Knowing the Creative Commons License

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The copyright law was discussed previously, and I reiterated the implications when you infringe someone else’s work of art. Luckily, the Creative Commons License is here to save the day. Thanks to the people behind the Creative Commons team; we are able to use and share other people’s work without having to pay fees.

What is a Creative Commons license?

Creative Commons licenses are present to ensure that web content such as pictures, videos, songs, and other creative works, are free to use, easy to search, and easy to discover.

What makes CC different?

  • The CC team has many affiliates all over the globe, and they ensure that all the CC licenses work internationally. Through the Creative Common’s legal tools, it can provide flexibility to the users. he author has the liberty to grant the public rights to download, edit, and modify his /her work. Moreover, he or she can choose a CC license that best applies to his/her current situation.
  • For example, the author can grant personal use of his work. However, commercial use is prohibited. This strengthen the CC’s vision to help people see the kind and giving side of the internet.

The Licenses

As I stated earlier, the Creative Commons are flexible. All six copyright licenses could fit your original piece. These are the 6 types CC licenses:

  • The Attribution (CC BY)
    • This is the most easygoing and permissive of all 6 six licenses. The public can pretty much do anything lets others. People can download, share, edit, and modify works of art both for commercial and non-commercial use. Just don’t forget to give a shout-out to the owner!
  • Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
    • Ever wonder what license Wikipedia uses? This is it, folks! So, if you would incorporate various materials, you may use this license. The CC BY-SA allows users to tweak, edit, and modify creative works for both personal and commercial use. The owner must be credited and all new creations will be under the identical terms.
  • Attribution-NoDerivs (CC BY-ND)
    • The CC BY-ND allows commercial use, but the people cannot share their own interpretation. Thus, no tweaks or modification is allowed. Of course, you should be credited as the owner.
  • Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)
    • The CC BY-NC can let other people edit or modify artworks, but it has to be for personal use ONLY. The modified works should also be for non-commercial purposes, but they don’t have to register their work under similar terms.
  • Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA)
    • The CC BY-NC-SA allows people to edit or modify your work to their own accord just as long as the piece is going to be for personal use ONLY. The newer edits share the same terms so they will only be available only for personal, too! Furthermore, people need to mention you as the original owner.

  • Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)

    • Out of all the 6 licenses, this has to be the severely limiting option. The CC BY-NC-ND only allows people to download and share just as long as you are cited as the owner. No one is allowed to make changes or modify the works. Commercial use is also prohibited.