Difference between revisions of "Frequently Asked Questions"

  articles=Hr:FAQ,Ru:ЧАВО

'''This is the full/extended version of the FAQ. It has a lot of information, and may be difficult to navigate. You may want to first take a look at the [[FFAQ | abbreviated FAQ]], which answers a handful of the most common questions people have about Creative Commons.'''

Please Note: '''Creative Commons does not provide legal advice'''. This FAQ is designed to be helpful in raising awareness about the use of our licenses. It is not a substitute for legal advice. It may not cover important issues that affect you and you may wish to consult with a lawyer.

===Questions for people thinking about applying a Creative Commons license to their work===

====How do I apply a Creative Commons<small>^®</small> license to my work?====

For online works, you apply a Creative Commons license to a work by [http://creativecommons.org/choose/ selecting the license that suits your preferences]. Once you have selected your license, and if you are applying it to an online work, follow the instructions to include the html code in your work. This code will automatically generate a license button and a statement that your work is licensed under a Creative Commons license, or a CC0 or public domain button if you choose to dedicate your work to the public domain or certify that a work is in the public domain via one of our [http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain public domain tools]. These buttons are designed to act as a notice to people who come in contact with your work that your work is licensed under the applicable Creative Commons license or is in the public domain. The html code will also include the metadata that enables your work to be found via [http://search.creativecommons.org Creative Commons-enabled search engines].

====Can I apply a Creative Commons license to an offline work?====

Yes. For offline works, you should identify which Creative Commons license you wish to apply to your work and then mark your work either: (a) with a statement such as “This work is licensed under the Creative Commons [insert description] License. To view a copy of this license, visit [insert url]; or, (b) send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 2nd Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.” or insert the applicable license buttons with the same statement and URL link.  

====May I apply a Creative Commons license to a work that is in the public domain?====

No, Creative Commons licenses should not be applied to works in the public domain.  Our licenses are intended for works protected by copyright only.  Our deeds now state this unambiguously:  "Public Domain -- where the work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license."  Applying a CC license to a work in the public domain may constitute [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyfraud Copyfraud]. However, if you incorporate a work that is in the public domain into a collection that is itself protected by copyright, then you may apply a Creative Commons license to the work as a collection, although the license will not affect the status of public domain work. Similarly, you may apply a Creative Commons license to an adaptation of a public domain work if you hold copyright to the adaptation.

====How does a Creative Commons license operate?====

A Creative Commons license is based on copyright. So they apply to all works that are protected by copyright law. The kinds of works that are protected by copyright law are books, websites, blogs, photographs, films, videos, songs and other audio & visual recordings, for example. Software programs are also protected by copyright but, as explained below, we do not recommend that you apply a Creative Commons license to software code.

Creative Commons licenses give you the ability to dictate how others may exercise your copyright rights—such as the right of others to copy your work, make derivative works or adaptations of your work, to distribute your work and/or make money from your work. They do not give you the ability to restrict anything that is otherwise permitted by exceptions or limitations to copyright—including, importantly, fair use or fair dealing—nor do they give you the ability to control anything that is not protected by copyright law, such as facts and ideas.

Creative Commons licenses attach to the work and authorize everyone who comes in contact with the work to use it consistent with the license. This means that if Bob has a copy of your Creative Commons-licensed work, Bob can give a copy to Carol and Carol will be authorized to use the work consistent with the Creative Commons license. You then have a license agreement separately with both Bob and Carol.

You should be aware that Creative Commons licenses only affect your rights under copyright. You are not licensing your trademark or patent rights, if any, when you apply a CC license to your work.

Creative Commons licenses are expressed in three different formats: the Commons Deed (human-readable code), the Legal Code (lawyer-readable code); and the metadata (machine readable code). You don’t need to sign anything to get a Creative Commons license—just [http://creativecommons.org/license/ select your license with our License Chooser]. 

One final thing you should understand about Creative Commons licenses is that they are all non-exclusive. This means that you can permit the general public to use your work under a Creative Commons license and then enter into a separate and different non-exclusive license with someone else, for example, in exchange for money.

====What things should I think about before I apply a Creative Commons license to my work?====

We have set out some things that you should think about before you apply a Creative Commons license to your work [[Before Licensing|here]].

====Which Creative Commons license should I choose?====

You should choose the license that meets your preferences. The license is a statement as to what others may do with your work, so you should select a license that matches what you are happy for others to do with your work. You can find [http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/meet-the-licenses an overview of the Creative Commons licenses here].

