View source for Creative Commons license

{{short description|Public copyright license for allowing free use of a work}}
{{About|the Creative Commons licenses|the organization that produced them|Creative Commons}}
{{Self reference|Particular Creative Commons license names redirect here, including CC BY-SA (which is used by the Wikimedia projects (including Wikipedia) and FANDOM (Wikia)). See [[Wikipedia:Text of Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License]] for Wikipedia's license.}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2020}}
[[File:Cc.logo.circle.svg|thumb|250px|Creative Commons logo]]
[[File:Creative Commons and Commerce.ogg|thumb|thumbtime=18|This video explains how Creative Commons licenses can be used in conjunction with commercial licensing arrangements]]
A '''Creative Commons''' ('''CC''') '''license''' is one of several [[public copyright license]]s that enable the free distribution of an otherwise [[copyright]]ed "work".<ref group="note">A "work" is any creative material made by a person. A painting, a graphic, a book, a song/lyrics to a song, or a photograph of almost anything are all examples of "works".</ref>  A CC license is used when an author wants to give other people the right to share, use, and build upon a work that the author has created. CC provides an author flexibility (for example, they might choose to allow only non-commercial uses of a given work) and protects the people who use or redistribute an author's work from concerns of copyright infringement as long as they abide by the conditions that are specified in the license by which the author distributes the work.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.openeducationeuropa.eu/en/blogs/teachers-guide-creative-commons-licenses|title=The teacher's guide to Creative Commons licenses|last=Shergill|first=Sanjeet|date=2017-05-06|website=Open Education Europa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626111219/https://www.openeducationeuropa.eu/en/blogs/teachers-guide-creative-commons-licenses|archive-date=June 26, 2018|url-status=dead|access-date=2018-03-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wur.nl/en/article/What-are-Creative-Commons-licenses.htm|title=What are Creative Commons licenses?|website=Wageningen University & Research|date=June 16, 2015|access-date=2018-03-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315133811/https://www.wur.nl/en/article/What-are-Creative-Commons-licenses.htm|archive-date=March 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://guides.lib.umich.edu/creativecommons/licenses|title=Creative Commons licenses|website=University of Michigan Library|access-date=2018-03-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121140426/http://guides.lib.umich.edu/creativecommons/licenses|archive-date=November 21, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_464806_en.pdf|title=Creative Commons licenses|website=University of Glasgow|access-date=2018-03-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315133739/https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_464806_en.pdf|archive-date=March 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.unesco.org/open-access/creative-commons-licenses|title=The Creative Commons licenses|website=UNESCO|access-date=2018-03-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315134320/https://en.unesco.org/open-access/creative-commons-licenses|archive-date=March 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

There are several types of Creative Commons licenses. Each license differs by several combinations that condition the terms of distribution. They were initially released on December 16, 2002, by [[Creative Commons]], a [[United States|U.S.]] [[Non-profit organization|non-profit]] corporation founded in 2001. There have also been five versions of the suite of licenses, numbered 1.0 through 4.0.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/License_Versions|title=License Versions - Creative Commons|website=wiki.creativecommons.org |access-date=July 4, 2017 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630063933/https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/License_Versions|archive-date=June 30, 2017|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Released in November 2013, the 4.0 license suite is the most current. While the Creative Commons license was originally grounded in the American legal system, there are now several [[Creative Commons jurisdiction ports]] which accommodate international laws.

In October 2014, the [[Open Knowledge Foundation]] approved the Creative Commons CC BY, CC BY-SA and CC0 licenses as conformant with the "[[The Open Definition|Open Definition]]" for content and data.<ref>[http://opendefinition.org/od/2.1/en/ Open Definition 2.1] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127074917/http://opendefinition.org/od/2.1/en/ |date=January 27, 2017 }} on opendefinition.org</ref><ref name="opendefinition.org">[http://opendefinition.org/licenses/ licenses] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301222106/http://opendefinition.org/licenses/ |date=March 1, 2016 }} on opendefinition.com</ref><ref name="blog.creativecommons.org">[https://blog.creativecommons.org/2013/12/27/creative-commons-4-0-by-and-by-sa-licenses-approved-conformant-with-the-open-definition/ Creative Commons 4.0 BY and BY-SA licenses approved conformant with the Open Definition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304102501/https://blog.creativecommons.org/2013/12/27/creative-commons-4-0-by-and-by-sa-licenses-approved-conformant-with-the-open-definition/ |date=March 4, 2016 }} by Timothy Vollmer on creativecommons.org (December 27th, 2013)</ref>

== History and international use ==
[[File:Aaron Swartz and Lawrence Lessig.jpg|thumb|[[Aaron Swartz]] and Lawrence Lessig at the 2002 event for the first release of the licenses]]
[[Lawrence Lessig]] and [[Eric Eldred]] designed the Creative Commons License (CCL) in 2001 because they saw a need for a license between the existing modes of copyright and [[public domain]] status. Version 1.0 of the licenses was officially released on 16 December 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.creativecommons.org/press-releases/entry/3476|title=Creative Commons Unveils Machine-Readable Copyright Licenses|date=2002-12-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021222175127/http://www.creativecommons.org/press-releases/entry/3476|archive-date=December 22, 2002}}</ref>

=== Origins ===

The CCL allows inventors to keep the rights to their innovations while also allowing for some external use of the invention.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=1.1 The Story of Creative Commons {{!}} Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM|url=https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/1-1-the-story-of-creative-commons/|access-date=2021-04-28|website=certificates.creativecommons.org}}</ref> The CCL emerged as a reaction to the decision in ''[[Eldred v. Ashcroft]]'', in which the [[United States Supreme Court]] ruled constitutional provisions of the [[Copyright Term Extension Act]] that extended the copyright term of works to be the last living author's lifespan plus an additional 70 years.<ref name=":2" />

=== License porting ===

The original non-localized Creative Commons licenses were written with the U.S. legal system in mind; therefore, the wording may be incompatible with local legislation in other [[jurisdictions]], rendering the licenses unenforceable there. To address this issue, Creative Commons asked its affiliates to translate the various licenses to reflect local laws in a process called "[[Creative Commons jurisdiction ports|porting]]."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Murray|first=Laura J.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/844373100|title=Putting intellectual property in its place : rights discourses, creative labor, and the everyday|date=2014|others=S. Tina Piper, Kirsty Robertson|isbn=978-0-19-933626-5|location=Oxford|oclc=844373100}}</ref> As of July 2011, Creative Commons licenses have been ported to over 50 jurisdictions worldwide.<ref>"Worldwide". Creative Commons. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008.</ref>

=== Chinese use of the Creative Commons license ===
Working with Creative Commons, the Chinese government adapted the Creative Commons License to the Chinese context, replacing the individual monetary compensation of U.S. copyright law with incentives to Chinese innovators to innovate as a social contribution.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Meng|first=Bingchun|date=2009-01-26|title=Articulating a Chinese Commons: An Explorative Study of Creative Commons in China|url=https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/441|journal=International Journal of Communication|language=en|volume=3|pages=16|issn=1932-8036}}</ref> In China, the resources of society are thought to enable an individual's innovations; the continued betterment of society serves as its own reward.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal|last1=Hsia|first1=Tao-tai|last2=Haun|first2=Kathryn|date=1973|title=Laws of the People's Republic of China on Industrial and Intellectual Property|url=https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3409&context=lcp|journal=Law and Policy in International Business|volume=5|issue=3}}</ref> Chinese law heavily prioritizes the eventual contributions that an invention will have towards society’s growth, resulting in initial laws placing limits on the length of patents and very stringent conditions regarding the use and qualifications of inventions.<ref name=":10" />

