"An Introduction to Creative Commons" by Colleen Deel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The information found on this page is remixed from "Unit 3: Anatomy of a CC License" by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
There are four Creative Commons (CC) elements that create six unique CC licenses. Each license is built using the same three layers.
Layer 3: Machine readable license. When licensed works are put online, they can be given a special license attribution called CC REL that can be read by search engines, apps, and other technology to make it easier for licensed works to be found online.
Layer 2: Common deeds. This is a summary of the legal code written for the layperson to understand.
Layer 1: Legal code. CC licenses are symbols of open sharing, but their strength also lies in the fact they're legally enforceable. CC licenses are built to be internationally used and thus are internationally enforceable. The legal code forms the base of all CC licenses.
The attribution symbol, often shortened to "BY." This element means the creator must be given credit for their original work. All CC licenses require attribution.
The non-commercial symbol, often shortened to "NC." This element means these licensed works can't be used for commercial or monetary gain.
The share alike symbol, often shortened to "SA." This element means shared adaptations must use the same or a compatible license.
The no derivatives symbol, often shortened to "ND." This element means adaptations created of these works can't be shared.
There are six CC licenses, all of which use the four elements described above. CC licenses can't restrict the use of works more than a typical copyright does. This means, CC licensed works have the same fair use exceptions as works under regular copyright such as the TEACH Act.
The CC Licenses below are listed in order of least to most restrictive. As a creator, you can choose which license to use that best fits your needs.
 |
CC BY | Works given this license can be used, adapted, and shared for any reason. Creator must be attributed if shared. |
 |
BY-SA | Works given this license can be used, adapted, and shared as long as shared adaptations are made available under the same or compatible license. Creator must be attributed if shared. |
 |
BY-NC | Works given this license can be used, adapted, and shared as long as shared adaptations are not intended for commercial use. Creator must be attributed if shared. |
 |
BY-NC-SA | Works given this license can be used, adapted, and shared as long as shared adaptations are made available under the same or compatible license and are not intended for commercial use. Creator must be attributed if shared. |
 |
BY-ND | Works given this license can be used and shared unadapted for any reason. These works can be adapted for personal use only. Creator must be attributed if shared. |
 |
BY-NC-ND | Works given this license can be used and shared unadapted for non-commercial purposes. Creator must be attributed if shared. |
In addition to the six CC licenses, there is one license (CC0) that helps creators dedicate their work to the public. This license is not listed with the six CC licenses because it reserves no rights for the creator.
 |
CC0 | A creator can choose to opt out of copyright to the greatest extent of the law by using the CC0 (CC Zero) license. Works given this license can be used, shared, and adapted for any reason without attribution. When using works with this license |
 |
Public Domain Mark | Works already in the public domain can be given this mark to signify their status. |
CC licenses are built to respect the same exceptions and limitations as a traditional copyright license.
