License

Free Press uses Creative Commons licenses to organize and clarify permissions from writers contributing to the project. All of the Creative Commons standard licenses offer the permissions that Free Press needs to be able to distribute copies of your texts as books and pdfs, so you are encouraged to choose whichever license you wish from the Creative Commons spectrum.

Free Press' favorite license is the least restrictive (most open) - the Attribution license, which mainly requires that anyone who uses your work attribute the work to you (make it clear that you are the author).

Creative Commons does a much better job that Free Press ever could of explaining the licenses and the thinking behind them. Any participant, or anyone wishing to distribute Free Press texts, should spend some time on the Creative Commons site learning more about the licenses and what they mean.

This page is a good place to start - it offers some of the flash movies and cartoons that Creative Commons developed to explain its mission. After you're familiar with the general idea, you can take a look at the specific license options.

Once you've signed up with Free Press, you'll be able to pick a license as you enter other information about your texts.

IMPORTANT: Creative Commons licenses are not revocable. What does this mean? It means that if you license a work, anyone who has a copy of that licensed work can use it in the ways permitted by the license, even if you change your mind later or take it offline. It's a good idea to think carefully about whether these licenses are right for you. Creative Commons has a page of "things to think about before licensing your work" which is strongly recommended.

In any case, please read and understand the license you choose before you enter your text!

RESOURCES

Creative Commons
Learn More About Creative Commons
Meet the Licenses - a full list
Things to Think about before Licensing your Work
Creative Commons FAQ
Choose the License that is Right for You
Free Press Guidelines and FAQ