=== "Info-communism" ===
An idea sometimes called "info-communism" found traction in the [[Western world]] after researchers at [[MIT]] grew frustrated over having aspects of their code withheld from the public.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|title=View of Info-communism? Ownership and freedom in the digital economy {{!}} First Monday|url=https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2058/1956|access-date=2021-04-19|journal=First Monday| date=March 24, 2008 | doi=10.5210/fm.v13i4.2058 | last1=Mueller | first1=Milton | hdl=10535/2829 }}</ref> Modern [[copyright law]] roots itself in motivating innovation through rewarding innovators for socially valuable inventions. Western [[patent law]] assumes that (1) there is a right to use an invention for commerce and (2) it is up to the patentee's discretion to limit that right.<ref name=":0" /> The MIT researchers, led by [[Richard Stallman]], argued for the more open proliferation of their software's use for two primary reasons: the moral obligation of [[altruism]] and collaboration, and the unfairness of restricting the freedoms of other users by depriving them of non-[[scarcity|scarce]] resources.<ref name=":1" /> As a result, they developed the [[General Public License]] (GPL), a precursor to the Creative Commons License based on existing American copyright and patent law.<ref name=":1" /> The GPL allowed the economy around a piece of software to remain [[capitalism|capitalist]] by allowing programmers to commercialize products that use the software, but also ensured that no single person had complete and exclusive rights to the usage of an innovation.<ref name=":1" /> Since then, info-communism has gained traction, with some scholars arguing in 2014 that [[Wikipedia]] itself is a manifestation of the info-communist movement.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Firer-Blaess|first1=Sylvain|last2=Fuchs|first2=Christian|date=2014-02-01|title=Wikipedia: An Info-Communist Manifesto|journal=Television & New Media|language=en|volume=15|issue=2|pages=87–103|doi=10.1177/1527476412450193|issn=1527-4764|doi-access=free}}</ref>

== Applicable works ==
[[File:Wanna Work Together? with subtitles - Creative Commons.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=97|[https://creativecommons.org/videos/wanna-work-together Wanna Work Together?] animation by Creative Commons]]
[[File:Mayer and Bettle 2 - Creative Commons.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=98|The [https://creativecommons.org/videos/mayer-and-bettle2 second version] of the [https://creativecommons.org/videos/mayer-and-bettle Mayer and Bettle] promotional animation explaining Creative Commons with [[Jamendo]] as an example]]

Work licensed under a Creative Commons license is governed by applicable copyright law.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode |title=Creative Commons Legal Code |date=January 9, 2008 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |access-date=February 22, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211175916/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode |archive-date=February 11, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> This allows Creative Commons licenses to be applied to all work falling under copyright, including: books, plays, movies, music, articles, photographs, blogs, and websites.

=== Software ===
While [[software]] is also governed by copyright law and CC licenses are applicable, the CC recommends against using it in software specifically due to backward-compatibility limitations with existing commonly used software licenses.<ref>{{cite web|date=July 29, 2013|title=Creative Commons FAQ: Can I use a Creative Commons license for software?|url=http://wiki.creativecommons.org/FAQ#Can_I_use_a_Creative_Commons_license_for_software.3F|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127205528/http://wiki.creativecommons.org/FAQ#Can_I_use_a_Creative_Commons_license_for_software.3F|archive-date=November 27, 2010|access-date=September 20, 2013|publisher=Wiki.creativecommons.org|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Non-Software Licenses|url=https://choosealicense.com/non-software/|access-date=2020-11-13|website=Choose a License|language=en}}</ref> Instead, developers may resort to use more software-friendly [[free and open-source|free and open-source software]] [[software license]]s. Outside the [[Free and open-source software|FOSS]] licensing use case for software there are [[:Category:Creative Commons-licensed video games|several usage examples]] to utilize CC licenses to specify a "[[Freeware]]" license model; examples are [[The White Chamber]], [[Mari0]] or [[Assault Cube]].<ref name="contentlicense">{{cite web |url=http://assault.cubers.net/docs/license.html#entirepackage |title=AssaultCube - License |access-date=2011-01-30 |work=assault.cubers.net| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101225031357/http://assault.cubers.net/docs/license.html| archive-date= 25 December 2010 | url-status= live|quote=''AssaultCube is FREEWARE. [...] The content, code and images of the AssaultCube website and all documentation are licensed under "Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported''}}</ref> Despite the status of CC0 as the most free copyright license, the [[Free Software Foundation]] does not recommend releasing [[public domain software|software into the public domain]] using the CC0.<ref name="fsfCC0" />

However, application of a Creative Commons license may not modify the rights allowed by [[fair use]] or fair dealing or exert restrictions which violate copyright exceptions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Do Creative Commons licenses affect exceptions and limitations to copyright, such as fair dealing and fair use? |url=https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Frequently_Asked_Questions#Do_Creative_Commons_licenses_affect_exceptions_and_limitations_to_copyright.2C_such_as_fair_dealing_and_fair_use.3F |website=Frequently Asked Questions - Creative Commons |access-date=July 26, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150808182345/https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Frequently_Asked_Questions#Do_Creative_Commons_licenses_affect_exceptions_and_limitations_to_copyright.2C_such_as_fair_dealing_and_fair_use.3F |archive-date=August 8, 2015 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Furthermore, Creative Commons licenses are non-exclusive and non-revocable.<ref>{{cite web |title=What if I change my mind about using a CC license? |url=https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Frequently_Asked_Questions#What_if_I_change_my_mind_about_using_a_CC_license.3F |website=Frequently Asked Questions - Creative Commons |access-date=July 26, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150808182345/https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Frequently_Asked_Questions#What_if_I_change_my_mind_about_using_a_CC_license.3F |archive-date=August 8, 2015 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Any work or copies of the work obtained under a Creative Commons license may continue to be used under that license.<ref>{{cite web |title=What happens if the author decides to revoke the CC license to material I am using? |url=https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Frequently_Asked_Questions#What_happens_if_the_author_decides_to_revoke_the_CC_license_to_material_I_am_using.3F |website=Frequently Asked Questions - Creative Commons |access-date=July 26, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150808182345/https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Frequently_Asked_Questions#What_happens_if_the_author_decides_to_revoke_the_CC_license_to_material_I_am_using.3F |archive-date=August 8, 2015 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

When works are protected by more than one Creative Commons license, the user may choose any of them.<ref>{{cite web |title=How do CC licenses operate? |url=https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Frequently_Asked_Questions#How_do_CC_licenses_operate.3F |website=Frequently Asked Questions - Creative Commons |access-date=July 26, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150808182345/https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Frequently_Asked_Questions#How_do_CC_licenses_operate.3F |archive-date=August 8, 2015 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

=== Preconditions ===
The author, or the licensor in case the author did a contractual transfer of rights, need to have the exclusive rights on the work. If the work has already been published under a public license, it can be uploaded by any third party, once more on another platform, by using a compatible license, and making reference and attribution to the original license (e.g. by referring the URL of the original license).<ref name=":0" />

=== Consequences ===
The license is non-exclusive and royalty-free, unrestricted in terms of territory and duration, so is irrevocable, unless a new license is granted by the author after the work has been significantly modified. Any use of the work that is not covered by other copyright rules triggers the public license. Upon activation of the license, the licensee must adhere to all conditions of the license, otherwise the license agreement is illegitimate, and the licensee would commit a copyright infringement. The author, or the licensor as a proxy, has the legal rights to act upon any copyright infringement. The licensee has a limited period to correct any non-compliance.<ref name=":0" />

