Can Authors and Publishers distribute their works under the settlement for free, under a Creative Commons license or otherwise?
Yes. Rightsholders are free to set any price for their work including the ability to distribute their work free of charge. If you are interested in distributing your work for free, including under a Creative Commons license, then you should claim your book on the Claim Form and, on the “Manage Your Books” page, fill in the box asking you to specify your sale price for the book at “zero.” In the future, the Claim Form will also provide an option for you to offer your book under a Creative Commons license, and you should check the Claim Form periodically for that option to appear. The Registry will inform Google of your request, and Google will include information on its web site so that end users are aware of the licensing terms chosen by you. Rightsholders are also free to authorize Google directly to distribute their book through a CC license. To learn more about CC licenses, click here.
Yes. Rightsholders are free to set any price for their work including the ability to distribute their work free of charge. If you are interested in distributing your work for free, including under a Creative Commons license, then you should claim your Book on the Claim Form and, on the “Manage Your Books” page, fill in the box asking you to specify your sale price for the book at “zero.” In the future, the Claim Form will also provide an option for you to offer your Book under a Creative Commons license, and you should check the Claim Form periodically for that option to appear. The Registry will inform Google of your request, and Google will include information on its web site so that end users are aware of the licensing terms chosen by you. Rightsholders are also free to authorize Google directly to distribute their book through a Creative Commons license. To learn more about Creative Commons licenses, click here.
