Creative Commons Licenses
Creative Commons legal tools empower creators to grant permission to their creative work within the parameters of copyright law. The latest version of CC licenses are accepted and used worldwide. The licenses last as long as applicable copyright is in place. Each license ensures that the owner receives credit for the original work.
The application of a creative commons license does not impact the limitations and exceptions that apply to copyright, such as fair use: “Fair use is a doctrine in the law of the United States that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder.” In other words, if the use of material is deemed fair use — for example if you use it for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright — a CC license does not change that exception. If it is permitted by copyright, it is permitted with CC licensed materials. Learn more.
Creative Commons licenses are built using a three layer design.
Learn more about the layers by selecting the plus signs.
Creative Commons Licenses are constructed by combining four license elements—BY, SA, NC, and ND. They may be combined to make up six different license options. Turn the cards to learn more about the elements that the icons symbolize.
Attribution license“CC BY”
This license permits the use of a work for any purpose (even commercially and even in modified form) with one condition:
- Give attribution to the creator.
Attribution-ShareAlike license“BY-SA”
This license permits the use of a work for any purpose (even commercially and even in modified form), with two conditions:
- Give attribution to the creator.
- Provide any adaptations available under the same or a compatible license
Attribution-NonCommercial license “BY-NC”
This license permits use of a work with two conditions:
- Give attribution to the creator.
- Use only for noncommercial purposes.
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license “BY-NC-SA”
This license permits use of a work with three conditions:
- Give attribution to the creation.
- Provide any adaptations available under the same or a compatible license.
- Use only for noncommercial purposes.
Attribution-NoDerivatives license “BY-ND”
This license permits use of a work with two conditions:
- No adaptations or derivatives.
- Give attribution to the creator.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license “BY-NC-ND”
This license, the most restrictive, permits the use of a work with three conditions:
- Give attribution to the creator.
- Use only for noncommercial purposes.
- No adaptations or derivatives.
In addition to the licenses, creative commons has a copyright tool that may be used to surrender rights to a work by dedicating it to the public domain. In doing so, an individual disclaims copyright and takes a “no rights reserved” approach to the extent allowed by law.
The Public Domain Mark is a label used to mark works known to be free of all copyright restrictions. (Note: this is not a legal tool but simply a label.) Keep in mind you cannot apply a CC license to work that has been made available in the worldwide public domain.
Overview of CC Licenses by Caroline Sinkinson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Except where otherwise noted.
