How to select the appropriate Creative Commons license for your work
Apply knowledge of CC licenses
Distinguish between different types of CC licenses
Select the appropriate license for your work
Create a CC license for your work
"Knowledge," National Museum of American History. CC0
"Creative Commons - cc stickers" by Kalexanderson is marked with CC BY 2.0.
"Keys" by jacqui.brown33 is marked with CC BY-SA 2.0.
"Copyright license choice" by opensourceway is marked with CC BY-SA 2.0.
Depending on your prior knowledge of and experience using Creative Commons licenses, this module is flexible and adaptable to your needs. If you are unfamiliar with Creative Commons licenses, it's recommended that you begin with the Introduction and continue with the Case Study, Video Overview, Flowchart, License Chooser, and Additional Resources. The module's materials will provide you with a comprehensive introduction to choosing, creating, and applying a CC license to your creative work. If you have a working understanding of Creative Commons licenses and deeds, you might prefer to jump ahead and use specific resources, such as the flowchart, to develop your OER-based units of instruction.
You’ve created something new. Maybe you’ve recorded a song, written a story or essay, taken a photo, or remixed a work in the public domain. Now, your hope is to share your new creation with others. Choosing and applying a Creative Commons license to your song, story, photo, or remix makes it easy to share your work openly and intentionally.
But how might you go about choosing a Creative Commons (CC) license? And which kind of license should you choose for your work?
It's important to first think about why you want to share your work and what you imagine users might do with your work.
More specifically:
How would you like others to use the work you’ve created?
Would you like your work to be adapted, revised, and remixed?
Would you like others to be able to profit commercially from your work?
Would you like others to share any adaptations, revisions, or remixes in the same way that you shared your original work?
When choosing a CC license for your work, think carefully about what you hope users (and reusers) will ultimately be able to do with your work:
Do you hope others will make interesting new works out of your creation? Do you want to give people the ability to translate your writing into different languages, or otherwise customize it for their own needs? If so, make sure to choose a license that allows your work to be adapted.
Do you hope others incorporate your images into Wikipedia? If so, then you should choose CC BY, BY-SA, or CC0 licenses, because Wikipedia does not allow images licensed under any of the NonCommercial or NoDerivatives licenses, except in limited circumstances.
Do you hope that anyone in the world can use your work, for any purpose? Would you like to give away all of your rights in your work? Then you might want to consider using the public domain dedication tool, CC0.
Adapted from “Unit 4: Using CC Licenses and CC-Licensed Works,” Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
Did you know that images of Leonardo's Mona Lisa are in the public domain? This means that images of Leonardo's original painting are not protected by intellectual property laws, such as copyright laws.
In the case of Leonardo's Mona Lisa, this means that the public owns original images of the Mona Lisa. Anyone can use an image of the original Mona Lisa without obtaining permission, and no one can ever own that image.
But what if we remix the original image, i.e., the one that's in the public domain? Then we can actually create and apply a license, such as a Creative Commons license, to our remixed version.
Below is an example of a "before" and "after" of the Mona Lisa. The "after" version is a Web 2.0 Mona Lisa, a playful reimagining that functions as phone wallpaper. This remixed version is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC 4.0).
The CC BY-NC 4.0 license means that anyone can:
Share the remixed image
Further remix, revise, and adapt the image
Share copies of the user's remix, revision, and/or adaption for non-commercial purposes.
It also means that users cannot do a number of things with Mona Lisa 2.0, namely:
Share without giving attribution.
Use the remix for commercial purposes.
Restrict others from freely using the remix.
The CC BY-NC 4.0 is one of six Creative Commons licenses, not including the CC0 1.0 Universal license, which enables the creator to dedicate all of the rights to the work to the public domain. The CC0 1.0 Universal license is the "No Copyright" license in that it allows users to copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, without asking permission.
Keep reading (and watching!) to learn more about choosing and applying the right CC license for your creative work.
Content adapted from Rich Stin's "Welcome to the Public Domain," Copyright & Fair Use - Stanford Libraries, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Leonardo. Mona Lisa. Public domain.
Mona Lisa 2.0 © 2022 by The EME5250 Group is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Video Transcript
This video will introduce you to Creative Commons licenses, which makes copyright easier to understand.
Let’s say you create something. This thing could be creative, like a picture of your cat, or scholarly, like an essay about cats. Because you are the creator of this picture or this essay, copyright allows you to decide what people can do with your creation.
When you are the copyright holder, people have to ask you for permission before putting your cat picture into a PowerPoint or adapting your cat essay into a movie. Getting permission can be time consuming and complicated for both the creator and the user. This is where Creative Commons can help.
Creative Commons exists to make permissions explicit and straightforward. Creative Commons licenses use icons and simple language so that creators can make their intentions clear and users can be certain that their use of a work is legal. These different licenses help people understand if and how they can use, share, or build on a work.
This icon [NC] means that only non-commercial uses are permitted, so no one can profit from using your picture.
This icon [ND] means that no one can make changes to the original work, such as photoshopping a dog into your cat picture.
This icon [SA] means that someone can change your work, but their version must be shared under the same license as yours.
All Creative Commons licenses give credit to the original creator, preserving your reputation as a creative genius while the world engages with your work. Licenses can be attached to most things, including blog posts, images, artworks, journal articles, and more!
To learn more about Creative Commons licenses, visit the Creative Commons website or check out some of the other videos in our series.
