Creative Commons is a licensing system that makes it possible to share copyrighted works. This is done by the creator choosing a license that governs how a piece of work may be distributed and used. For you as a user, it is possible to use a work with a Creative Commons license without asking the copyright holder for permission.
There are four TERMS that create six LICENSES that the copyright owner can choose from. See more under the respective tabs
Don't forget to credit Creative Commons licensed works and include the following:
More about Creative Commons.
Symbol |
Meaning |
User rights |
|
by | Attribution | You have to give attribution to the creator, through citations. | |
nc | Non commercial | The work can only be used outside of commercial spaces, and not for commercial purposes. | |
nd | No derivative works | You cannot adapt or modify the work, you cannot publish derivatives of the original. | |
sa | Share alike |
You may modify, adapt and further develop the work. NOTE that the derivative work must be published with the same license. |
CC BY The creator allows others to use, distribute, remake, modify, and build upon the work. The work can be used in commercial contexts. The user must attribute the author when the work is used in all forms described above.
CC BY-SA The creator allows others to use, distribute, remake, modify, create new work as long as the author is attributed. If new works are created, they must also be distributed under the same license.
CC BY-ND The creator allows the work to be distributed both commercially and non-commercially, but not to make any derivatives.
CC BY-NC The creator allows the work to be distributed, remade, modified or rebuilt, but the work may not be used commercially.
CC BY-NC-SA The creator allows the work to use, distribute, remake, modify, and create new works, but in a commercial context. If a new work is created, it must have the same license and the author must be attributed.
CC BY-NC-ND The creator only allows distribution of the work in non-commercial contexts, no derivatives, with attribution.
CC0 The creator puts the work into the public domain immediately after creation.