17.4 Creative Common Licenses

The 4 Components of Creative Commons Licenses 

Creative Commons licenses are built from four main components that can be combined in different ways to give creators control over how their work is used. When you're looking for materials—like images, videos, or textbooks—it’s important to understand what each part means.

Icon for Attribution CC license. A small, genderless human icon inside a white circle with a black border. Attribution (BY) Proper attribution must be given to the original creator of the work whenever a portion of their work is reused or adapted. This includes a link to the original work, information about the author, and information about the original work’s license.

Icon for ShareAlike CC license. An arrow pointing toward its tail in a circle within a white circle with a black border. Share-Alike (SA) Iterations of the original work must be made available under the same license terms.

A dollar sign with a line crossing it horizontally. This represents the Noncommercial CC license. Non-Commercial (NC) The work cannot be sold at a profit or used for commercial means such as for-profit advertising. Copies of the work can be purchased in print and given away or sold at cost.

An equal sign within a white circle with a black border. This represents the No Derivatives CC license. No Derivatives (ND) The work cannot be altered or “remixed.” Only identical copies of the work can be redistributed without additional permission from the creator.

Knowing these terms helps you figure out what you can and can’t do with the resources you find. These elements can be mixed and matched to create a total of six Creative Commons licenses. 

6 creative commons licenses

Here’s a brief overview of the six Creative Commons licenses:

  1. CC BY (Attribution)
    You can use, share, and adapt the work—even for commercial purposes—as long as you give proper credit to the creator.
  2. CC BY-SA (Attribution-ShareAlike)
    You can use, share, and adapt the work for any purpose, but any adaptations must be shared under the same license. This is the license used by Wikipedia.
  3. CC BY-ND (Attribution-NoDerivatives)
    You can use and share the work, including for commercial purposes, but you cannot change or adapt it. Credit to the creator is still required.
  4. CC BY-NC (Attribution-NonCommercial)
    You can use, share, and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes only, and you must give credit to the creator.
  5. CC BY-NC-SA (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike)
    You can use and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes, but any adaptations must be shared under the same license, with credit given to the creator.
  6. CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives)
    The most restrictive license—you can share the work for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide credit, but you cannot change or adapt it.

Each license balances flexibility with protection, so you can easily see what’s allowed when using a resource!

 Which license should I choose?

Choosing a CC license can be confusing at first, but the online Choose a License tool Links to an external site. can help. This tool generates a license based on which rights you want to retain and which you would like to give to users. For example, if you want to share your work and allow others to adapt it, but you do not want others to be able to sell your work, you might consider using the CC BY NC license.

Before you choose a license, keep in mind that an OER should be able to exercise all the 5 Rs of open content we discussed in the previous chapter. Not all of the CC licenses meet this definition. Specifically, the CC BY ND and CC BY NC ND licenses do not allow revising or remixing content, two of the most significant freedoms of OER for many instructors.

 

 Attribution VS Citation

Attribution is a similar process to citing academic works in a paper, but there are some key differences. The following table outlines some of the ways in which citations and attribution are similar and different:

Attribution: This table was adapted by Abbey Elder from “Citation vs. Attribution Links to an external site.” by Lauri Aesoph, licensed CC BY 4.0. Links to an external site.
Citation Attribution
Purpose is academic (e.g. avoiding plagiarism) Purpose is legal (e.g. following licensing regulations)
Does NOT typically include licensing information for the work Typically includes licensing information for the work
Used to quote or paraphrase a limited portion of a work Used to quote or paraphrase all or a portion of a work
Can paraphrase, but cannot typically change the work’s meaning Can change the work under Fair Use or with advance permission
(e.g., under most CC licenses)
Many citation styles are available
(e.g., APA, Chicago, and MLA)		 Attribution statement styles are still emerging, but there are some defined best practices
Cited resources are typically placed in a reference list Attribution statements are typically found near the work used
(e.g., below an image)

Works Cited