You can find out information about how our licenses have been applied by other people to [http://creativecommons.org/text/ text], [http://creativecommons.org/audio/ audio], [http://creativecommons.org/image/ images], [http://creativecommons.org/video/ video] and [http://creativecommons.org/education/ educational works].

Finally, you can also consult with a lawyer to obtain advice on the best license for your needs. For information about how you may be able to locate a suitably qualified lawyer, please refer to [[Frequently_Asked_Questions#Will_Creative_Commons_help_me_enforce_my_license?|this question and answer]].

====What if I change my mind?====

Creative Commons licenses are non-revocable. This means that you cannot stop someone, who has obtained your work under a Creative Commons license, from using the work according to that license. You can stop distributing your work under a Creative Commons license at any time you wish; but this will not withdraw any copies of your work that already exist under a Creative Commons license from circulation, be they verbatim copies, copies included in collective works and/or adaptations of your work. So you need to think carefully when choosing a Creative Commons license to make sure that you are happy for people to be using your work consistent with the terms of the license, even if you later stop distributing your work.

====Do I need to sign something or register to obtain a Creative Commons license?====

We do not keep track of or a register of which creative works have been licensed under a Creative Commons license. We make the licenses, code and tools available for you to use or not as you wish.

====What is the Commons Deed? What is the legal code? What does the html/metadata do?====

The Commons Deed is a summary of the key terms of the actual license (which is the Legal Code)—basically, what others can and cannot do with the work. Think of it as the user-friendly interface to the Legal Code beneath. This Deed itself has no legal value, and its contents do not appear in the actual license.

The Legal Code is the actual license; a document designed to be enforced in a court of law.

The metadata describes the key license elements that apply to a piece of content to enable discovery through [http://search.creativecommons.org CC-enabled search engines].

====I am in a band; can I use Creative Commons licenses but still collect statutory royalties such as under statutory licenses for public performances?====

Yes, so long as you choose a “NonCommercial” license option (ie. Attribution-NonCommercial, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike or Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives) because under these licenses you reserve the right to collect royalties under statutory or compulsory licenses for commercial use of your work. Whether, as a practical matter, you can collect these royalties, depends on which country you are in (check out the answer to the next question).

Under the Creative Commons licenses that permit other people to make commercial use of your work (ie. Attribution, Attribution-ShareAlike, Attribution-NoDerivatives), the licensor waives the right to collect these royalties.

====I am a member of a collecting society, can I use Creative Commons licenses?====

You need to check with your society. Currently, many of the collecting societies in Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Taiwan and the Netherlands take an assignment of rights (or in France what is called a “mandate” of rights that nonetheless has the same effect practically as an assignment) from you in present and future works (so that they effectively become the owner of these rights) and manage them for you. So if you are already a member of a collecting society in one of these jurisdictions, you may not be entitled to license your work yourself under a Creative Commons license because the necessary rights are not held by you but by the collecting society. Please also read the FAQ on the website of the Creative Commons project team for your jurisdiction for more information about this issue in your jurisdiction.

Creative Commons is reaching out to collecting societies in those jurisdictions where this problem arises to try to find a solution that enables creators to enjoy the benefits both systems offer.  

If you encounter difficulties with using Creative Commons licenses because of your membership in a collecting society in your jurisdiction that is not listed above, please let either your country’s Creative Commons [http://creativecommons.org/worldwide/ project team] know or email info@creativecommons.org. Also, if you wish to discuss ways to try to deal with the situation in your country please contact your country’s Creative Commons [http://creativecommons.org/worldwide/ project team].  

If you are already a member of one of these collecting societies, feel free to encourage your collecting society to give you the option of Creative Commons licensing.

Absolutely. Firstly, because our licenses are non-exclusive which means you are not tied down to only make a piece of your content available under a Creative Commons license; you can also enter into other revenue-generating licenses in relation to your work. One of our central goals is to encourage people to experiment with new ways to promote and market their work.  

Secondly, the noncommercial license option is an inventive tool designed to allow people to maximize the distribution of their works while keeping control of the commercial aspects of their copyright. To make one thing clear that is sometimes misunderstood: the "noncommercial use" condition applies only to others who use your work, not to you (the licensor). So if you choose to license your work under a Creative Commons license that includes the “noncommercial use” option, you impose the ”noncommercial” condition on the users (licensees). However, you, the creator of the work and/or licensor, may at any time decide to use it commercially. People who want to copy or adapt your work, "primarily for monetary compensation or financial gain" must get your separate permission first.

