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Creative Commons: Using CC Licenses

An introduction to Creative Commons, basic copyright, and considerations for open licenses.

Attribution

One of the most important aspects of CC licenses is attribution. CC suggests including a Title, Author (who should reusers give credit to), Source (provide reusers a link to the resource), and License (link to the CC license deed) (TASL) for practicing attribution. The TASL method works for both marking your work and providing attribution to the work of others.

Creative Commons Logo Outlined by a Heart

Considerations Before Choosing a License

You should control the copyright to the content to which you apply a CC license. Before selecting a license, be mindful about whether you are the copyright holder to the content you want to apply a CC license to.

Think of the six CC licenses as providing a range of options for you, a content creator/author, to communicate to a global audience how you want others to use your work. This is key to deciding which license is best for your context. As yourself why you want to share your work openly?

Try the license chooser to consider your options!

Finding CC Licensed Work

The following are recommended platforms and search tools for locating CC licensed content.

Let's Talk Using CC Licenses

Let's Talk Using CC Licenses

Let's Talk Using CC Licenses

View or make a copy of these slides here.

Collections Vs. Remixes

Collections Vs. Remixes

Collections

  • A collection compiles distinctly separate content together, maintaining them as separate. Example: recipes pulled together into a book.
  • A collection must contain licensing and attribution information for each item.
  • You may have a separate license for the portion of the collection that was your contribution. That is the organization and arrangement of the content in the collection.

Remixes

  • Remixes and adaptations combine content from different sources into uniquely new content.
  • In this case you often cannot tell where content from one source ends and another begins.
  • It is still critical to provide licensing and attribution for all content used in remixes and adaptations.
  • Not all open licenses can be combined together in this way.

Collection Example

Collection Example

  1. Woman wearing virtual reality headset by Sound On.
  2. Amazed Businessman by Free Stock Photo.
  3. Virtual Reality Becoming a Reality by BagoGames.
  4. Woman and virtual reality, public domain image.

Virtual Reality Photo Collection by Shannon M. Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Pause and Reflect

Pause and Reflect

When might you create a collection versus a remix?

  • Consider your motivations to create content.
  • What learning experience might make a collection more beneficial for your needs?
  • Can you think of an instance when you adapted or remixed content but chose not to re-share it openly? Why?

Remixes, Adaptations, & Derivatives...Oh My!

Remixes, Adaptations, & Derivatives...Oh My!

  • The terms remix, adaptation, and derivative are used interchangeably.
  • The most complicated situation is when you want to combine or adapt two or more CC licensed items into a new work.
  • The original license will continue to govern the portion included in an adaptation/remix, and not all CC licenses are compatible with each other.
  • Share alike licenses for example have very few licenses they can be combined with. Consider the next slide.

No Derivatives

No Derivatives

"As of version 4.0, all CC licenses, even the no derivatives licenses, allow anyone to make an adaptation of a CC licensed work. The difference between the ND licenses and the other licenses is that if an adaptation of an ND-licensed work has been created, it cannot be shared with others.This allows for example, an individual user to create adaptations of an ND-licensed work. But ND does not allow the individual to share adaptations with the public."

Thank You

Thank You

This presentation by Shannon M. Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

All images used reside in the public domain unless otherwise noted.

Content adapted from "Using CC Licenses and CC Licensed Works" by Creative Commons. CC-BY.

This guide was compiled by Shannon M. Smith and is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License except where otherwise noted.