== Types of licenses ==
{|
|[[File:Creative commons license spectrum.svg|thumb|300px|Creative commons license spectrum between [[public domain]] (top) and [[all rights reserved]] (bottom). Left side indicates the use-cases allowed, right side the license components. The dark green area indicates [[Free Cultural Works]] compatible licenses, the two green areas compatibility with the [[Remix culture]].]]
|[[File:Free-cultural-license-cc.svg|thumb|300px|CC license usage in 2014 (top and middle), "Free cultural works" compatible license usage 2010 to 2014 (bottom)]]
|}

===Four rights===
The CC licenses all grant "baseline rights", such as the right to distribute the copyrighted work worldwide for non-commercial purposes and without modification.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Baseline_Rights |title=Baseline Rights |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |date=June 12, 2008 |access-date=February 22, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208081209/http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Baseline_Rights |archive-date=February 8, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> In addition, different versions of license prescribe different rights, as shown in this table:<ref>{{cite web |url= https://creativecommons.org/faq/#what-are-creative-commons-licenses |title= Frequently Asked Questions|author=<!--Not stated--> |date= 28 August 2020 |website= Creative Commons |publisher= Creative Commons Corporation |access-date= 26 November 2020 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|-
! Icon !! Right ||  Description
|-
| [[File:Cc-by new.svg|75px|Attribution]]
| [[Attribution (copyright)|Attribution]] (BY)
| Licensees may copy, distribute, display, perform and make derivative works and remixes based on it only if they give the author or licensor the credits ([[attribution (copyright)|attribution]]) in the manner specified by these. Since version 2.0, all Creative Commons licenses require attribution to the creator and include the BY element.
|-
| [[File:Cc-sa.svg|75px|Share-alike]]
| [[Share-alike]] (SA)
| Licensees may distribute derivative works only under a license identical to ("not more restrictive than") the license that governs the original work. (See also [[copyleft]].) Without share-alike, derivative works might be sublicensed with compatible but more restrictive license clauses, e.g. CC BY to CC BY-NC.)
|-
| [[File:Cc-nc.svg|75px|Non-commercial]]
| [[Creative Commons NonCommercial license|Non-commercial]] (NC)
| Licensees may copy, distribute, display, perform the work and make derivative works and remixes based on it only for [[non-commercial]] purposes.
|-
| [[File:Cc-nd.svg|75px|Non-derivative]]
| No derivative works (ND)
| Licensees may copy, distribute, display and perform only verbatim copies of the work, not [[derivative work]]s and [[Remix culture|remixes]] based on it. Since version 4.0, derivative works are allowed but must not be shared.
|}

The last two clauses are not [[free content]] licenses, according to definitions such as [[Debian Free Software Guidelines|DFSG]] or the [[Free Software Foundation]]'s standards, and cannot be used in contexts that require these freedoms, such as [[Wikipedia]]. For [[software]], Creative Commons includes three free licenses created by other institutions: the [[BSD License]], the [[GNU]] [[LGPL]], and the [[GNU]] [[GNU General Public License|GPL]].<ref name="GNU LGPL">{{cite web|url=https://creativecommons.org/license/cc-lgpl|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090622222019/http://creativecommons.org/license/cc-lgpl|archive-date=June 22, 2009|title=Creative Commons GNU LGPL|access-date=July 20, 2009}}</ref>

Mixing and matching these conditions produces sixteen possible combinations, of which eleven are valid Creative Commons licenses and five are not. Of the five invalid combinations, four include both the "nd" and "sa" clauses, which are mutually exclusive; and one includes none of the clauses. Of the eleven valid combinations, the five that lack the "by" clause have been retired because 98% of licensors requested attribution, though they do remain available for reference on the website.<ref name="retiredlicenses">{{cite web|url=https://creativecommons.org/retiredlicenses/ |title=Retired Legal Tools |access-date=May 31, 2012 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503224254/https://creativecommons.org/retiredlicenses/ |archive-date=May 3, 2016 |df=mdy }}</ref><ref name="v2announcement">{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/4216 |title=Announcing (and explaining) our new 2.0 licenses |publisher=Creativecommons.org |date=May 25, 2004 |access-date=September 20, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060401/http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/4216 |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref name=licenses>{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ |title=About The Licenses - Creative Commons |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |access-date=July 26, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150726003931/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ |archive-date=July 26, 2015 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> This leaves six regularly used licenses plus the CC0 [[public domain]] declaration.

=== Six regularly used licenses ===
{{anchor|Six regularly used licenses}}<!--old title-->
<!--Please do not change this title without good reason; a number of Wikiversity pages link to it because this seems to be the best brief summary of the options available on the sister-wikis-->
The six licenses in most frequent use are shown in the following table. Among them, those accepted by the Wikimedia Foundation – the public domain dedication and two attribution (BY and BY-SA) licenses – allow the sharing and remixing (creating [[derivative works]]), including for commercial use, so long as attribution is given.<ref name=licenses /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/ |title=Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 United States |date=November 16, 2009 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |access-date=February 22, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100224022605/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/ |archive-date=February 24, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref name="CC0" /> 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:20em" | License name
! scope="col" | Abbreviation
! scope="col" | Icon
! scope="col" | [[Attribution (copyright)|Attribution]] required
! scope="col" | Allows [[remix culture]]
! scope="col" | Allows commercial use
! scope="col" | Allows [[Free Cultural Works]]
! scope="col" | Meets the [[Open Knowledge Foundation|OKF]] '[[Open Definition]]'
|-
! scope="row" | Attribution
| {{visible anchor|BY}} || [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|alt=CC-BY icon|88px]] || {{Maybe|Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}}
|-
! scope="row" | Attribution-ShareAlike
| {{visible anchor|BY-SA}} || [[File:CC BY-SA icon.svg|alt=CC-BY-SA icon|88px]] || {{Maybe|Yes}} || {{yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}}
|-
! scope="row" | Attribution-NonCommercial
| {{visible anchor|BY-NC}} || [[File:Cc-by-nc icon.svg|alt=CC-by-NC icon|88px]] || {{Maybe|Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{No}} || {{No}} || {{No}}
|-
! scope="row" | Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
| {{visible anchor|BY-NC-SA}} || [[File:Cc-by-nc-sa icon.svg|alt=CC-BY-NC-SA icon|88px]] || {{Maybe|Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{No}} || {{No}} || {{No}}
|-
! scope="row" | Attribution-NoDerivatives
| {{visible anchor|BY-ND}} || [[File:Cc-by-nd icon.svg|alt=CC-BY-ND icon|88px]] || {{Maybe|Yes}} || {{No}} || {{Yes}} || {{No}} || {{No}}
|-
! scope="row" | Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
| {{visible anchor|BY-NC-ND}} || [[File:Cc-by-nc-nd icon.svg|alt=CC-BY-NC-ND icon|88px]] || {{Maybe|Yes}} || {{No}} || {{No}} || {{No}} || {{No}}
|}

