Module 4: Creative Commons

In the previous module you were introduced to open licenses and how they differ from all rights reserved copyright. In this module, you will learn about the different conditions and permissions of these licenses.

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

  • Distinguish between the six available Creative Commons licenses

  • Identify licensing permissions when using open licensed material

  • Recognize how different license permission impact remixing compatibility

  • Select and create the appropriate license for your own work

  • Create attribution statements for adapted work

Creative Commons Licenses

Creative Commons licenses provide a way for creators of copyrighted works to grant some rights to use or adapt their work to the public, while still retaining the copyright to their works. Works released under a Creative Commons license often have no cost which provides learners with a more cost-effective option to access materials. Creative Commons (CC) licenses give creators a choice in how they allow others to use their creations, whether text, pictures, songs, or other forms. Creative Commons and other commitments to openness are gaining momentum in many environments: open access, open data, open source, open pedagogy, etc. Watch the video: What are Creative Commons Licenses? below from the University of Guelph Library, 2018 to learn more.


There are six different Creative Commons (CC) licenses that are useful combinations of conditions (terms), all including the primary condition of Attribution. Understanding the meaning of each condition can be useful when deciding which CC license to use on your own work, or when evaluating an open resource.

Image from Copyright in Education & Internet in South African Law http://education-copyright.org/creative-commons/

Used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 South Africa license

"CC OER Infographic" by Cable Green is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Choosing a License

The No-Derivatives condition allows sharing and reuse but only if the content is left unchanged. This presents an issue when searching for OER, as no customization or adaptation is allowed by the license. For this reason, ND content is not considered OER and should be considered for reuse only in situations where no adaptations are needed.


Attribution

All six of the Creative Commons licenses include the BY or attribution condition. This is a requirement of reuse. The original creator has explicitly informed the user of this requirement through the use of the BY condition. Citations and attributions are similar but different. Citations and attributions both give credit to others. Citations give credit when you use someone else's ideas or words in your own work, and they are for an academic purpose. Attribution is giving credit when you reuse or reproduce someone's work, and it is a legal requirement.

"Citations vs Attributions" by Amy Hofer, Open Oregon is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

While some tools, like CC Search, include the attribution in the resource; there are other tools available to help users:

When creating attribution statements a good rule of thumb is to remember the acronym TASL: Title, Author, Source, License.

Activity: Knowledge Check

Try this Creative Commons Matching Game.

Additional Resources

Attributions

"Best Practices for Attribution" by Creative Commons is licensed under CC BY 4.0

"Creative Commons Licensing: Nuts & Bolts" by Carrie Gits is licensed under CC BY 4.0

"CC License Compatibility Chart" by Creative Commons is licensed under CC BY 4.0

"CC License Conditions" by William Meinke is licensed under CC BY 4.0

"Putting a CC License on Your Work" by William Meinke is licensed under CC BY 4.0

"TASL" derivative work by Jack O’Grady, is licensed under CC BY 4.0 , based on TASL, created using Creative Commons logo, fixed by Quibik, public domain, retrieved from , and Graduation cap, public domain.