The commissioner may issue a license for state-purchased instructional material, and users must follow notice, attribution, modification, anti-endorsement, and link/URI requirements when reproducing it.
Sec. 31.075. STATE OWNERSHIP; LICENSING. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this subchapter, open education resource instructional material is the property of the state. (b) To encourage the use of instructional material purchased by the state under this subchapter by school districts and open-enrollment charter schools, the commissioner may provide a license for the instructional material that: (1) requires that a user who reproduces the instructional material in any manner: (A) except as provided by Subdivision (2)(A), must keep all copyright notices for the material intact; (B) except as provided by Subdivision (2)(A), must attribute the authorship of the material to the agency or another person specified by the commissioner; (C) must indicate if the user has modified the material; (D) may not assert or imply any connection with or sponsorship or endorsement by the agency or this state, unless authorized by the commissioner; and (E) to the extent reasonably practicable, must provide in any product or derivative material a uniform resource identifier or hyperlink through which a person may obtain the material free of charge; (2) provides that: (A) the commissioner may request that a user remove a copyright notice or attribution from the material and that a user must comply with the request to the extent reasonably practicable; and (B) the rights granted under the license to a user are automatically terminated if the user fails to comply with the terms of the license; and (3) includes any additional terms determined by the commissioner. (d) The commissioner may exempt a license under this section from including one or more of the requirements under Subsection (b)(1). (e) The commissioner shall determine what is considered reasonably practicable for purposes of Subsections (b)(1)(E) and (b)(2)(A). (f) The commissioner may: (1) specify requirements to reinstate a user's rights under a license that has been terminated; and (2) reinstate a user's rights on completion of those requirements. (g) The commissioner may use a license commonly applied to an open education resource in implementing this section. (h) The attorney general shall represent the agency in an action brought under this section and may recover reasonable expenses incurred in obtaining relief, including court costs, reasonable attorney's fees, investigative costs, witness fees, and deposition costs. Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 679 (H.B. 2488), Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2009. Amended by: Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., 1st C.S., Ch. 6 (S.B. 6), Sec. 46, eff. July 19, 2011. Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 581 (S.B. 810), Sec. 24, eff. June 9, 2017. Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 942 (S.B. 1784), Sec. 4, eff. June 15, 2017. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 818 (H.B. 1605), Sec. 36, eff. June 13, 2023. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 818 (H.B. 1605), Sec. 37, eff. June 13, 2023.