Need help? Email library@uoguelph.ca
U of G Library. (2018, Sep 21). What are Creative Commons licenses? [Video] YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srVPLrmlBJY
Video licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
Video Transcript
Have you ever wondered how to download and share digital content legally? How do you let people know that you want them to reuse your own work? Creative Commons licenses can help you do both. We'll show you how our worlds exploded with digital opportunities. Now we can communicate, share, and work together using the exceptional distribution network that is the Internet. Information and content can fly between us in exciting new ways but it's important to know that when something is created—say, a photo a document or a music track—it's automatically protected by copyright.
Copyright enables people to say who can share and reuse their creations. You must always obtain someone's permission before sharing or reusing their work, even when it's posted online.
But what if a creator wants everyone to use their work without the hassle of granting permission over and over? This is where Creative Commons can help. Creative Commons provides licensing tools that are free to use. You can apply a license to your work, which refines your copyright and streamlines how you give permission.
Zach downloads a photo called CC Kiwi that he wants to use in his science project. He can do this without asking Kiri, the photographer, first because she's already given permission with a Creative Commons license. Kiri’s license is legally robust but easy for Zach to understand. She's told the world, including Zach, that they can use CC Kiwi as long as they acknowledge her as the original photographer.
There are more rules Kiri could have included. Creative Commons licenses are made up of licensed elements. You can think of them as rules, and each have their own special symbol. This is Attribution [BY]. It means that Zach must acknowledge Kiri when he publishes his science project containing her photo. This is Non-Commercial [NC]. It means no one else but Kiri is permitted to make money from CC Kiwi.
Tim wants to print the photo onto t-shirts and distribute them to friends. He can do this, but he must not sell them. This is No Derivatives [ND], and it means that Kiri hasn't given permission to change her photo. Kate can use CC Kiwi on her design blog, but will need to ask Kiri before retouching or mixing up the image.
And this is ShareAlike [SA]. It means new creations that use CC Kiwi need to carry the same license. Jack incorporates his own remix of CC Kiwi in his video installation, but he must share the work under the same terms that Kiri has.
Each Creative Commons license gives permission to share and includes the attribution rule so people who find your Creative Commons-licensed work are automatically allowed to share it, but are required to acknowledge you if they do.
The other three license elements are optional and you can choose which ones to add, if any.
Here are the six combinations that make up Creative Commons licenses. The difference between them is how many rules apply when someone wishes to use your work. The attribution license allows reusers the most freedom. The attribution non-commercial no derivatives license allows the least freedom.
The attribution license and the attribution share-alike licenses are sometimes referred to as Free Cultural Works-approved licenses.
These three licenses [CC BY-NC-ND, CC BY-NC-SA, and CC BY-ND] restrict commercial use of a work. And these two licenses [CC BY-NC-ND and CC BY-ND] do not give permission for adapting or remixing. These two licenses [CC BY-NC-SA and CC BY-SA] require new works to be licensed under the same terms.
To choose and apply one of these licenses, and to view their terms in more detail, visit us at creativecommons.org.nz. Or, you can answer some questions to help you decide which license best
suits your needs at creativecommons.org/choose.
There are some good ways to find other people’s Creative Commons-licensed work online. You can use a search filter by going to the Creative Commons website. Or why not try the Jamendo website for music, Flickr for images, or DigitalNZ for New Zealand content?
Using Creative Commons licenses could help your creations reach more people. Maybe you want to connect with others across the globe and take turns at improving a report. Or maybe you just want to have fun remixing someone else's work.
Whatever reason you have to share your work, you'll find there are scientists, educators, companies, and public agencies who are using Creative Commons. By opening up permission, just imagine how much we can achieve—collaborating on what we hold in common, being open about big decisions, and finding solutions in the spaces between us. Let's work together confidently and legally. It's good to share—with Creative Commons.
Process Arts. (2011, Oct 12). Creative Commons licenses explained. [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZvJGV6YF6Y.
Video created by Creative Commons Aotearoa New Zealand with support from InternetNZ, available via Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand license (CC BY).
Use the flowchart to help you navigate remixing and commercial questions, and to select the appropriate Creative Commons license for your work.
Adapted from Which Creative Commons is right for me, attribution 2.5 Australia (CC BY 2.5 AU)
Check out the Creative Commons License Chooser tool, which can help you select the right CC license for your creative work.
The Creative Commons License Chooser can also help you to:
Create a CC license for your work.
Apply a CC license to your work.
Search 3.9 million open-access resources from the Smithsonian's 19 museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives, and the National Zoo.
"Pocahontas," copy after Simon van de Passe, is marked with CC0.
Search over 600 million openly-licensed media items using this search engine from Creative Commons and WordPress.
"British Museum, Japanese tiger on a scroll painting" by Futurilla is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Search, reuse, remix, and share over 492,000 images of public-domain artworks at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Amedeo Modigliani, "Girl in a Sailor's Blouse," is marked with CC0.
In this assignment, students will gain a practical understanding of how Creative Commons licenses work as remixers and creators. Students will search open-access resource databases to find open-access images, and produce original remixes of images of their choice using graphic design tools such as Canva. Students will select and apply an appropriate Creative Commons license to their remixed image, and will publish their remixed image online to a Creative Commons Platform. Finally, students will share their remixed image with their classmates via the class social media hashtags.