Creative Commons (CC) is a non-profit organization whose mandate is to make it easier for creators to share their work and/or build upon the works of others consistent with the rules of copyright.
They have created standardized, easy-to-use and easy-to-understand copyright licenses that anyone can apply to their work to allow others to:
This means you're giving away your copyright protection and merely applying a license that makes it clear to others how they may use your work.
Watch this 5 minute video that explains what the elements of a CC license are, how CC licenses can be applied to your work and what you can do with works of others that have a CC license.
There are four main elements that, when mixed and matched, make up Creative Commons licenses:
BY/Attribution
NC/Non-Commercial
ND/No Derivatives
SA/Share Alike
Attribution CC BYThis license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered. Recommended for maximum dissemination and use of licensed materials.
Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SAThis license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms.
Attribution-NonCommercial CC BY-NCThis license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.
Attribution-NoDerivatives CC BY-NDThis license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to you.
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SAThis license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives CC BY-NC-NDThis license is the most restrictive of our six main licenses, only allowing others to download your works and share them with others as long as they credit you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.
You might be wondering, "How do I cite this work if I find something I want to use?" For creative commons material, you do this by including an attribution line.This attribution usually includes:
Looking for images, music or research to include or adapt for a project you're working on? These databases and tips will help you find copyright compliant material, so that you don’t have to worry about copyright infringement.
