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Copyright

Just because it is on the Internet doesn't mean it is free to use.

Creative Commons Licenses

Creative Commons licenses give everyone from individual creators to large institutions a standardized way to grant the public permission to use their creative work under copyright law. From the reuser’s perspective, the presence of a Creative Commons license on a copyrighted work answers the question, What can I do with this work?
  • CC licenses are built on copyright law. They apply only when the work falls within the scope of copyright law. In other words, CC licenses work in conjunction with copyright law provisions, not instead of the copyright law.
  • CC licenses do not apply in cases where copyright does not apply.
  • CC licenses do not apply in cases where the use of a work falls under one of the other exceptions or limitations to copyright protection, such as fair use.
  • You must own the copyright to attach a CC license to a work.
  • A CC license is non-revocable. Once you license, you can’t un-license.

Types of Creative Commons Licenses

Creative Commons Attribution button CC BY or Attribution License. Others may use the work for any purpose with attribution given to the creator.
Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike button CC BY-SA or Attribution-ShareAlike License. Others may use the work for any purpose with attribution given to the creator; the adaptation must be licensed under the same or compatible license.
Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial button CC BY-NC or Attribution-NonCommercial License. Others may use the work for non-commercial uses only with attribution given to the creator.
Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike button CC BY-NC-SA or Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Others may use the work for non-commercial uses only with attribution given to the creator; the adaptation must be licensed under the same or compatible license.
Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives button CC BY-ND or Attribution-NoDerivatives License. Others may use the unmodified work for any purpose with attribution given to the creator.
Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial No Derivatives button CC BY-NC-ND or Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License. Others may use the unmodified work for noncommercial uses only with attribution given to the creator.

Range of Openness in CC Licenses

Creative Commons vertical license spectrum, between public domain and all rights reserved.

Shaddim; original CC license symbols by Creative Commons, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons