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An Introduction to Creative Commons

New to Creative Commons? Learn the basics in this guide!

How to use CC licensed works

Creative Commons licenses are made to help you determine if and how a work can be used for your own needs. It is easy to share CC licensed works with the proper attribution, but knowing your options become trickier when you want to share works you have combined or modified.

If you decide to modify or combine multiple CC licensed works into a separate new work, you are either creating a collection or a remix (also know as a adapted or derivative work). Collections and remixes are distinct from each other and have unique requirements to ensure your use is legal. On this page, both methods are explained and license considerations are described.

Collections and Remixes

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Remixes / Adaptations / Derivatives

What is a remix/adaptation/derivative work?

Created when a user makes something entirely new based upon one or more CC licensed works. The new remixed work must 1. be derived directly from the original work(s), 2. must be distinct enough from its original(s) to receive its own copyright protection, and 3. be unique enough from the original work(s) that the original work(s) cannot be distinctly identifiable in the new creation (i.e., only included as an excerpt).

 License considerations for a remixed work:

  • Fair use exceptions and other copyright limitations on the original works apply. If your use falls under a copyright exception or limitation, you do not need to abide by CC license requirements.
  • Remixes of ND (NoDerivative) licensed works (BY-ND and BY-NC-ND) cannot be shared publicly. 
  • Remixes of SA (ShareAlike) licensed works (BY-SA and BY-NC-SA) must be shared using the same or a compatible license to the original.
  • When combining more than one CC licensed work together into a new creation, the CC licenses of the combined works must be compatible with each other. A handy compatibility chart is available from Creative Commons here.
  • Small changes to a work like correcting misspelling or changing a work's format  does not constitute a remix.
  • All works used in a remix must be attributed.

Above image: "Bokeh remix" by kevin dooley is marked with CC BY 2.0.

photograph of a collection of wooden art

Collections

What is a collection?

Created when a user compiles more than one CC licensed work into a larger work. Each individual work of a collection is distinct and includes a citation and its CC license information. An example of a collection is available by clicking here or on the "Example Collection" in the side navigation. When viewing the example, consider what makes a collection distinct from a remix.

License considerations for a collection:

  • Fair use exceptions and other copyright limitations on the original works apply. If your use falls under a copyright exception or limitation, you do not need to abide by CC license requirements. 
  • Each individual work in a collection must be distinct from the other works in the collection.
  • Each individual work in a collection must be properly attributed (title, author, source, license).
  • Collections may be given a new copyright license to cover the new parts created by the collection creator but the license does not cover the individual works, only the newly created collection as a whole.

Above image: "Collections" by fred_v is marked with CC BY 2.0.