still providing adequate legal protection and clarity for the terms of the license.

Early development versions of this license used the name Public Distribution License. The unfortunate name clash between the Public Distribution License (or PDL) and Sun Microsystems' Public Documentation License (also known as the PDL) prompted the change of name from PDL to OWL. The fortunate association of the new acronym with a nocturnal avian regarded as a symbol of wisdom is really just a happy accident.

For historical reasons, the PDL Website will remain accessible in its original form.

In Brief:

This license is intended to roughly mimic the "Public Domain", a legal concept particular to certain jurisdictions, which ensures that no copyright claims are enforced. Two important points distinguish this license from the Public Domain:

  1. Unlike the Public Domain, anything licensed under the terms of the OWL should continue to be subject to the terms of the OWL in perpetuity, regardless of modification or manner of distribution.
  2. Also unlike the Public Domain, anything licensed under the terms of the OWL should be subject to its terms even in jurisdictions that do not recognize the legal concept of the Public Domain, as long as it recognizes common concepts of copyright itself.

In general, you may redistribute, modify, copy, use, fold, spindle, and mutilate any work covered by the OWL as desired, provided you include the text of the OWL with it, granting any recipients of the work or a derivative work the same rights and privileges.

Enforcement:

As with any Copyfree license, the OWL is designed so that it should be effectively self-enforcing. This is the case because it serves more properly as a defense of the recipient against copyright enforcement than an assertion of legal rights to the distributor. Even if, in violation of the license terms, a distributor fails to provide notice of the OWL's terms, the fact that the material was initially distributed under these terms should allow use of the OWL as defense against spurious claims of copyright infringement by license violating distributors.

In cases of plagiarism, which should also apply to cases of redistribution of the work -- or of derivative works -- without notice of the OWL's terms, the appropriate jurisdiction's legal provisions for addressing such misrepresentation should be sufficient to settle disputes over licensing, even if effective enforcement of open source license terms are impractical due to the difficulty of proving material damage in civil proceedings.

Note that the above does not constitute legal advice, but instead merely serves to explain the intent of the license's design with regard to enforcement options.

Heritability:

Whereas the CCD CopyWrite License is designed to create a "safe harbor" for its terms, the OWL is designed to serve more as a means of encouraging the distribution and use of the covered material -- even within larger projects that are distributed under the terms of other licenses. Weak heritability Copyfree licenses such as the OWL are suitable for works whose widespread adoption and use are desirable, such as in cases where the concept or work is more important to be shared widely than the license terms themselves, or when it is believed that strong license terms heritability may hinder the adoption or distribution of the work significantly. Its use is also encouraged for those who do not much care what happens to their works once released, but who wish such to be made clear for any form of copyrightable content in any jurisdiction.