All content that is uploaded to Western Open Books must be open access material.
Pressbooks, the Western Open Books vendor, takes no rights or royalties for the content created via Western Open Books. The creator of an open textbook would own and be responsible for their content in this platform.
The creator (author) needs to ensure that the textbook content is:
- Open access. Openly licensed content is subject to a Creative Commons Licence, or similar licences, that enable free and open access.
- Original, including any creative material.
- Not copyright material, subject to Section 113P (the Statutory Licence for educational purposes). This includes remuneration agreements with the Copyright Agency (text and graphics), screen rights (broadcasts) and music agencies (sound recordings).
- Content that is not open access and made publicly available, requires permission from the copyright holder or the material must state that it can be used freely.
- "Digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions." Open Access by Peter Suber.
The criteria above would apply to all material that an academic uploads to Western Open Books, including syllabi, dissertations or other course materials or publications.
For further assistance, please submit your query through the Copyright Advice form.