=== {{anchor|CC0}}Zero / public domain ===
{{Redirect-confused|CC0|CCO (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Cc-zero.svg|thumb|150px|CC zero public domain dedication tool logo.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/about/downloads |title=Downloads |publisher=Creative Commons |date=2015-12-16 |access-date=2015-12-24 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225052559/https://creativecommons.org/about/downloads |archive-date=December 25, 2015 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>]]
[[File:Cc-public_domain_mark_white.svg|thumb|150px|Creative Commons [[Public Domain Mark]]. Indicates works which have already fallen into (or were given to) the public domain.]]
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:20em" | Tool name
! scope="col" | Abbreviation
! scope="col" | Icon
! scope="col" | [[Attribution (copyright)|Attribution]] required
! scope="col" | Allows [[remix culture]]
! scope="col" | Allows commercial use
! scope="col" | Allows [[Free Cultural Works]]
! scope="col" | Meets the [[Open Knowledge Foundation|OKF]] '[[Open Definition]]'
|-
! scope="row" | "No Rights Reserved"
| {{visible anchor|CC0}} || [[File:CC0 button.svg|alt=CC0 icon|88px]] || {{Yes|No}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}}
|}
Besides copyright licenses, Creative Commons also offers '''CC0''', a tool for relinquishing copyright and releasing material into the [[public domain]].<ref name="CC0">{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/choose/zero |title=CC0 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |access-date=February 22, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226071411/http://creativecommons.org/choose/zero |archive-date=February 26, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> CC0 is a legal tool for [[Waiver|waiving]] as many rights as legally possible.<ref name="kreutzer">{{cite web|url=https://rd-alliance.org/sites/default/files/cc0-analysis-kreuzer.pdf|title=Validity of the Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication and its usability for bibliographic metadata from the perspective of German Copyright Law|author=Dr. Till Kreutzer|access-date=July 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525023540/https://www.rd-alliance.org/sites/default/files/cc0-analysis-kreuzer.pdf|archive-date=May 25, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Or, when not legally possible, CC0 acts as fallback as [[public domain equivalent license]].<ref name="kreutzer" /> Development of CC0 began in 2007<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://creativecommons.org/press-releases/entry/7919 |title=Creative Commons Launches CC0 and CC+ Programs |date=December 17, 2007 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |access-date=February 22, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223053554/http://creativecommons.org/press-releases/entry/7919 |archive-date=February 23, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> and it was released in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/01/report-from-cc-board-meeting.html |title=Report from CC board meeting |first=Gavin |last=Baker |work=Open Access News |date=January 16, 2009 |access-date=February 22, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919010433/http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/01/report-from-cc-board-meeting.html |archive-date=September 19, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/13304 |title=Expanding the Public Domain: Part Zero |date=March 11, 2009 |publisher=Creativecommons.org |access-date=September 20, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060406/http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/13304 |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>  A major target of the license was the scientific data community.<ref name="zero-withdraw">{{cite web| url = http://projects.opensource.org/pipermail/license-review/2012-February/000231.html| title = CC withdrawl &#91;sic&#93; of CC0 from OSI process |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906005825/https://lists.opensource.org/pipermail/license-review/2012-February/000231.html| archive-date=2015-09-06| author = Christopher Allan Webber |work=In the Open Source Initiative Licence review mailing list| access-date = February 24, 2012}}</ref>

In 2010, Creative Commons announced its [[Public Domain Mark]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/22940 |title=Marking and Tagging the Public Domain: An Invitation to Comment |publisher=Creativecommons.org |date=August 10, 2010 |access-date=September 20, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060643/http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/22940 |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> a tool for labeling works already in the public domain. Together, CC0 and the Public Domain Mark replace the Public Domain Dedication and Certification,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/ |title=Copyright-Only Dedication (based on United States law) or Public Domain Certification |date=August 20, 2009 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |access-date=February 22, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223035835/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/ |archive-date=February 23, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> which took a U.S.-centric approach and co-mingled distinct operations.

In 2011, the [[Free Software Foundation]] added CC0 to its [[List of FSF approved software licenses|free software licenses]]. However, despite CC0 being the most free and open copyright license, the [[Free Software Foundation]] currently does not recommend using CC0 to release [[public domain software|software into the public domain]] because it lacks a [[patent grant]].<ref name="fsfCC0">{{cite web |url=https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#CC0 |title=Various Licenses and Comments about Them |publisher=[[GNU Project]] |access-date=April 4, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724023833/https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html |archive-date=July 24, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

In February 2012, CC0 was submitted to [[Open Source Initiative]] (OSI) for their approval.<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://lists.opensource.org/pipermail/license-review_lists.opensource.org/2012-February/
 |title       = OSI recognition for Creative Commons Zero License?
 |author      = Carl Boettiger
 |work        = In the Open Source Initiative Licence review mailing list
 |publisher   = opensource.org
 |access-date  = February 1, 2012
 |url-status     = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130926193810/http://projects.opensource.org/pipermail/license-review/2012-February/
 |archive-date = September 26, 2013
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref>  However, controversy arose over its clause which excluded from the scope of the license any relevant patents held by the copyright holder. This clause was added with scientific data in mind rather than software, but some members of the OSI believed it could weaken users' defenses against [[software patent]]s. As a result, Creative Commons withdrew their submission, and the license is not currently approved by the OSI.<ref name="zero-withdraw"/><ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://opensource.org/faq#cc-zero
 |title       = What about the Creative Commons "CC0" ("CC Zero") public domain dedication? Is that Open Source?
 |author      = The Open Source Initiative FAQ
 |access-date  = May 25, 2013
 |publisher   = opensource.org
 |url-status     = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130519153636/http://opensource.org/faq#cc-zero
 |archive-date = May 19, 2013
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref>

From 2013 to 2017, the [[stock photography]] website [[Unsplash]] used the CC0 license,<ref>{{cite web|title = Unsplash is a site full of free images for your next splash page|url = https://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2013/08/14/unsplash-is-a-site-full-of-images-you-can-use-freely-for-your-next-startups-splash-page/|website = The Next Web|date = August 14, 2013|access-date = 2015-11-13|language = en-US|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151117024732/http://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2013/08/14/unsplash-is-a-site-full-of-images-you-can-use-freely-for-your-next-startups-splash-page/|archive-date = November 17, 2015|df = mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = License {{!}} Unsplash|url = https://unsplash.com/license|website = unsplash.com|access-date = 2015-11-13|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151117015514/https://unsplash.com/license|archive-date = November 17, 2015|df = mdy-all}}</ref> distributing several million free photos a month.<ref>{{cite web |title = Why Building Something Useful For Others Is The Best Marketing There Is |url = http://www.fastcompany.com/3042417/how-i-get-it-done/why-building-something-useful-for-others-is-the-best-marketing-there-is |website = Fast Company |date = February 18, 2015 |access-date = 2015-11-13 |language = en-US |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151114225726/http://www.fastcompany.com/3042417/how-i-get-it-done/why-building-something-useful-for-others-is-the-best-marketing-there-is |archive-date = November 14, 2015 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> [[Lawrence Lessig]], the founder of Creative Commons, has contributed to the site.<ref>{{cite web|title = Lawrence Lessig {{!}} Unsplash Book|url = https://book.unsplash.com/lawrence-lessig/|website = book.unsplash.com|access-date = 2015-11-13|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151117022116/https://book.unsplash.com/lawrence-lessig/|archive-date = November 17, 2015|df = mdy-all}}</ref> Unsplash moved from using the CC0 license to their own similar license in June 2017, but with a restriction added on using the photos to make a competing service which made it incompatible with the CC0 license.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/2017/06/22/unsplash/ |title=Community update: Unsplash branded license and ToS changes |date=June 22, 2017 |access-date=2018-01-07 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107174853/https://creativecommons.org/2017/06/22/unsplash/ |archive-date=January 7, 2018 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

In October 2014, the [[Open Knowledge Foundation]] approved the Creative Commons CC0 as conformant with the [[Open Definition]] and recommend the license to dedicate content to the public domain.<ref name="opendefinition.org"/><ref name="blog.creativecommons.org"/>