One thing to note on the noncommercial provision: under current U.S. law, file-sharing or the trading of works online is considered a commercial use -- even if no money changes hands. Because we believe that file-sharing, used properly, is a powerful tool for distribution and education, all Creative Commons licenses contain a special exception for file-sharing. The trading of works online is not a commercial use, under our documents, provided it is not done for monetary gain.

In most jurisdictions, registration is not required. However, for creators in the United States registration can be obtained and is advisable so that you can enforce your copyright in court. For US-based creators, you should check out the U.S. Copyright Office’s ‘[http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf Copyright Basics]’ page, which explains more about copyright registration.

====Is applying a Creative Commons license to my work the same or an alternative to registering the copyright to my work?====

No. Applying a Creative Commons license to your work does not give you the same, similar or alternate protection to registering your copyright. Creative Commons licenses apply in addition to and on top of an existing copyright.  

====Do I need to register my copyright in order to use a Creative Commons license?====

No. Creative Commons licenses apply to works that are copyrighted. As a general rule, in most jurisdictions, copyright protection is automatic for those works that satisfy the requirements of copyright law. Generally, copyright attaches to creative and expressive works once they are fixed in tangible form, ie. the minute you put pen to paper, brush to easel, hit the “save” button on your computer, the “send” button on your email or take a photo.

For U.S. based creators, registering your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office is advisable so that you can enforce your copyright in court. For US-based creators, you should check out the U.S. Copyright Office’s ‘[http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf Copyright Basics]’ page which explains more about copyright registration.

====Do I need a copyright notice to protect my work?====

You do not need to apply a copyright notice to secure copyright protection. However, a copyright notice can be useful because it clearly signals to people that you believe you own copyright in your work and who to contact.  

====Do Creative Commons licenses affect fair use, fair dealing or other exceptions to copyright?====

No. All jurisdictions allow some uses of copyrighted material without permission, such as quotation, current-affairs reporting, or parody, although these vary from country to country. These usage rights are independent from the license and are not affected or changed in any way. To make this clear, all of our licenses include this or similar language: “Nothing in this license is intended to reduce, limit, or restrict any rights arising from fair use, first sale or other limitations on the exclusive rights of the copyright owner under copyright law or other applicable laws.” Thus, regardless of the jurisdiction a user is in, our licenses do not affect a user’s right to use or allow use of content under copyright exceptions and limitations.  Read more about [[Podcasting_Legal_Guide#Fair_Use_Under_Copyright_Law_And_Its_Application_To_Podcasts|Fair Use in the United States.]].

====Can I use a Creative Commons license for software?====

We do not recommend it. Creative Commons licenses should not be used for software. We strongly encourage you to use one of the very good software licenses which are already available. We recommend considering licenses made available by the [http://www.fsf.org/ Free Software Foundation] or listed at the [http://www.opensource.org/ Open Source Initiative]. Unlike our licenses, which do not make mention of source or object code, these existing licenses were designed specifically for use with software.

Creative Commons has “wrapped” some free software/open source licenses with a human-readable "Commons Deed" and machine-readable metadata. You may use these "wrapped" software licenses to take advantage of the Creative Commons human-readable document as well as the machine-readable metadata while still licensing your work under an established software license.  It is important to note that CC has not altered these software licenses in any way, but has simply bundled human- and machine-readable explanations of the licenses along with the original license text.  Examples: [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/GPL/2.0/ GNU GPL], [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/LGPL/2.1/ GNU LGPL], [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BSD/ BSD].

====Should I use Creative Commons licenses for software documentation?====

Absolutely. Creative Commons licenses work well for all text materials.

====What happens when a copyright owner says her work is governed by two different Creative Commons licenses?====

As a user, you can choose to use the work under either license. Generally, a licensor that offers the same work under two different licenses gives the public a choice between them. If, for example, a photograph is governed by one license with a NonCommercial provision, plus a separate license with a NoDerivatives provision, it does not mean that both provisions apply together. If an owner wants both to apply together, she should be sure to choose a single license that contains both provisions.

The Creative Commons Legal Code has been drafted with the intention that it will be enforceable in court. That said, we can not account for every last nuance in the world's various copyright laws and/or the circumstances within which our licenses are applied and Creative Commons-licensed content is used. Please note, however, that our licenses contain "severability" clauses -- meaning that, if a certain provision is found to be unenforeceable in a certain place, that provision and only that provision drops out of the license, leaving the rest of the agreement intact.

====Will Creative Commons help me enforce my license?====

No. We are not permitted to provide legal advice or legal services to assist anyone with enforcing Creative Commons licenses. We are not a law firm. We're much like a legal self-help site that offers free form-based legal documents for you to use however you see fit.

