Creative Commons Licenses

What is Creative Commons?

Creative Commons (CC) is a system that allows creators to share their work with others while keeping some rights. It provides different types of licenses to control how a work can be used, modified, and shared.

Types of Creative Commons Licenses

There are six main types of Creative Commons licenses. Each has different rules about how the work can be used.

1. CC BY (Attribution)

• This is the most open license.
• You can copy, change, and share the work, even for commercial purposes.
• You must give credit to the original creator.

2. CC BY-SA (Attribution-ShareAlike)

• You can copy, change, and share the work, even for commercial purposes.
• You must give credit to the original creator.
• If you make changes, you must use the same CC BY-SA license for your work.

3. CC BY-ND (Attribution-NoDerivatives)

• You can copy and share the work, even for commercial purposes.
• You must give credit to the original creator.
• You cannot change or modify the work in any way.

4. CC BY-NC (Attribution-NonCommercial)

• You can copy, change, and share the work for non-commercial purposes.
• You must give credit to the original creator.
• You cannot use the work for commercial purposes.

5. CC BY-NC-SA (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike)

• You can copy, change, and share the work for non-commercial purposes.
• You must give credit to the original creator.
• If you make changes, you must use the same CC BY-NC-SA license for your work.
• You cannot use the work for commercial purposes.

6. CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives)

• This is the most restrictive license.
• You can copy and share the work for non-commercial purposes.
• You must give credit to the original creator.
• You cannot change or modify the work in any way.
• You cannot use the work for commercial purposes.

How to Recognize Creative Commons Licenses

Each CC license has a symbol: - BY = Credit must be given. - SA = Share with the same license. - ND = No changes allowed. - NC = No commercial use.

Why Use Creative Commons?

• It helps creators share their work while keeping some rights.
• It makes it easy for people to use and share creative works legally.
• It encourages collaboration and creativity.

Summary Table

License	Can share?	Can modify?	Can use commercially?	Must give credit?
CC BY	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
CC BY-SA	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
CC BY-ND	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
CC BY-NC	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
CC BY-NC-SA	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
CC BY-NC-ND	Yes	No	No	Yes

With Creative Commons, we can share knowledge, art, and ideas in a legal and respectful way.