=== Retired licenses ===

Due to either disuse or criticism, a number of previously offered Creative Commons licenses have since been retired,<ref name="retiredlicenses"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/7520 |title=Retiring standalone DevNations and one Sampling license |access-date=July 5, 2007 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |date=June 4, 2007 |first=Lawrence |last=Lessig |author-link=Lawrence Lessig |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070707023305/http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/7520 |archive-date=July 7, 2007 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> and are no longer recommended for new works. The retired licenses include all licenses lacking the Attribution element other than CC0, as well as the following four licenses:
* '''Developing Nations License''': a license which only applies to [[developing country|developing countries]] deemed to be "non-high-income economies" by the [[World Bank]]. Full copyright restrictions apply to people in other countries.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/devnations/2.0/ |title=Developing Nations License |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |access-date=April 9, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412101407/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/devnations/2.0/ |archive-date=April 12, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
* '''Sampling''': parts of the work can be used for any purpose other than advertising, but the whole work cannot be copied or modified<ref>{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/sampling/1.0/ |title=Sampling 1.0 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |access-date=April 9, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316011404/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/sampling/1.0/ |archive-date=March 16, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
* '''Sampling Plus''': parts of the work can be copied and modified for any purpose other than advertising, and the entire work can be copied for noncommercial purposes<ref>{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/sampling+/1.0/ |title=Sampling Plus 1.0 |date=November 13, 2009 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |access-date=April 9, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411100732/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/sampling+/1.0/ |archive-date=April 11, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
* '''NonCommercial Sampling Plus''': the whole work or parts of the work can be copied and modified for non-commercial purposes<ref>{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/nc-sampling+/1.0/ |title=NonCommercial Sampling Plus 1.0 |date=November 13, 2009 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |access-date=April 9, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325110847/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/nc-sampling+/1.0/ |archive-date=March 25, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

== {{anchor|Version 4.0}}Version 4.0 ==
{{Main|Creative Commons jurisdiction ports}}

The latest version 4.0 of the Creative Commons licenses, released on November 25, 2013, are generic licenses that are applicable to most jurisdictions and do not usually require ports.<ref>{{cite web|last=Peters|first=Diane|title=CC's Next Generation Licenses — Welcome Version 4.0!|url=https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/40768|work=Creative Commons|access-date=November 26, 2013|date=November 25, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126124736/http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/40768|archive-date=November 26, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=What's new in 4.0?|url=https://creativecommons.org/Version4|work=Creative Commons|access-date=November 26, 2013|year=2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131129150056/http://creativecommons.org/Version4|archive-date=November 29, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=CC 4.0, an end to porting Creative Commons licences?|url=http://www.technollama.co.uk/cc-4-0-an-end-to-porting-creative-commons-licenses|publisher=TechnoLlama|access-date=August 11, 2013|date=September 25, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902134000/http://www.technollama.co.uk/cc-4-0-an-end-to-porting-creative-commons-licenses|archive-date=September 2, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Music Manumit Lawcast with Jessica Coates of Creative Commons|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHgbWFNEztg|publisher=YouTube|access-date=August 11, 2013|author=Doug Whitfield|date=August 5, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130814215835/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHgbWFNEztg|archive-date=August 14, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref> No new ports have been implemented in version 4.0 of the license.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wiki.creativecommons.org/CC_Affiliate_Network#The_Licensing_Suite |title=CC Affiliate Network |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |access-date=July 8, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709065022/http://wiki.creativecommons.org/CC_Affiliate_Network#The_Licensing_Suite |archive-date=July 9, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Version 4.0 discourages using ported versions and instead acts as a single global license.<ref>{{cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions: What if CC licenses have not been ported to my jurisdiction? |url=http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Frequently_Asked_Questions#What_if_CC_licenses_have_not_been_ported_to_my_jurisdiction.3F |work=Creative Commons |access-date=November 26, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127113420/http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Frequently_Asked_Questions#What_if_CC_licenses_have_not_been_ported_to_my_jurisdiction.3F |archive-date=November 27, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

== Rights and obligations ==

=== Attribution ===
Since 2004, all current licenses other than the CC0 variant require attribution of the original author, as signified by the BY component (as in the preposition "by").<ref name="v2announcement"/> The attribution must be given to "the best of [one's] ability using the information available".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wiki.creativecommons.org/FFAQ#How_do_I_properly_attribute_a_Creative_Commons_licensed_work.3F |title=Frequently Frequently Asked Questions |date=February 2, 2010 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |access-date=February 22, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226070130/http://wiki.creativecommons.org/FFAQ#How_do_I_properly_attribute_a_Creative_Commons_licensed_work.3F |archive-date=February 26, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Creative Commons suggests the mnemonic "TASL": ''title'' -- ''author -- source'' [web link] -- [CC] ''licence''.<br> Generally this implies the following:
* '''Include any copyright notices (if applicable)'''. If the work itself contains any copyright notices placed there by the copyright holder, those notices must be left intact, or reproduced in a way that is reasonable to the medium in which the work is being re-published.
* '''Cite the author's name, screen name, or user ID''', etc. If the work is being published on the Internet, it is nice to link that name to the person's profile page, if such a page exists.
* '''Cite the work's title or name (if applicable)''', if such a thing exists. If the work is being published on the Internet, it is nice to link the name or title directly to the original work.
* '''Cite the specific CC license the work is under'''. If the work is being published on the Internet, it is nice if the license citation links to the license on the CC website.
* '''Mention if the work is a derivative work or adaptation'''. In addition to the above, one needs to identify that their work is a derivative work, e.g., "This is a Finnish translation of [original work] by [author]." or "Screenplay based on [original work] by [author]."

=== Non-commercial licenses ===
{{Main|Creative Commons NonCommercial license}}
{{further|Creative Commons#Criticism of the non-commercial license}}
The "non-commercial" option included in some Creative Commons licenses is controversial in definition,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/17127 |title=Defining Noncommercial report published |date=September 14, 2009 |publisher=Creativecommons.org |access-date=September 20, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060638/http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/17127 |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> as it is sometimes unclear what can be considered a non-commercial setting, and application, since its restrictions differ from the principles of [[open content]] promoted by other [[permissive license]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://freedomdefined.org/Licenses/NC |title=The Case for Free Use: Reasons Not to Use a Creative Commons -NC License |publisher=Freedomdefined.org |date=August 26, 2013 |access-date=September 20, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/68gq4ELlU?url=http://freedomdefined.org/Licenses/NC |archive-date=June 25, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> In 2014 [[Wikimedia Deutschland]] published a guide to using Creative Commons licenses as [[m:Open Content - A Practical Guide to Using Creative Commons Licences|wiki pages]] for translations and as PDF.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Content_A_Practical_Guide_to_Using_Creative_Commons_Licences_web.pdf|title=Open Content – A Practical Guide to Using Creative Commons Licenses|isbn=978-3-940785-57-2|author=Till Kreutzer|year=2014|publisher=[[List of Wikimedia chapters|Wikimedia Deutschland]] e.a.|access-date=March 23, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404014103/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Content_A_Practical_Guide_to_Using_Creative_Commons_Licences_web.pdf|archive-date=April 4, 2015|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

