Module 2: Learning about the CC Licenses
Learning Outcomes:
Understand the three layers of each Creative Commons License.
Understand the features of the six licenses and how attribution is required for each license.
Analyze how the features of each license play a critical role in documenting the usage and obligations of the created work.
Learn about resources for finding CC licensed material.
Learn how to provide attribution for CC licensed material.
What are the three layers of each Creative Commons License?
All Creative Commons licenses have many important features in common.
Legal Code: the base layer and contains the “lawyer-readable” terms and conditions that are legally enforceable in court.
Commons Deeds: web pages that lay out the key license terms in so-called “human-readable” terms. The deeds are not legally enforceable but instead summarize the legal code.
“Machine Readable” Version of the License: the license design recognizes that software plays a critical role in the creation, copying, discovery, and distribution of works.
This layer includes a summary of the key freedoms granted and obligations imposed written into a format that applications, search engines, and other kinds of technology can understand.
Every CC license ensures licensors get credit for their work.
CC licenses work around the world and last as long as applicable copyright lasts (because they are built on copyright) and as long as the user complies with the license.
These common features serve as the baseline, on top of which licensors can choose to grant additional permissions when deciding how they want their work to be used.
How can I use a Creative Commons License to Share my Work?
What Creative Commons License should I use?
There are six Creative Commons Licenses
Consider how they transition from most accommodating to most restrictive:
CC BY: This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use.
CC BY includes the following elements:
BY – Credit must be given to the creator
CC BY-SA: This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms.
BY – Credit must be given to the creator
SA – Adaptations must be shared under the same terms
CC BY-NC: This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.
BY – Credit must be given to the creator
NC – Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted
CC BY-NC-SA: This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms.
BY – Credit must be given to the creator
NC – Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted
SA – Adaptations must be shared under the same terms
CC BY-ND: This license allows reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use.
BY – Credit must be given to the creator
ND – No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted
CC BY-NC-ND: This license allows reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.
BY – Credit must be given to the creator
NC – Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted
ND – No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted
Using Creative Commons Content: Finding CC Licensed Materials
All Creative Commons Licenses Require Attribution
Creative Commons 10th Birthday Celebration San Francisco by tvol is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Title? "Creative Commons 10th Birthday Celebration San Francisco"
Author? "tvol" - linked to his profile page
Source? "Creative Commons 10th Birthday Celebration San Francisco" - linked to original Flickr page
License? "CC BY 2.0" - linked to license deed
Attributions
Content in this module is from or paraphrased from the following sources:
The Anatomy and Workings of Creative Commons Licenses by Susan Kung is licensed under CC BY 4.0
About CC Licenses by Creative Commons is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Using Creative Commons Content by GCFGlobal is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Finding Creative Commons Videos on YouTube by Langara Library is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Creative Commons The Licenses is licensed by Royal Society of New Zealand and Creative Common Aotearoa under CC BY 3.0
3. Anatomy of a CC License | Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM by Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM by Creative Commons is licensed under CC BY 4.0
4. Using CC Licenses and CC Licensed Works | Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM by Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM by Creative Commons is licensed under CC BY 4.0
"Creative Commons 10th Birthday Celebration San Francisco" by tvol is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Best Practices for Attribution by Creative Commons is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Creative Commons Licenses image Barbara Waxer is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Additional Resources
Kim, M. (2007). The Creative Commons and Copyright Protection in the Digital Era: Uses of Creative Commons Licenses, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, (13)1, 187 - 209. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00392.x
Seibert, H., Miles, R., & Geuther, C. (2019). Navigating 21st-Century Digital Scholarship: Open Educational Resources (OERs), Creative Commons, Copyright, and Library Vendor Licenses, The Serials Librarian, (76),1 - 4, 103 -109, DOI: 10.1080/0361526X.2019.1589893