If I want my work to enter the public domain after my death before the legal deadline (70 years after my death), is there anything I can do during my lifetime other than using a CC0 licence?

Ukrainian legislation does not directly accelerate the transfer into the public domain by shortening the statutory term of protection through a will or other declaration during lifetime. The term of protection is an imperative norm. However, you can grant the widest possible permissions to use your work during your lifetime through open licences (like CC0, which puts the work in the public domain to the extent permitted by law, effectively giving up property rights). You can also instruct your heirs in your will to ensure the free use of the work, for example by administering it under the same CC0 licence or other maximum free licence. But the property rights themselves will still exist for a fixed term, it’s just that their use will be as free as possible thanks to your will.

The article notes that personal non-property rights are inalienable. If I use a CC0 licence, which is as close to a waiver as possible, does this mean that users are still obliged to include my name?

The Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licence is really designed to allow an author to waive all their copyright and related rights in a work to the extent permitted by law. This includes waiving the requirement of mandatory attribution (attribution) where such a right can be waived. However, in some jurisdictions, certain personal property rights (such as the right to a name) are considered absolutely inalienable and cannot be waived. In such a case, even with CC0, the very fact of your authorship remains, but you make it clear through CC0 that you will not make attribution claims. Most users who respect free content culture will still attribute the author, if known, for ethical reasons, but CC0 relieves them of the legal obligation to do so if it is permitted by local law.

If I sold (alienated) the property rights to my work to a company, can that company then remove my name as the author from the work or substantially alter the work without my consent?

No, it cannot, if it violates your personal non-property rights. Even after the alienation of property rights, your personal non-property rights, such as the right to your name (to claim your name) and the right to inviolability of the work (to resist distortion, misrepresentation), remain with you for life and are inalienable. The company that acquired the property rights gets the right to make economic use of the work, but cannot ignore your moral rights. If the company removes your name or distorts the work in a way that damages your honour and reputation, you have the right to claim restoration of your rights, even if you no longer own the property rights.

What is the practical difference between simply not responding to others' use of my work (i.e., tacitly allowing it) and publishing it under a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licence?

The main difference is legal certainty and reliability for users. If you simply tacitly authorise use, this creates uncertainty: <ul> <li aria-level="2">You or your heirs can change your mind at any time and start making claims.</li> <li aria-level="2">Users do not have clear legal permission, which may deter them from large-scale or commercial use. A CC0 licence is a clear, public, legally enforceable statement of relinquishment of proprietary rights (as far as the law allows). It provides users with the assurance that they are free to use the work without risk of infringement. CC0 is a globally recognised tool that creates legal certainty, as opposed to passive inactivity.</li> </ul>

Can I revoke an open licence (e.g. Creative Commons) if I change my mind and no longer want my work to be used under those terms?

Creative Commons standard licences are irrevocable. This means that if someone receives your work under a particular CC licence, they can continue to use it under the terms of that licence, even if you later decide to stop distributing the work under that licence. You can stop offering a work under a CC licence to new users (for example, by removing it from the site or changing the licence for future downloads), but you cannot revoke the rights already granted to someone who received the work earlier. This is to protect users who rely on the terms of the licence in good faith.

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