=== Adaptability ===
[[File:Derivative of medical imaging.jpg|thumb|240px|An example of a permitted combination of two works, one being CC BY-SA and the other being Public Domain.]]
Rights in an adaptation can be expressed by a CC license that is compatible with the status or licensing of the original work or works on which the adaptation is based.<ref>{{cite web|title=Frequently Asked Questions|url=http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Frequently_Asked_Questions#Can_I_combine_material_that_uses_different_Creative_Commons_licenses_into_my_work.3F|publisher=CC Wiki|access-date=March 25, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325054613/http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Frequently_Asked_Questions#Can_I_combine_material_that_uses_different_Creative_Commons_licenses_into_my_work.3F|archive-date=March 25, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ [[License compatibility]] chart for combining or mixing two CC licensed works<ref>{{cite web|url=https://creativecommons.org/faq/#can-i-combine-material-under-different-creative-commons-licenses-in-my-work|title=Frequently Asked Questions|date=2016-07-14|access-date=2016-08-01|website=Creative Commons|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127205528/http://wiki.creativecommons.org/FAQ#can-i-combine-material-under-different-creative-commons-licenses-in-my-work|archive-date=November 27, 2010|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>Creative Commons licenses without a non-commercial or no-derivatives requirement, including public domain/CC0, are all cross-compatible. Non-commercial licenses are compatible with each other and with less restrictive licenses, except for Attribution-ShareAlike. No-derivatives licenses are not compatible with any license, including themselves.</ref>
|- style="height: 90px;"
!
! [[File:Public Domain Mark button.svg|alt=Public Domain mark icon|88px]]<br/>[[File:CC0 button.svg|alt=CC0 icon|88px]]
! [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|alt=CC-BY icon|88px]]
! [[File:CC BY-SA icon.svg|alt=CC-BY-SA icon|88px]]
! [[File:Cc-by-nc icon.svg|alt=CC-by-NC icon|88px]]<br/>[[File:Cc-by-nc-sa icon.svg|alt=CC-BY-NC-SA icon|88px]]
! [[File:Cc-by-nd icon.svg|alt=CC-BY-ND icon|88px]]<br/>[[File:Cc-by-nc-nd icon.svg|alt=CC-BY-NC-ND icon|88px]]
|- style="height: 90px;"
! [[File:Public Domain Mark button.svg|alt=Public Domain mark icon|88px]]<br/>[[File:CC0 button.svg|alt=CC0 icon|88px]] 
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}}
|- style="height: 90px;"
! [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|alt=CC-BY icon|88px]] 
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}}
|- style="height: 90px;"
! [[File:CC BY-SA icon.svg|alt=CC-BY-SA icon|88px]] 
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{na}}
|- style="height: 90px;"
! [[File:Cc-by-nc icon.svg|alt=CC-by-NC icon|88px]]<br/>[[File:Cc-by-nc-sa icon.svg|alt=CC-BY-NC-SA icon|88px]] 
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{na}} || {{ya}} || {{na}}
|- style="height: 90px;"
! [[File:Cc-by-nd icon.svg|alt=CC-BY-ND icon|88px]]<br/>[[File:Cc-by-nc-nd icon.svg|alt=CC-BY-NC-ND icon|88px]] 
| {{na}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || {{na}} || {{na}}
|}

== Legal aspects ==
The legal implications of large numbers of works having Creative Commons licensing are difficult to predict, and there is speculation that media creators often lack insight to be able to choose the license which best meets their intent in applying it.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Katz|first=Zachary|title=Pitfalls of Open Licensing: An Analysis of Creative Commons Licensing|journal=[[IDEA: The Intellectual Property Law Review]]|year=2005|volume=46|issue=3|page=391}}</ref>

Some works licensed using Creative Commons licenses have been involved in several court cases.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Case_Law |title=Creative Commons Case Law |access-date=August 31, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110901220753/http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Case_Law |archive-date=September 1, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>  Creative Commons itself was not a party to any of these cases; they only involved licensors or licensees of Creative Commons licenses. When the cases went as far as decisions by judges (that is, they were not dismissed for lack of jurisdiction or were not settled privately out of court), they have all validated the legal robustness of Creative Commons public licenses.

=== Dutch tabloid ===
In early 2006, podcaster [[Adam Curry]] sued a Dutch tabloid who published photos from Curry's Flickr page without Curry's permission. The photos were licensed under the Creative Commons Non-Commercial license. While the verdict was in favor of Curry, the tabloid avoided having to pay restitution to him as long as they did not repeat the offense. Professor Bernt Hugenholtz, main creator of the Dutch CC license and director of the Institute for Information Law of the University of Amsterdam, commented, "The Dutch Court's decision is especially noteworthy because it confirms that the conditions of a Creative Commons license automatically apply to the content licensed under it, and binds users of such content even without expressly agreeing to, or having knowledge of, the conditions of the license."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.cnet.com/2100-1030_3-6052292.html|title=Creative Commons license upheld by court|publisher=News.cnet.com|access-date=December 24, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025165735/http://news.cnet.com/2100-1030_3-6052292.html|archive-date=October 25, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ONyncVruj8C&q=The+Dutch+Court%27s+decision+is+especially+noteworthy+because+it+confirms+that+the+conditions+of+a+Creative+Commons+license+automatically&pg=PA271 |title=Digital Copyright and the Consumer Revolution: Hands Off My Ipod - Matthew Rimmer - Google Böcker |isbn=9781847207142 |access-date=December 24, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414003634/https://books.google.com/books?id=1ONyncVruj8C&pg=PA271&dq=The+Dutch+Court%27s+decision+is+especially+noteworthy+because+it+confirms+that+the+conditions+of+a+Creative+Commons+license+automatically&hl=sv&sa=X&ei=SzKvUMOkJseF4gSp4oEY&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=The%20Dutch%20Court%27s%20decision%20is%20especially%20noteworthy%20because%20it%20confirms%20that%20the%20conditions%20of%20a%20Creative%20Commons%20license%20automatically&f=false |archive-date=April 14, 2016 |df=mdy-all |last1=Rimmer |first1=Matthew |date=January 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20060316052623594|title=Creative Commons License Upheld by Dutch Court|work=[[Groklaw]]|date=March 16, 2006|access-date=September 2, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505060734/http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20060316052623594|archive-date=May 5, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/5823|title=Creative Commons Licenses Enforced in Dutch Court|date=March 16, 2006|access-date=August 31, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906074741/http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/5823|archive-date=September 6, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

=== Virgin Mobile ===
In 2007, [[Virgin Mobile Australia]] launched an advertising campaign promoting their cellphone text messaging service using the work of amateur photographers who uploaded their work to [[Flickr]] using a Creative Commons-BY (Attribution) license. Users licensing their images this way freed their work for use by any other entity, as long as the original creator was attributed credit, without any other compensation required. Virgin upheld this single restriction by printing a URL leading to the photographer's Flickr page on each of their ads. However, one picture, depicting 15-year-old Alison Chang at a fund-raising carwash for her church,<ref name="permission">{{Cite news |first=Noam |last=Cohen |title=Use My Photo? Not Without Permission. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/01/technology/01link.html |quote=One moment, Alison Chang, a 15-year-old student from Dallas, is cheerfully goofing around at a local church-sponsored car wash, posing with a friend for a photo. Weeks later, that photo is posted online and catches the eye of an ad agency in Australia, and the altered image of Alison appears on a billboard in Adelaide as part of a [[Virgin Mobile]] advertising campaign. |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=September 25, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615133400/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/01/technology/01link.html |archive-date=June 15, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> caused some controversy when she sued Virgin Mobile.  The photo was taken by Alison's church youth counselor, Justin Ho-Wee Wong, who uploaded the image to Flickr under the Creative Commons license.<ref name="permission"/> In 2008, the case (concerning [[personality rights]] rather than copyright as such) was thrown out of a Texas court for lack of jurisdiction.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.internetcases.com/2009/01/22/no-personal-jurisdiction-over-australian-defendant-in-flickr-right-of-publicity-case/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713050011/http://blog.internetcases.com/2009/01/22/no-personal-jurisdiction-over-australian-defendant-in-flickr-right-of-publicity-case/|archive-date=July 13, 2011 |title=No personal jurisdiction over Australian defendant in Flickr right of publicity case |author=Evan Brown |date=January 22, 2009 |publisher=Internet Cases, a blog about law and technology |access-date=September 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/7680|title=Lawsuit Against Virgin Mobile and Creative Commons – FAQ|date=September 27, 2007|access-date=August 31, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907054202/http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/7680|archive-date=September 7, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

