Copyright, Creative Commons, & Fair Use

In 2002, Creative Commons (CC) began with the goal of enabling creators to share their content online and to make the sharing of creative works more readily available to everyone while also allowing them to maintain their copyrights. A full history of Creative Commons and its relationship to the Copyright Act and its future extension in 1998 and the creation of the World Wide Web are found at Creative Commons (Unit 1 - The Story of Creative Commons). 

Creative Commons is: 

1. An organization that provides CC licenses, public domain tools, and support for open movements worldwide

2. A set of licenses that work with copyright that allow creators to freely share their content online 

3. A global movement that supports open movements worldwide. This community works to support open initiatives, including, but not limited to, open source software, open data, open science, and open educational resources. 

CC License Elements

Each CC license includes a combination of the elements outlined below. There are 6 CC license options. 

	Attribution or BY. All licenses include this element.
	Non-commercial or NC. This designates that the work can only be used for non-commercial purposes (uses not intended for “commercial advantage or monetary gain”).
	Share Alike or SA. This indicates that adaptations based on the work must be licensed under the same or compatible license.
	No Derivatives or ND. This means that users cannot share adaptations of the work. (Users may make adaptations for private use but users may not distribute those adaptations.)

See About CC Licenses - Creative Commons for detailed and up-to-date information on the specific licenses

Creative Commons Licenses

	CC BY or Attribution License. Users may use the work for any purpose with attribution given to the creator.
	CC BY-SA or Attribution-ShareAlike License. Users may use the work for any purpose with attribution given to the creator; the adaptation must be licensed under the same or a compatible license.
	CC BY-NC or Attribution-NonCommercial License. Users may use the work for non-commercial uses only with attribution given to the creator.
	CC BY-NC-SA or Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Users may use the work for non-commercial uses only with attribution given to the creator; the adaptation must be licensed under the same or a compatible license.
	CC BY-ND or Attribution-NoDerivatives License. Users may use the unmodified work for any purpose with attribution given to the creator.
	CC BY-NC-ND or Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License. Users may use the unmodified work for noncommercial uses only with attribution given to the creator.

There are many different CC licenses that can be used for creative works online, including open access (OA) and open educational resources (OER). The graphs below illustrate the various licenses and the requirements necessary for each. Additional information on each license is available at Creative Commons - About the Licenses at About CC Licenses - Creative Commons. Before selecting a license, a quick review of this page is a strong recommendation. 

“Creative Commons License Spectrum” by Shaddim (CC BY)

The Augmented Creative Commons License Spectrum by Kathryn Kure and Jonathan Poritz (CC BY-SA 4.0) is a slightly modified version of an image in Clarification of Free Cultural Works, Open Educational Resources and Open Access (this article) by Paul West. The original of this was adapted from: Creative Commons, Open Licensing & Open Education, by Cable Green, CC-BY

Collections and remixes, or adapted works, can also use CC licenses but with some specific considerations. 

A collection is a set of independent works grouped together without altering the original works (e.g., an anthology of poems). Licensing considerations for a collection include:

• The individual works retain their original licenses
• The entire collection as a whole can have a license applied to it but it does not change the license for the individual works
• Attribution must be given for each included work according to its license. Using the Title, Author, Source, License (TASL) technique is recommended. 
• Including SA (share alike) and NC (non-commercial) licensed works in your collection impacts the license of the entire collection since the licensing of the original works determines the licensing conditions for the entire collection, e.g., if the original work has an SA license, the adaptation must also have the same or a compatible SA license. The same thing is required if the original work has an NC license. 

A remix/adapted work/derivative work is created by modifying or combining existing works (e.g., a music mashup). A remix/adaptation modifies the original work (e.g., translating a book). Licensing considerations include:

• If the original work has an ND (no derivative) restriction, you cannot legally create an adaptation. 
• The remix must comply with SA (ShareAlike) if the original has that condition
• The remix must comply with original licensing terms, e.g., if the original work is CC BY-SA, the remix must also be CC BY-SA
• Attribution is required for all source works. Using the TASL approach (Title, Author, Source, License) is recommended

View Frequently Asked Questions - Creative Commons for the CC Adapters License Chart that shows details on how remixes can be licensed and the CC License Compatibility Chart.