Hi,
My basic understanding of the CC (Creative Commons) license, and plug-in for
Word goes along the following lines. There are different CC licenses,
viewable at
http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/, such as attribute,
noncommercial etc. Normally, to generate the "logo" you go to the CC website
and choose the license you want by filling out a short questionnaire. The CC
plugin simply allows you direct integration into MS Word. The "logo" it
places at the bottom of the page will then inform users (by simple glance of
by clicking on the hyperlinked "logo") what the terms for copyright
protection are. It doesn't "lock" the document, but merely establishes a
legal baseline for the copyright rules you have placed on your creation. I
haven't used the plugin yet personally on anything, but I do have it
installed. But if, like you said, the "logo" is deletable then perhaps the
integration into Word is a bit pointless as it depends on the end user not to
delete the logo then pass the document on. It would be more effective on a
website, where the "logo" remains permanently and cannot be removed by the
user.
Adobe PDF files aren't exactly copyright-theft proof either however. Even
though a PDF file may have print restrictions on it for example, it doesn't
stop somebody with enough time on their hands to simply pull up your document
on their screen, and simply retype the document into another format by hand.
Likewise, copying CDs is only a matter of using one CD player to play the CD,
then using the line out to another recorder or a microphone to re-record.
Copyright is provided automatically to your work, FYI, under treaties like
the Berne Convention (if your country is a signatory - and a lot are). The CC
license, allows people with a non-legal background to quickly and easily
"release" copyright restrictions to others. So dependant on what you are
"creating" in Word, you may/may not find the need to use a CC license. I
wouldn't use one unless I knew for sure that my work was going to be
disseminated pretty widely to the public. The concept behind the CC license
is to allow those who would like to spread their work to the world to retain
some form of copyright control over their creation under terms they define.
That's my take on it. I'm not related to the CC group, so you should check
out
http://wiki.creativecommons.org/FAQ for a good FAQ about them.
Hope that helps.
-Duncan