=== SGAE vs Fernández ===
In the fall of 2006, the [[Copyright collective|collecting society]] Sociedad General de Autores y Editores ([[SGAE]]) in Spain sued Ricardo Andrés Utrera Fernández, owner of a disco bar located in [[Badajoz]] who played CC-licensed music. SGAE argued that Fernández should pay royalties for public performance of the music between November 2002 and August 2005. The Lower Court rejected the collecting society's claims because the owner of the bar proved that the music he was using was not managed by the society.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/5830 |title=Spanish Court Recognizes CC-Music |author=Mia Garlick |date=March 23, 2006 |publisher=Creative Commons |access-date=September 25, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100809082620/http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/5830 |archive-date=August 9, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

In February 2006, the Cultural Association Ladinamo (based in Madrid, and represented by [[Javier de la Cueva]]) was granted the use of copyleft music in their public activities. The sentence said:

{{blockquote|Admitting the existence of music equipment, a joint evaluation of the evidence practiced, this court is convinced that the defendant prevents communication of works whose management is entrusted to the plaintiff [SGAE], using a repertoire of authors who have not assigned the exploitation of their rights to the SGAE, having at its disposal a database for that purpose and so it is manifested both by the legal representative of the Association and by Manuela Villa Acosta, in charge of the cultural programming of the association, which is compatible with the alternative character of the Association and its integration in the movement called '[[copyleft|copy left]]'.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.derecho-internet.org/node/359 |title=Sentencia nº 12/2006 Juzgado de lo Mercantil nº 5 de Madrid &#124; Derecho de Internet |language=es |publisher=Derecho-internet.org |access-date=2015-12-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126165923/http://www.derecho-internet.org/node/359 |archive-date=November 26, 2015 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>}}

=== ''GateHouse Media, Inc. v. That's Great News, LLC'' ===
On June 30, 2010 [[GateHouse Media]] filed a lawsuit against [[That's Great News]]. GateHouse Media owns a number of local newspapers, including ''[[Rockford Register Star]]'', which is based in Rockford, Illinois. That's Great News makes plaques out of newspaper articles and sells them to the people featured in the articles.<ref name="New Copyright Lawsuit">{{cite web |url=http://blog.internetcases.com/2010/07/02/new-copyright-lawsuit-involves-creative-commons/ |title=New Copyright Lawsuit Involves Creative Commons |author=Evan Brown |date=July 2, 2010 |publisher=Internet Cases: A blog about law and technology |access-date=April 20, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621215029/http://blog.internetcases.com/2010/07/02/new-copyright-lawsuit-involves-creative-commons/ |archive-date=June 21, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> GateHouse sued That's Great News for copyright infringement and breach of contract. GateHouse claimed that TGN violated the non-commercial and no-derivative works restrictions on GateHouse Creative Commons licensed work when TGN published the material on its website. The case was settled on August 17, 2010, though the settlement was not made public.<ref name="New Copyright Lawsuit" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/gatehouse-media-v-thats-great-news#description |title=GateHouse Media v. That's Great News |author=CMLP Staff |date=August 5, 2010 |publisher=Citizen Media Law Project |access-date=April 20, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502165158/http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/gatehouse-media-v-thats-great-news#description |archive-date=May 2, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

=== ''Drauglis v. Kappa Map Group, LLC'' ===
The plaintiff was photographer Art Drauglis, who uploaded several pictures to the photo-sharing website Flickr using Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License (CC BY-SA), including one entitled "Swain's Lock, Montgomery Co., MD.". The defendant was Kappa Map Group, a map-making company, which downloaded the image and used it in a compilation entitled "Montgomery Co. Maryland Street Atlas". Though there was nothing on the cover that indicated the origin of the picture, the text "''Photo: Swain's Lock, Montgomery Co., MD Photographer: Carly Lesser & Art Drauglis, Creative Commoms'' {{sic}}'', CC-BY-SA-2.0''" appeared at the bottom of the back cover.

The validity of the CC BY-SA 2.0 as a license was not in dispute. The CC BY-SA 2.0 requires that the licensee to use nothing less restrictive than the CC BY-SA 2.0 terms. The atlas was sold commercially and not for free reuse by others. The dispute was whether Drauglis' license terms that would apply to "derivative works" applied to the entire atlas. Drauglis sued the defendants in June 2014 for copyright infringement and license breach, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, damages, fees, and costs. Drauglis asserted, among other things, that Kappa Map Group "exceeded the scope of the License because defendant did not publish the Atlas under a license with the same or similar terms as those under which the Photograph was originally licensed."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_14-cv-01043/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_14-cv-01043-0.pdf |title=Memorandum Opinion |publisher=United States District Court for the District of Columbia |date=August 18, 2015 |access-date=August 29, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921202242/https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_14-cv-01043/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_14-cv-01043-0.pdf |archive-date=September 21, 2016 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The judge dismissed the case on that count, ruling that the atlas was not a [[derivative work]] of the photograph in the sense of the license, but rather a [[collective work]]. Since the atlas was not a derivative work of the photograph, Kappa Map Group did not need to license the entire atlas under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license. The judge also determined that the work had been properly attributed.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Guadamuz|first1=Andres|title=US Court interprets copyleft clause in Creative Commons licenses|url=http://www.technollama.co.uk/us-court-interprets-copyleft-clause-in-creative-commons-licenses|website=TechnoLlama|date=October 24, 2015|access-date=10 December 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222123232/http://www.technollama.co.uk/us-court-interprets-copyleft-clause-in-creative-commons-licenses|archive-date=December 22, 2015|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In particular, the judge determined that it was sufficient to credit the author of the photo as prominently as authors of similar authorship (such as the authors of individual maps contained in the book) and that the name "CC-BY-SA-2.0" is sufficiently precise to locate the correct license on the internet and can be considered a valid URI of the license.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2017-10-02|title=Carrollogos: U.S. Court Correctly Interprets Creative Commons Licenses|url=https://carrollogos.blogspot.com/2016/04/us-court-correctly-interprets-creative.html|author=[[Michael W. Carroll]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002120451/https://carrollogos.blogspot.com/2016/04/us-court-correctly-interprets-creative.html|archive-date=October 2, 2017|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

