Open Educational Resources

What is Creative Commons?

Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that aims to make creative work easy and free to use legally.  Creators use Creative Commons licenses to make it clear what you can and cannot do with their work.  CC licenses are the most common licenses used for Open Educational Resources.

Creative Commons does not replace copyright but compliments it.  Copyright owners keep their rights but give you permission to use their work in certain ways. Unlike most licenses, Creative Commons allows for fair use and other legal exemptions.  If you want to do something that the license (or fair use) doesn't allow, you can still ask for permission from the owner. For more information, see our Creative Commons Breakdown.

Check out our Creative Commons 101 Workshop!

The Licenses

There are seven CC licenses: six "core" licenses and a public domain license.  The main licenses are all a combination of four conditions:

• Attribution: You must give credit to the creator of the work.  When giving credit you should give the title, author, source, and license (known as the TASL framework).  For examples and more information, see Creative Commons' best practices for attribution.
• NonCommerical: You may use the work for any purpose except to make a profit or gain commercial advantage.
• ShareAlike: If you change or modify the original work, you must distribute the work under the same terms.
• NoDeriviatives: You can copy, distribute, display, or perform the work, but you cannot make changes to it.

Icon	Name	Abbreviation	Explanation
	Attribution	CC - BY	You have to give credit. You can copy, distribute, display, perform, and modify however you want.
	Attribution - ShareAlike	CC-BY-SA	You have to give credit. You can copy, distribute, display, perform, and modify the work.  Any new works you create by changing this work must be shared under the same license or a license with the same terms.
	Attribution - NoDerivatives	CC-BY-ND	You have to give credit. You can copy, distribute, display, and perform the work. You cannot make changes to this work.
	Attribution - NonCommerical	CC-BY-NC	You have to give credit. You can copy, distribute, display, perform, and modify the work as long as you are not making a profit or gaining a commercial advantage.
	Attribution - NonCommerical - ShareAlike	CC-BY-NC-SA	You have to give credit. You can copy, distribute, display, perform, and modify the work as long as you are not making a profit or gaining a commercial advantage. Any new works you create must be shared under the same license or a license with the same terms.
	Attribution - NonCommerical - NoDerivatives	CC-BY-NC-ND	You have to give credit. You can copy, distribute, display, and perform the work as long as you are not making a profit or gaining a commercial advantage. You cannot make changes to this work.
	Creative Commons Zero	CC0	The creator is putting the work into the public domain.  No credit is required. You can use it in any way you want.

Which License is Right For Me?

If you are creating or adapting OER, you will want to put them under an open license for other people to use.  Creative Commons provides information and tools to help you decide which license is best for your creation.

If you are combining multiple open resources to make something new, you may need to pick a specific license to comply with Share-A-Like licenses.  Creative Commons has information on combining licenses, or you can contact Hunt Library.