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Access Control & Licensing Overview
ikigize access control combines ownership, visibility, and role-based permissions to keep content secure and manageable across your learning ecosystem. Licensing is planned and documented here as a forward-looking capability.
What is Access Control & Licensing?
ikigize uses a four-layer approach to content management and access control:
Determines who owns and has ultimate authority over the entity
Examples:
Controls discoverability and enrollment/copying processes
Examples:
Defines specific capabilities and actions users can perform
Examples:
Planned monetization and revenue-sharing layer (future feature)
Examples:
Four layers working together: Each layer serves a distinct purpose. Ownership determines control, Visibility & Access controls discovery and enrollment, Roles & Permissions define capabilities, and Licensing adds planned monetization.
The layers work together: ownership determines control, roles and permissions define capabilities, visibility controls discoverability and access, and licensing is the planned monetization layer.
Why This System Matters
For Content Creators
- Ownership Control: Clear ownership rights across all content types
- Flexible Roles: Multiple roles enable diverse contributions to learning experiences
- Planned Monetization Path: Future licensing models for different content strategies
- Planned Revenue Sharing: Future compensation options for collaborative content
For Organizations
- Granular Control: Role-based permissions with fine-grained capabilities
- Multiple Roles: Users can have different responsibilities through multiple role assignments
- Flexible Visibility: Control where content appears and who can discover it
- Future Licensing Readiness: Ownership and role structures designed to support licensing
- Future Revenue Paths: Planned options for monetized content sharing and partnerships
For the Platform
- Knowledge Ecosystem: Supports sustainable content sharing
- Quality Content: Provides structure for quality and governance
- Collaborative Learning: Supports complex collaborative content creation
- Scalable Access Control: Efficient permission management across any organization size
System Architecture
The access control and licensing system operates across multiple entity levels, with each of the four layers applying at every level:
Entity Hierarchy
The platform supports access control at six hierarchical levels:
- Organization Level: Top-level organizational structure and settings
- Campus Level: Educational institutions and their content collections
- Course Level: Individual courses and learning programs
- Module Level: Course components and learning units
- Session Level: Live sessions, meetings, and events
- Task Level: Assignments, assessments, and learning tasks
How the Four Layers Apply Today
Each entity level uses all four control layers to create sophisticated access management:
Example: A Course Entity
- Ownership → Owned by University X (determines control)
- Visibility & Access → Visible to Campus members, Free to Join (determines discovery and enrollment)
- Roles & Permissions → Students can view content, Instructors can grade (determines capabilities)
- Licensing (Planned) → Optional monetization and usage terms (future)
This multi-layered approach supports current access management while leaving room for planned monetization features.
Getting Started
Ready to explore how these systems work together? Start with the layer that interests you most:
Explore the Four Layers
- Ownership System - Learn how ownership works across content types and entities
- Roles & Permissions - Understand available roles, their permissions, and how multiple roles combine
- Visibility & Access - Learn how to control entity visibility and join conditions
- Licensing System - Review the planned monetization roadmap
Implementation Roadmap
The role-based access control system with direct membership, invitations, and join requests is the foundation for all access management. Users join entities via invitation or by submitting join requests; upon approval, they receive role(s) with specific permissions. The licensing system is a planned feature under active development. The vision includes:
- Direct Membership: Users are added as members at each entity level (organisation, campus, course, module, session, task)
- Invitations & Join Requests: Invite-only or request-access flows for controlled enrollment
- Multiple Roles Per User: Users can hold different roles simultaneously for flexible collaboration
- Granular Permissions: Fine-grained control over specific capabilities at each entity level
- Flexible Visibility: Control entity discoverability across public, organisation, and campus catalogues
- Dynamic Join Conditions: Configure how users can access entities (free access, request access, invite-only)
- Multiple License Types: Open source, one-time fees, subscription models, and per-use pricing (coming soon)
- Revenue Sharing: Automatic distribution of earnings among content contributors (coming soon)
- Complex Collaborations: Support for multi-party content creation with fair compensation
- Marketplace Integration: Platform for discovering and licensing educational content (coming soon)
The current ownership, roles, permissions, and visibility systems are designed to seamlessly integrate with the upcoming licensing features, ensuring your content and access controls are ready for monetization when the licensing system launches.
Your Next Steps
Whether you're a content creator, admin, or organization lead, ikigize provides a secure access-control foundation today and a clear path toward future licensing capabilities.
Start by exploring the layer that's most relevant to your current needs:
- New to ikigize? Start with Ownership System to understand content control
- Setting up access? Explore Roles & Permissions to understand role-based access control
- Managing discoverability? Check out Visibility & Access
- Planning monetization? Review Licensing System
Remember that these four layers are designed to work together for educational content management and access control, with licensing introduced in future releases.