=== Verband zum Schutz geistigen Eigentums im Internet (VGSE) ===
In July 2016, German computer magazine [[LinuxUser]] reported that a German blogger Christoph Langner used two {{nowrap|CC-BY}} licensed photographs from Berlin photographer Dennis Skley on his private blog Linuxundich.  Langner duly mentioned the author and the license and added a link to the original.  Langner was later contacted by the ''Verband zum Schutz geistigen Eigentums im Internet'' (VGSE) (Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property in the Internet) with a demand for €2300 for failing to provide the full name of the work, the full name of the author, the license text, and a source link, as is required by the fine print in the license.  Of this sum, €40 goes to the photographer, and the remainder is retained by VGSE.<ref name="luther-2016">
{{cite journal
 |first       = Jörg
 |last        = Luther
 |title       = Kleingedrucktes — Editorial
 |trans-title = Fine print — Editorial
 |language    = de
 |date        = July 2016
 |journal     = [[LinuxUser]]
 |number      = 7/2016
 |issn        = 1615-4444
 |url         = http://www.linux-community.de/Internal/Artikel/Print-Artikel/LinuxUser/2016/07/Kleingedrucktes
 |access-date = 2016-09-09
 |url-status     = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160915150620/http://www.linux-community.de/Internal/Artikel/Print-Artikel/LinuxUser/2016/07/Kleingedrucktes
 |archive-date = September 15, 2016
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref><ref name="feil-2014">See also: {{cite web
 |title       = Abmahnung des Verbandes zum Schutz geistigen Eigentums im Internet (VSGE)
 |trans-title = Notice from the Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property in the Internet (VSGE)
 |language    = de
 |date        = 8 January 2014
 |publisher   = Feil Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft
 |location    = Hannover, Germany
 |url         = https://www.recht-freundlich.de/abmahnung-urheberrechtlich-filesharing/abmahnung-des-verbandes-zum-schutz-geistigen-eigentums-im-internet-vsge
 |access-date = 2016-09-09
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160914075031/https://www.recht-freundlich.de/abmahnung-urheberrechtlich-filesharing/abmahnung-des-verbandes-zum-schutz-geistigen-eigentums-im-internet-vsge
 |archive-date = September 14, 2016
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref> The Higher Regional Court of Köln dismissed the claim in May 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.anwalt.de/rechtstipps/creative-commons-foto-abmahnung-rasch-rechtsanwaelte-setzen-erfolgreich-gegenansprueche-durch_155491.html |title=Creative Commons-Foto-Abmahnung: Rasch Rechtsanwälte setzen erfolgreich Gegenansprüche durch |date=22 May 2019 |website=anwalt.de |access-date=18 December 2019 |language=de |trans-title=Creative Commons photo notice: Rasch attorneys successfully enforce counterclaims |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219023851/https://www.anwalt.de/rechtstipps/creative-commons-foto-abmahnung-rasch-rechtsanwaelte-setzen-erfolgreich-gegenansprueche-durch_155491.html |archive-date=December 19, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Works with a Creative Commons license ==
{{main|List of works available under a Creative Commons license}}
{{see also|Category:Creative Commons-licensed works}}
[[File:Staeofthecommons2017-o.svg|thumb|Number of Creative Commons licensed works as of 2017, per ''[https://stateof.creativecommons.org/ State of the Commons]'' report]]

Creative Commons maintains a content directory [[wiki]] of organizations and projects using Creative Commons licenses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Content_Directories|title=Content Directories|publisher=creativecommons.org|access-date=April 24, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430010815/http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Content_Directories|archive-date=April 30, 2009|df=mdy-all}}</ref> On its website CC also provides case studies of projects using CC licenses across the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Casestudies |title=Case Studies |publisher=Creative Commons |access-date=December 20, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111224111652/http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Casestudies |archive-date=December 24, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> CC licensed content can also be accessed through a number of content directories and search engines (see [[Creative Commons-licensed content directories]]).

== Unicode symbols ==

{{Contains special characters|Uncommon Unicode|section|compact=y}}

After being proposed by Creative Commons in 2017,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-07-24|title=Proposal to add CC license symbols to UCS|url=http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2017/17242r-creative-commons.pdf|access-date=2020-08-21|website=Unicode}}</ref> Creative Commons license symbols were added to [[Unicode]] with version 13.0 in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Steuer|first=Eric|date=2020-03-18|title=The Unicode Standard Now Includes CC License Symbols|url=https://creativecommons.org/2020/03/18/the-unicode-standard-now-includes-cc-license-symbols/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727183045/https://creativecommons.org/2020/03/18/the-unicode-standard-now-includes-cc-license-symbols/|archive-date=2020-07-27|access-date=2020-07-06|website=Creative Commons|language=en-US}}</ref> The circle with an equal sign (meaning ''no derivatives'') is present in older versions of Unicode, unlike all the other symbols.
{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!Unicode
![[Decimal]]
![[UTF-8]]
!Image
!Displayed
|-
|Circled Equals
meaning ''no derivatives''
|U+229C
|&amp;#8860;
|E2 8A 9C
|[[File:Cc-nd.svg|center|26px]]
| style="font-size:24pt;" |⊜
|-
|Circled Zero With Slash
meaning ''no rights reserved''
|U+1F10D
|&amp;#127245;
|F0 9F 84 8D
|[[File:Cc-zero.svg|center|26px]]
| style="font-size:24pt;" |🄍
|-
|Circled Anticlockwise Arrow
meaning ''[[Share-alike|share alike]]''
|U+1F10E
|&amp;#127246;
|F0 9F 84 8E
|[[File:Cc-sa.svg|center|26px]]
| style="font-size:24pt;" |🄎
|-
|Circled Dollar Sign With Overlaid Backslash
meaning ''non commercial''
|U+1F10F
|&amp;#127247;
|F0 9F 84 8F
|[[File:Cc-nc.svg|center|26px]]
| style="font-size:24pt;" |🄏
|-
|Circled CC
meaning ''Creative Commons license''
|U+1F16D
|&amp;#127341;
|F0 9F 85 AD
|[[File:Cc.logo.circle.svg|center|26px]]
| style="font-size:24pt;" |🅭
|-
|Circled C With Overlaid Backslash
meaning ''[[public domain]]''
|U+1F16E
|&amp;#127342;
|F0 9F 85 AE
|[[File:Cc-public domain mark.svg|center|26px]]
| style="font-size:24pt;" |🅮
|-
|Circled Human Figure
meaning ''attribution, credit''
|U+1F16F
|&amp;#127343;
|F0 9F 85 AF
|[[File:Cc-by_new.svg|center|26px]]
| style="font-size:24pt;" |🅯
|}

These symbols can be used in succession to indicate a particular Creative Commons license, for example, ''CC-BY-SA'' (CC-Attribution-ShareAlike) can be expressed with Unicode symbols <code>CIRCLED CC</code>, <code>CIRCLED HUMAN FIGURE</code> and <code>CIRCLED ANTICLOCKWISE ARROW</code> placed next to each other: 🅭🅯🄎

== Case law database ==

In December{{nbsp}}2020, the Creative Commons organization launched an online database covering licensing case law and legal scholarship.<ref name="salazar-2020">{{cite web
 | last1 = Salazar | first1 = Krystle
 | title = Explore the new CC legal database site!
 | date = 3 December 2020
 | work = Creative Commons
 | location = Mountain View, California, USA
 | url = https://creativecommons.org/2020/12/03/explore-the-new-cc-legal-database-site/
 | access-date = 2021-01-03
}}
</ref><ref name="creative-commons-ongoing">
{{cite web
 | author = Creative Commons
 | title = Creative Commons Legal Database
 | work = Creative Commons
 | location = Mountain View, California, USA
 | url = https://legaldb.creativecommons.org
 | access-date = 2021-01-03
}}
</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Free culture movement]]
* [[Free music]]
* [[Free software]]
* [[Non-commercial educational]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==

{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|https://creativecommons.org}}
* [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Full selection of licenses]
* [http://freedomdefined.org/Licenses ''Licenses'']. Overview of free licenses. freedomdefined.org
* [https://www.theinfoguiders.com/creative-commons-license/ ''WHAT IS CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE''].  – THE COMPLETE DEFINITIVE GUIDE
* [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Web-friendly formatted summary of CC BY-SA 3.0]
{{Creative Commons topic}}
{{FOSS}}
{{Open navbox}}
{{Subject bar|commons=yes|commons-search=Category:Creative Commons|s=yes|s-search=Category:Creative Commons|wikt=yes|v=yes|q=yes|d=yes}}

[[Category:Creative Commons| ]]
[[Category:Computer law]]
[[Category:Copyleft]]
[[Category:Free content licenses]]
[[Category:Intellectual property activism]]
[[Category:Intellectual property law]]
[[Category:Public copyright licenses]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Copyleft software licenses]]