The CC Logos used throughout this subject guide are available from the CC Downloads page and are subject to the Creative Commons Trademark Policy.
"Creative Commons is a global nonprofit organization that enables sharing and reuse of creativity and knowledge through the provision of free legal tools. Our legal tools help those who want to encourage reuse of their works by offering them for use under generous, standardized terms; those who want to make creative uses of works; and those who want to benefit from this symbiosis. Our vision is to help others realize the full potential of the internet. CC has affiliates all over the world who help ensure our licenses work internationally and who raise awareness of our work.." (What is Creative Commons and what do you do?) More information about Creative Commons is available from their FAQ.
These short video clips will help you understand what Creative Commons is.
CC BY-NC
Attribution-NonCommercial
Summary: "This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms." (from The Licenses)
CC BY-NC-SA
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Summary: "This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms." (from The Licenses)
CC BY-NC-ND
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
Summary: "This license is the most restrictive of our six main licenses, only allowing others to download your works and share them with others as long as they credit you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially." (from The Licenses)
CC BY
Attribution
Summary:"This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered. Recommended for maximum dissemination and use of licensed materials." (from The Licenses)
CC BY-SA
Attribution-ShareAlike
Summary: "This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. This license is often compared to “copyleft” free and open source software licenses. All new works based on yours will carry the same license, so any derivatives will also allow commercial use. This is the license used by Wikipedia, and is recommended for materials that would benefit from incorporating content from Wikipedia and similarly licensed projects." (from The Licenses)
CC BY-ND
Attribution-NoDerivs
Summary: "This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to you." (from The Licenses)
If you are thinking about applying one of the Creative Commons Licenses to a work, Creative Commons has a great area on their website that can help you sort through the different Licensing Considerations.
To read more about how the different licenses work and to see license examples you'll want to check out the Licenses and Examples area of the Creative Commons website.