However, if you are based in the US, you may be able to find a suitably qualified volunteer lawyer in your area from [http://www.starvingartistslaw.com/help/volunteer%20lawyers.htm Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts]. If you are based in Australia, the [http://www.artslaw.com.au/ Arts Law Centre of Australia] may be able to put you in touch with a volunteer lawyer.

====What happens if someone misuses my Creative Commons-licensed work?====

A Creative Commons license terminates automatically if someone uses your work contrary to the license terms. This means that, if a person uses your work under a Creative Commons license and they, for example, fail to attribute your work in the manner you specified, then they no longer have the right to continue to use your work. This only applies in relation to the person in breach of the license; it does not apply generally to the other people who use your work under a Creative Commons license and comply with its terms.  

You have a number of options as to how you can enforce this; you can consider contacting the person and asking them to rectify the situation and/or you can consider consulting a lawyer to act on your behalf. For information about how you may be able to locate a suitably qualified lawyer, please refer to [[Frequently_Asked_Questions#Will_Creative_Commons_help_me_enforce_my_license?|this question and answer]].

====I don’t like the way a person has used my work in a derivative work or included it in a collective work; what can I do?====

If you do not like the way that a person has made a derivative work or incorporated your work into a collective work, under the Creative Commons licenses, you may request removal of your name from the derivative work or the collective work.

====What are moral rights, and how could I exercise them to prevent uses of my work that I don’t like?====

In addition to the right of licensors to request removal of their name from a work when used in a derivative or collective they don't like, copyright laws in most jurisdictions around the world (with the notable exception of the US except in very limited circumstances) grant creators “moral rights” which may provide some redress if a derivative work represents a “derogatory treatment” of the licensor's work. Moral rights give an original author the right to object to “derogatory treatment” of their work; “derogatory treatment” is typically defined as “distortion or mutilation” of the work or treatment that is “prejudicial to the honor, or reputation of the author.” Creative Commons licenses (with the exception of Canada) do not affect any moral rights licensors may have. This means that if you have moral rights as an original author of a work, you may be able to take action against a creator who is using your work in a way you find objectionable. Of course, not all derivative works you don’t like are necessarily “derogatory.”

====What are the international ("unported") CC licenses, and why does CC offer “ported” licenses?====

Creative Commons offers a core suite of six copyright licenses that are written to conform to international treaties governing copyright. These licenses were drafted to be utilized and enforceable around the world without further modification. You can think of the international license suite as appropriate for use in all of the countries that are signatories to the treaties mentioned above.  

Creative Commons also offers ported versions of its six, core international licenses for many distinct jurisdictions (usually jurisdiction = country, but not always).  These ported licenses are based on the international license suite and differ only in that they have been modified to reflect any local nuances in how legal terms and conditions are expressed, drafting protocols and, of course, language. The ported licenses and the international licenses are all intended to be legally effective anywhere.

That depends.  There are several reasons why the international licenses may be preferable for a licensor, even if the licenses have been ported to his or her jurisdiction. CC, for example, licenses all of its own content under an international license because, among other things, the international licenses are essentially jurisdiction-neutral while remaining effective globally. The neutral nature of the international licenses appeals to many people and organizations, particularly for use in connection with global projects that span political borders, a staple of digital culture today. Another reason the international licenses may be preferable is because the ported licenses for a particular jurisdiction may not always be at the most updated and [http://creativecommons.org/licenses recommended version]. The international licenses are always improved and updated before any others, since they are the licenses on which all of the ported licenses are based.  Using the international licenses guarantees that the licensor has at his or her disposal the latest, recommended version.

Notwithstanding those benefits, some creators still choose a license ported to their local jurisdiction because there may be some specific laws in their jurisdiction that are not explicitly handled by the international licenses. For example, in the European Union some creators may prefer a ported license over an international license because all version 3.0 licenses ported to E.U. jurisdictions specifically address the European Database Directive as implemented in national laws.  The international licenses do not address that directive.  If the licenses have been ported to your jurisdiction and you feel that your jurisdiction's ported licenses account for some aspect of local legislation that the international licenses do not, then you may want to consider which license is better suited for your needs.

===Questions for people thinking about using a Creative Commons-licensed work===

====Will Creative Commons give me permission to use a work?====

The permission isn’t ours to give. Creative Commons simply makes available licenses and tools to enable creators and licensors to license their works on more flexible terms. By applying a Creative Commons license to a work, the creator or licensor has decided to clearly signal to members of the public, such as you, that you may use the work without having to ask for permission—provided that you use it consistent with the license terms.

