Home > Licensing > AEShareNet-U - the Unlocked Content instant licence

Tell me more about the AEShareNet-U Unlocked Content Licence protocol.

On this page:

• What can I do with material bearing the ‘Unlocked Content’ mark?
• How does a licence arise?
• Can the licence conditions be varied?
• Legal notice
• More information

What can I do with material bearing the 'Unlocked Content' mark?

You may use, copy, adapt and/or re-distribute any material covered by an AEShareNet-U licence - to the extent of the licensor’s copyright.

The term ‘use’ means read, view, play, perform, operate and/or execute the material (depending on its nature and format).
There is no limit on the number of copies that can be made. You may copy part or all of the material.

You may develop an enhanced version of the material. An ‘enhanced’ version involves blending of substantial new material with the original material so as to give rise to a new layer of copyright. Copyright in any enhanced version vests in you.

You may exercise your licence rights only within limits inherent in the version of the material legitimately acquired by you. You may not circumvent a technological protection measure. You may not deal with the material or associated metadata in a manner:

• that might mislead or deceive any person; or
• that amounts to a false attribution of authorship.

The term ‘metadata’ means information about the licensed material that is applied within, on or in relation to the material.
You should retain any copyright information or other metadata (including the Unlocked Content mark) on any copies that you make, in accordance with the rules of the AEShareNet-U Licence Protocol . If you develop an enhanced version of the material, you should substitute your own notice claiming copyright, in place of the original notice.

You may distribute or communicate copies of the licensed material to third parties, in original or enhanced form. You are entitled to charge a commercial fee for the provision of such material.

The licensor asserts at least some copyright in the licensed material. They warrant that they have disclosed in the metadata any known facts concerning possible third party rights. You may choose to make separate inquiries and seek additional permission(s) as necessary, to avoid the risk of infringing any third party copyright.

You may not assign or sub-license any of your rights under the licence.

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How does a licence arise?

You do not need to do anything to formalise an AEShareNet-U licence. The licence arises automatically if:

• the licensor has applied the Unlocked Content mark within, on or in relation to a copy of the material (‘the source copy’);
• you hold a copy directly or indirectly derived from the source copy, on which the Unlocked Content mark is retained; and
• you obtained that copy by legitimate means (eg, without hacking into a restricted file server).

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Can the licence conditions be varied?

The copyright owner may add additional (more restrictive) conditions of the licence by inclusion in the metadata. You must comply with any added conditions restricting the usual scope of the licence stated above.

Legal notice

It is your responsibility to confirm that the Unlocked Content mark was applied by the copyright owner, and that the metadata is in the form approved by the owner. We do not warrant that all materials which might bear the mark do so with the authority of the owner. If you identify any wrongful application of the mark please report it to sales@tvetaustralia.com.au.

is a trade mark of TVET Australia Limited (TVET) ABN 99 062 758 632. The AEShareNet licensing system is a streamlined copyright management framework established by government and managed by TVET on a non-profit basis for the education sector.

TVET does not determine the materials to which the mark is applied, and gives no warranty of any sort regarding those materials.

This document is an abridged explanation of the AEShareNet-U (version 4) licence rules.

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More information

For more information on AEShareNet-U: The authoritative legal documents which define the AEShareNet-U licence are

• the AEShareNet-U Licence Protocol (version 4), read together with
• the Licence Glossary and Explanation (version 2).

For more information on the various AEShareNet licences: to compare the AEShareNet-U licence with other licence types start with our Licensing Overview and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

For information on changes to the Unlocked Content licence: see Versions of AEShareNet Licences.

For owners of materials:

• Benefits of AEShareNet licences for copyright owners assists owners to choose a licence for their materials.
• To apply the Unlocked Content mark to materials you own see Applying AEShareNet marks.

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