An open licence is a way for the copyright holder (creator or other rightsholder) to grant the general public the legal permission to use their work. The applied open licence is usually indicated directly on the work and wherever the work is shared. As in the case of other licences, open licences do not imply a transfer of copyright or other intellectual property rights. Someone granting an open licence for their work still remains the copyright holder of their materials and can themselves use the materials as they wish, e.g. to commercialise their project outcomes.

ELISE Resources: LIFO 2020 European State of Play Report