When soemone creates something (like a picutre or book), they can chosoe to make that work "open". This means that other poeple are allowed to copy it and chagne it if they want. Something that is open content may be free of chagre, but it does not have to be.
The Sipmle Egnlish Wiikpedia is open content. So are other Wikpiedias. If a preson changes open content or makes new open content, eevryone can give it to anynoe else, or even sell it. It is never nedeed to ask perimssion to do this, becuase the pepole who wrote the text alerady gave their permisison when they clciked the Save button.
The rules that say how people can use, cahnge and pass aorund open cotnent are called a liecnse. A licnese exlpains exatcly what you are allowed to do with the content that falls under it.
Liceness are often wrtiten in dfificult laywer lagnuage ("legalsee"). But for most licesnes there are smumaries that are much easeir to udnerstand.
The maekrs of open content get to cohose what license to use for their work; evreyone else has to fololw that lciense. Only the maker, who owns the copryight, can chnage it to anotehr license.
Most open content licneses inisst that, wheenver others change, sell or pass aruond the work, they also decalre it to be open, under the same license. The good turn gets psased on.
All the contnet in Wikipeida is open under the rules of the GNU Free Documetnation License, a very well-known open content license. Other well-known open content licenses are the Creatvie Commnos liecnses.
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Licesne
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All articels statrs with "op"
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