Creative Commons Licenses

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CC licenses

CC licenses allow creators to give a set of permissions over their work to the public, as long as some requirements are maintained. The licenses are free and legally enforceable, but not revocable.

A license with layers

1. Legal code: Legally enforceable terms and conditions.
2. Commons deeds: Summary of the legal code in lay terms.
3. Machine readable version: License description understood by software.

The four basic elements

Attribution or BY

Requirement: Provide credit to the licensor.

Non Commercial or NC

Requirement: use restricted to non-commercial purposes ("not primarily intended for or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation" [Creative Commons (2019)]; related to the use, not the user.)

Share Alike or SA

Requirement: any adaptation must use the same license.

No Derivatives or ND

Requirement: reusers cannot share work adaptations.

The six CC licenses

The four CC elements can be combined to create six different licenses.

Attribution (CC BY)

Use the work for any purpose, as long as you give attribution to the creator.

Attribution - Non Commercial (CC BY-NC)

Use the work for noncommercial purposes only, and only as long as you give attribution to the creator.

Attribution - Share Alike (CC BY-SA)

Use the work for any purpose, as long as you give attribution to the creator and make any adaptations you share available under the same or a compatible license.

Attribution - Non Commercial - Share Alike (CC BY-NC-SA)

Use the work for noncommercial purposes only, and only as long as you give attribution to the creator and make any adaptations you share available under the same or a compatible license.

Attribution - No Derivatives (CC BY-ND)

Use the work without any adaptations for any purpose, as long as you give attribution to the creator.

Attribution - Non Commercial - No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND)

Use the work without any adaptations for noncommercial purposes only, and only as long as you give attribution to the creator.

CC and copyright

CC licenses run on top of copyright and they last as long as the copyright exists or until their terms are violated. When copyright does not apply, CC licenses do not apply either. For example, when limitations and exceptions, such as fair use, apply to the use of a work, complying with the CC licensing terms is not necessary.

CC and the public domain

CC licenses cannot be assigned to works in the public domain. However, CC has some public domain tools: CC0 and the Public Domain Mark.

CC0 (zero) or Public Domain Dedication:

Creators share their work with no rights reserved. The work is put in the public domain, if allowed by the jurisdiction.

Public Domain Mark: 

Label used to mark works in the public domain and free of all copyright restrictions.

Acknowledgments

Creative Commons (2019). Unit 3 - Anatomy of a CC License of the September 2020 Creative Commons Certificate Course for Educators and Librarians. https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-1-copyright-basics/ (CC BY 4.0 International)

Downloads (2020). Creative Commons. https://creativecommons.org/about/downloads/ (CC BY 4.0 International)

Frequently Asked Questions (2020). Creative Commons. https://creativecommons.org/faq/ (CC BY 4.0 International)

CC BY. Licensed by Moriana Garcia, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester under a CC BY 4.0 International License.

Public Domain

Copy & Publish: yes
Attribution Required: no
Commercial Use: yes
Modify & Adapt: yes
Change License: yes

BY: Attribution

Copy & Publish: yes
Attribution Required: yes
Commercial Use: yes
Modify & Adapt: yes
Change License: yes

BY-SA: Attribution Share Alike

Copy & Publish: yes
Attribution Required: yes
Commercial Use: yes
Modify & Adapt: yes
Change License: no

BY-ND: Attribution No Derivatives

Copy & Publish: yes
Attribution Required: yes
Commercial Use: yes
Modify & Adapt: no
Change License: yes

BY-NC: Attribution Non Commercial

Copy & Publish: yes
Attribution Required: yes
Commercial Use: no
Modify & Adapt: yes
Change License: yes

BY-NC-SA: Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike

Copy & Publish: yes
Attribution Required: yes
Commercial Use: no
Modify & Adapt: yes
Change License: no

BY-NC-ND: Attribution Non Commercial No Derivatives

Copy & Publish: yes
Attribution Required: yes
Commercial Use: no
Modify & Adapt: no
Change License: yes

Reuse

Use the resource in a variety of ways, as it currently exists.

Remix

Combine two or more OERs to create a content mashup.

Redistribute

Share the original, revised, or remixed OERs.

Revise

Adapt, modify, and improve the resource to fit your needs.

Retain

Make, own, and control your own copies of the content.

Remix Public Domain Mark with:

Public Domain Mark: yes
CC0 (Public Domain Dedication): yes
CC BY: yes
CC BY-SA: yes
CC BY-NC: yes
CC BY-ND: no
CC BY-NC-SA: yes
CC BY-NC-ND: no

Remix CC0 (Public Domain Dedication) with:

Public Domain Mark: yes
CC0 (Public Domain Dedication): yes
CC BY: yes
CC BY-SA: yes
CC BY-NC: yes
CC BY-ND: no
CC BY-NC-SA: yes
CC BY-NC-ND: no

Remix CC BY with:

Public Domain Mark: yes
CC0 (Public Domain Dedication): yes
CC BY: yes
CC BY-SA: yes
CC BY-NC: yes
CC BY-ND: no
CC BY-NC-SA: yes
CC BY-NC-ND: no

CC BY-SA

Public Domain Mark: yes
CC0 (Public Domain Dedication): yes
CC BY: yes
CC BY-SA: yes
CC BY-NC: no
CC BY-ND: no
CC BY-NC-SA: no
CC BY-NC-ND: no

Remix CC BY-NC with:

Public Domain Mark: yes
CC0 (Public Domain Dedication): yes
CC BY: yes
CC BY-SA: no
CC BY-NC: yes
CC BY-ND: no
CC BY-NC-SA: yes
CC BY-NC-ND: no

Remix CC BY-ND with:

Public Domain Mark: no
CC0 (Public Domain Dedication): no
CC BY: no
CC BY-SA: no
CC BY-NC: no
CC BY-ND: no
CC BY-NC-SA: no
CC BY-NC-ND: no

Remix CC BY-NC-SA with:

Public Domain Mark: yes
CC0 (Public Domain Dedication): yes
CC BY: yes
CC BY-SA: no
CC BY-NC: yes
CC BY-ND: no
CC BY-NC-SA: yes
CC BY-NC-ND: no

Remix CC BY-NC-ND with:

Public Domain Mark: no
CC0 (Public Domain Dedication): no
CC BY: no
CC BY-SA: no
CC BY-NC: no
CC BY-ND: no
CC BY-NC-SA: no
CC BY-NC-ND: no