Publishing using Alternative Licensing Models (PALM)

Digital technologies and the liberalising of licensing regimes have the potential to open up access to knowledge in the digital age.

New flexible copyright licensing practices offer a 'some rights reserved' environment where rights holders can safely find a middle ground between 'all rights reserved' on the one hand and the relinquishing of all rights into the public domain on the other. Caution competes with boldness as publishers experiment with new models that allow them to take advantage of new opportunities while still recovering their investment.

There is an urgent need to see how these new models can facilitate access and distribution in developing countries, especially in the African context, where access to Internet connectivity is very limited and effective distribution of learning materials is a serious challenge.

The PALM Africa project is researching how open content approaches employing flexible licensing could work in conjunction with local publishing in developing countries to improve access to learning materials.

The main research question is: "can the adoption of more flexible licensing regimes contribute to improved publishing and better access to learning materials in Africa today?"

PALM Africa brings together active research in the form of publishing demonstration projects, combined with an academic assessment, reviewing whether or not alternative licensing policies may bring about increased access to materials while maintaining sustainability of publishing services. The emphasis is on collaborative efforts to find practical solutions.

South Africa and Uganda were chosen for this study because of their differences rather than their similarities. They provide a broad spread of experiences in publishing, each with different heritages and learning environments. This study should be of interest to most countries in Africa, as we seek to evaluate the potential of more flexible licensing practices.

Read the PALM South Africa blog
http://blogs.uct.ac.za/blog/palm-africa

Participate in the PALM South Africa Publishing Workshop
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Go to the PALM participant site on VULA (Participants need to be registered with Vula. Contact us for more information on how you can participate.)
https://vula.uct.ac.za

Learn more about flexible licensing
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PALM is funded by the IDRC, through the Acacia initiative. Acacia works with African partners to help countries in Africa apply information and communication technologies (ICTs) to social and economic development. Acacia is an integrated program of research and demonstration projects that focuses on appropriate applications and technologies, infrastructure, policy, and governance.

Acacia's mission is to support research on ICTs that improve livelihood opportunities, enhance social service delivery, and empower citizens while building the capacity of African researchers and research networks.

Read more about the Acacia initiative http://www.idrc.ca/acacia