CC-BY Creative Commons
CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSES
AND LEGAL TOOLS
Aurelia J. Schultz
Counsel, Creative Commons
aurelia@creativecommons.org
CREATIVE COMMONS IS
NOT A LAW FIRM AND DOES
NOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE.
Creative Commons is a non-profit
organization that enables worldwide sharing
and reuse of creative works and knowledge
through free legal and technical tools.
Why Enable Sharing
• Technology changed how we interact
with copyrighted works and copyright
law
• We are all creators
• Many creators build off of others’ works
• Not all creators want all the rights
granted by copyright in every situation
How Sharing is Enabled
Free copyright tools make
it easier for copyright
holders to exercise their
rights
by
cutting out the middleman
and getting the law out of
the way.
.
SOME RIGHTS RESERVED
4 License Elements
6 License Options
License Chooser
http://creativecommons.org/choose
License
Deed
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Legal
Code
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Metadata
Searching for CC Licensed
Material
http://www.google.com/advanced_image_search
Nitty Gritty of the Licenses
Creative Commons Licenses
are Copyright Licenses
• Only license copyright elements, not
things in the public domain or other
rights like publicity or trademark
• Copyright exceptions and limitations
are left in place
• License lasts for duration of copyright
protection
• License is non-revocable
Creative Commons Licenses
are Copyright Licenses
(cont.)
• Non-exclusive
• No sublicensing
• No warranties
• No choice of law or forum
(international)
• No DRM can be added
• Automatic termination upon breach
Important for ShareAlike
• ShareAlike (SA) licenses require that derivative works
are licensed under the same or a compatible license
• Cross-jurisdiction compatibility
• Future compatible
• i.e. BY-SA 2.0 remixed work can be released under
BY-SA 3.0
• NOTE: version 1.0 is not compatible
• Other compatible licenses:
http://creativecommons.org/compatiblelicenses
Things Licensors Should Consider
• Standard things for any license: Is it
copyrightable? Do they have the rights to
the work?
• How broadly do they want to share? What
level of reuse?
• Which license suite?
• How do they want to be attributed?
Things Licensees Should Consider
• Does the desired use fit within license terms?
• Are there other rights implicated in the work, such
as publicity rights?
• Is attribution properly given?
• When remixing, consider things both from the
Licensee’s and Licensor’s point of view
Benefits
For Creators For Users
• Increased sharing of • Safe, legal reuse
work, higher exposure
• Build on works already
• See the creativity created, not reinventing
inspired in others the wheel
through their remixes
• Easy to find and use
• Full-choice on license materials with low cost
terms
• Access to knowledge
• Time- and cost-saving
• Standardized license
terms
Other Legal Tools
• CC0 – for putting works into the public domain
• Waives all rights to the extent possible
• http://creativecommons.org/choose/zero/
• PDM – for marking works already in the public
domain
• To be used only on works that are in the public
domain everywhere
• http://creativecommons.org/choose/mark/
More Information