Line up for 'proprietary' content

Linup Front, the “Source in Open Source training”, is a German-based training company that offers licensed (not the open-content kind of licence), high quality courseware products for Linux training courses. The LPI-approved training materials are available for purchase in both English and German.

The company uses a print-on-demand publishing model which means that users have access to the most up-to-date versions of the material, as well as only having to pay for the exact number of materials needed. Linup Front’s training materials are available in hard copy or via electronic pdf versions for download and self print. The materials are even customisable, incorporating a training company’s logo and contact details onto the materials at an additional cost.

But why do I mention this company within the OpenBusiness platform? Indeed, for all intents and purposes, this is proprietary-designed educational content. The only ‘open’ content is the content’s pages of manuals and sample chapters which are available online.

But, the openness does come in other ways. The company sells their content according to the number of copies required, yet are well aware that if they sell a training provider 20 copies, there is no guarantee that those copies will remain the sole property of the 20 delegates who use them. Especially in developing communities, those copies may be distributed and disseminated without a licence; ‘underhand’ trainers may get hold of the material and use it without permission. While this activity is contrary to Linup Front’s business model, there is still benefit here for the company. How? The unofficial marketing of the material expands the company’s presence into markets that are further afield, possibly creating unofficial ‘loyal’ users who will not hesitate to use Linup Front’s material in the future. People train with Linup Front’s material because it is accredited and perceived to be of a high standard. This perception is reinforced each time someone trains with the material.

The Linup Front brand is sustained in markets and communities beyond their immediate clients and markets, with potential for new, licensed clients growing as each community is empowered and educated. And because of this, Linup Front has no problem with the unofficial open content within their proprietary content model.