Creative Commons licenses are "a free, simple, and standardized way to grant copyright permissions for creative and academic works; ensure proper attribution; and allow others to copy, distribute, and make use of those works."
~ Creative Commons. (2020). "What we do." Retrieved from https://creativecommons.org/about/
The base layer of the creative commons licenses is the legal code. These are the "lawyer-readable" terms that would be used in court.
The middle layer is called common deeds and this is what the average user would recognize. They are a summary of the legal code, but are in "human-readable" terms.
The top layer is the "machine-readable" version of the license. This is what helps the creation be discoverable on the web.
CC licenses do not reduce, limit, or restrict any rights under exceptions and limitations to copyright, such as fair use. If the use of CC-licensed material would otherwise be allowed because of an applicable exception or limitation, there is no need to rely on the CC license or comply with its terms and conditions.
Creative Commons. (2020). "Frequently asked questions." Retrieved from
This work “Creative Commons Licenses" is a derivative of January 2020 Creative Commons Certificate for Educators and Librarians by Creative Commons, used under CC BY 4.0 license by Pam Gladis.
Creative Commons icons by The Noun Project
from Creative Commons Downloads at
https://creativecommons.org/about/downloads/
used under
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Using the four elements of the Creative Commons licenses, six different licenses are available to assign to a work. This listing is in order from the least restrictive to the most restrictive license.
The Attribution license or “CC BY” allows people to use the work for any purpose (even commercially and even in modified form) as long as they give attribution to the creator.
The Attribution-ShareAlike license or “BY-SA” allows people to use the work for any purpose (even commercially and even in modified form), as long as they give attribution to the creator and make any adaptations they share with others available under the same or a compatible license.
The Attribution-NonCommercial license or “BY-NC” allows people to use the work for noncommercial purposes only, and only as long as they give attribution to the creator.
The Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license or “BY-NC-SA” allows people to use the work for noncommercial purposes only, and only as long as they give attribution to the creator and make any adaptations they share with others available under the same or a compatible license.
The Attribution-NoDerivatives license or “BY-ND” allows people to use the unadapted work for any purpose (even commercially), as long as they give attribution to the creator.
The Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license or “BY-NC-ND” is the most restrictive license offered by CC. It allows people to use the unadapted work for noncommercial purposes only, and only as long as they give attribution to the creator.
"BY" or Attribution icon. Included in all licenses.
"NC" or Non-Commercial icon. Included in three of the licenses.
"SA" or ShareAlike icon. Included in two of the licenses.This requires anyone using the work to license their work in the same way.
"ND" or NoDerivatives icon. Included in two of the licenses. This tells users they cannot share adaptations of the work.
In addition to the six licenses, there is a “no rights reserved” option that allows creators to disclaim copyright altogether.
This CC Zero waiver indicates creators have surrendered rights to their works.
CC licenses cannot by applied to public domain works.
Faculty-Created Materials
(where contracts or hiring agreements allow)