FAQ: What is Creative Commons?
What is Creative Commons?
The term Creative Commons can refer to one of three things:
The Creative Commons License Set. Consisting of four different license types, these permit creators to allow the open use of their work to the extent and within the conditions that they specify in terms of reuse, attribution, and derivative copies.
The Creative Commons Foundation. A non-profit institution founded by Lawrence Lessig, Hal Abelson, James Boyle. The CC Foundation continues to update and refine the Creative Commons Licenses. The purpose of the creative commons license is to allow creators to control how their work is used and to allow their work to be shared while they still retain some of their rights
The Creative Commons movement. A global movement of activists, creators, policy makers, educators and others who are working on reforming our copyright laws to permit the 5R’s: Retain, Reuse, Revise, Remix, and Redistribute.
License Requirements
There are six basic Creative Commons Licenses based on four requirements of use. The following icons indicate the conditions that must be met to re-use a work:
| License Icon | License Meaning |
|---|---|
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Attribution: You may use the work as long as you give credit in the form the author requests, provide a link to the license, and indicate if you made any changes to the work. |
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ShareAlike: You must distribute your derivative work under the same license as the original work. |
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Non-Commercial: You cannot use the work for commercial purposes. |
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NoDerivatives: You cannot distribute modified versions of the work. |
More Information
- Copyright Guide (Shapiro Library)
- Creative Commons This link opens in a new window
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