# Course version records: who can say yes? | SourceX

Canonical: https://refer.sourcex.si/questions/who-can-license-course-version-approval-records
Last updated: 2026-10-20

Start with the head of learning operations, who runs the review cycle for each course release and knows whether version history, reviewer sign-offs and retired assessments still exist. Then sort the content by who wrote it. Approval history and staff-written material usually take the short path to the COO and CEO; modules by outside authors, licensed publisher content and anything touching learners go through counsel first. Whether any of it can be licensed stays open until SourceX's rights review.

This tree is part of [board approval for a data licensing agreement](/questions/board-approval-data-licensing-agreement). Unlike sales records, course records are rarely one owner's: a single course can combine staff work, a contractor's module and a publisher's case study. So this tree branches on content origin first and job title second. The inventory before a platform change is covered in the [course version approval guide](/guides/workflow-course-version-approval).

## Branch on who wrote it, not on where it sits

An LMS administrator can export everything in a course, which tells you nothing about who may license it. The useful first question to the learning operations head is: "For your largest course, who wrote each part, and under what agreement?" The answer usually falls into four origins.

| Content origin | Typical examples | Branch it takes | Who answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff-written and internal process | Reviewer sign-offs, change reasons, release dates, staff-authored lessons | Short path to the signer | COO, then CEO |
| Outside authors and subject-matter experts | Contracted modules, expert-written assessments | Contract review first | Counsel and the content licensing lead |
| Licensed third-party material | Publisher case studies, stock video, licensed question banks | Usually excluded unless the license allows it | Counsel |
| Learner and client data | Quiz attempts, completion records, client-specific branding | Excluded or de-identified | Privacy lead |

## Walk the four branches

**Branch 1: staff-written content and the approval trail.** The approval history is normally the company's own record: who reviewed a version, which regulation change prompted it, when the old version was withdrawn. Staff-written lessons usually belong to the employer. This branch goes to the COO, who owns the content operation, and the CEO, who can authorize a first discussion.

**Branch 2: outside authors.** Commissioned work is not automatically the company's. The U.S. Copyright Office's Circular 30 says a specially commissioned work is a work made for hire only if it falls in one of nine statutory categories and both parties sign a written agreement expressly calling it one; otherwise, ownership turns on whatever assignment the contract contains. Ask only whether author agreements exist and who keeps them. Counsel does the reading.

**Branch 3: licensed third-party material.** A publisher license usually limits use to delivery to learners. Assume this branch is out of scope unless counsel finds otherwise.

**Branch 4: learner and client data.** Quiz attempts and completion records sit beside version history in the same platform. Note that they exist; do not ask for counts by learner or client. They are normally excluded or de-identified.

## Illustrative walk-through: a compliance training provider

**Illustrative and fictional.** A 160-person workplace compliance training provider runs 70 courses on Moodle. Each course has been revised after regulation changes for nine years.

- **Starting contact.** The head of learning operations confirms that Moodle question versions carry a viewable history, and that some quizzes were pinned to a specific question version rather than "Always latest", so old assessments stayed live after the bank changed. That detail shows the trail records real decisions.
- **Backups.** They check whether past course backups included logs and histories, since Moodle leaves those options off by default. Two years of older history exist only in the platform, not in backups. A gap, noted.
- **Origin sort.** About 70% of lessons were written by staff; 20% by contracted lawyers under agreements counsel holds; 10% are licensed case studies.
- **Signer.** The COO owns content operations and agrees to raise it with the CEO. The board must approve any exclusive license under the company's delegation of authority.

The partner's note lists record types, platform, years, the origin split and three names. No exports, no sample questions.

## What a learning operations head can and cannot settle

- **Can settle:** which platform holds versions, how far back reviewer sign-offs go, whether retired assessments survive, which courses used outside authors.
- **Cannot settle:** ownership of contracted modules, what publisher licenses allow, whether learner data can be used, or whether the company wants to license at all.

That is why the introduction names the CEO, with the COO alongside, not the person with platform access. The paperwork that supports the later review, such as author agreements and content licenses, is listed in the [rights documentation guide](/guides/data-rights-documentation-for-ai-licensing). A provider in insolvency adds a court to the path, as in [court approval for a data license in Chapter 11](/guides/court-approval-data-license-chapter-11). For records owned by a single commercial function, compare the [nonstandard contract approval tree](/questions/who-can-license-nonstandard-contract-approval-records).

## Open until SourceX reviews it

- Which author agreements assign rights, and which modules must be dropped.
- Whether any publisher license permits reuse.
- What de-identification learner and client data would need, or whether to exclude it entirely.
- SourceX's current data needs, scope and price. The [why data rights matter page](/proof/why-data-rights-matter) explains why these come after rights review.

Before you submit, confirm the provider has at least 50 full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English. Sign the Channel Partner Agreement first; the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application.

## Next step

> **Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000.** Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.

When most of a provider's courses sit on the staff-written branch and the COO will bring in the CEO, [register as a partner](/register), check the provider against [who qualifies](/who-qualifies), and read the [program terms](/terms) before introducing them.

## Sources

- https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ30.pdf
- https://docs.moodle.org/405/en/Question_bank
- https://docs.moodle.org/503/en/Backup_and_restore_FAQ
- https://refer.sourcex.si/terms