====Does Creative Commons determine what content is released under its licenses?====

Creative Commons, as an organization, does not control how the licenses are used and does not check or verify whether a Creative Commons license has been correctly applied to a particular work.  Creative Commons does not endorse or certify any use of its licenses.

Instead, Creative Commons provides the licenses as a tool that may be adopted (or not) by members of the creative community. Creative Commons does not determine whether the use of the licenses is appropriate for your situation or for a particular work.

====What are the terms of a Creative Commons license?====

The key terms of the core suite of Creative Commons licenses are: Attribution, NonCommercial, NoDerivatives and ShareAlike. These license elements are succinctly described as follows:

: '''Attribution.''' You let people copy, distribute, display, perform, and remix your copyrighted work, as long as they give you credit the way you request. All CC licenses contain this property.  

: '''NonCommercial.''' You let people copy, distribute, display, perform, and remix your work for non-commercial purposes only. If they want to use your work for commercial purposes, they must contact you for permission.  

: '''ShareAlike.''' You let people create remixes and derivative works based on your creative work, as long as they only distribute them under the same Creative Commons license that your original work was published under.  

: '''NoDerivatives.''' You let people copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of your work — not make derivative works based on it. If they want to alter, transform, build upon, or remix your work, they must contact you for permission.  

For an overview of our licenses and links to the Commons Deed and Legal Code, check out [http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/meet-the-licenses this page].

====So “NonCommercial” means that the work cannot be used commercially?====

Not quite. The “NonCommercial” license option means that you do not receive the commercial rights via the Creative Commons license. You can always approach the licensor directly to see if they will separately license you the commercial rights.

====What does the Creative Commons “Some Rights Reserved” button mean? What does a Creative Commons license do?====

A Creative Commons license is a signal to you that you can use the work without having to seek out the individual creator or licensor and ask for permission—provided you use the work in the manner permitted by the Creative Commons license. The Commons Deed sets out the key terms governing your use of the work.

====What happens if I want to make a different use of the work?====

If you want to use a Creative Commons-licensed work in a manner that is not permitted under the terms of the Creative Commons license, you need to contact the creator and/or licensor and ask for their permission. If you use a Creative-Commons licensed work contrary to the terms of the Creative Commons license, your right to use the work terminates and you could be sued for infringement of copyright.

====So I don’t have to pay to use Creative Commons-licensed works if I comply with the license terms?====

As a general rule yes—Creative Commons licenses are made available under royalty-free licenses. In the case of Creative Commons-licensed works that are licensed for NonCommercial use only, the creator or licensor reserves the right to collect statutory royalties or royalties under compulsory licenses for commercial uses such as those collected for public performances; so, you may still have to pay a collecting society for such uses of Creative Commons licensed works. However, these are indirect payments, not payments to the licensor.

====How do I use a Creative Commons-licensed work?====

If you come across a work that says it is made available under a Creative Commons license, you are authorized by the licensor to use it consistent with those license terms.  You should satisfy yourself that the scope of the license covers your intended uses. Since there are a number of versions of the Creative Commons licenses, you should read the particular license carefully to ensure that the license meets your needs.  All Creative Commons licenses require that you attribute the author, licensor and/or any other parties specified by the author/licensor. To correctly use a Creative Commons licensed work, you must provide proper attribution. This is explained in [[Frequently_Asked_Questions#How_do_I_properly_attribute_a_Creative_Commons_licensed_work?|the answer below]].

To get an understanding of the key terms of the license, check out the Commons Deed for the license and/or review [http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/meet-the-licenses this page], which has links to the Commons Deed and basic explanations of all of our licenses.

====When are publicity rights relevant?====

In the U.S., publicity rights allow individuals to control how their voice, image or likeness is used for commercial purposes in public. These rights are relevant to any work that contains human subjects, such as photographs, audio or video interviews, plays, songs, and other spoken or visual content. When transmitting this sort of content, including the voices or images of anyone other than yourself, you may need to get permission from those individuals if you are using their voice or images for commercial purposes. This is a distinct and separate obligation from obtaining the copyright license for the works itself, which only gives you a license from the author (or photographer) but not from the subjects. A Creative Commons license does not waive or otherwise affect the publicity rights of subjects.

Jurisdictions outside of the U.S. may have rights that are similar in effect to publicity and privacy rights. You may need to consider those other rights before using a CC licensed work that embodies a person's image, voice, or related spoken or visual content.  

Our Podcasting Legal Guide has further discussion of [[Podcasting_Legal_Guide#Publicity_Rights_Issues|publicity rights issues]] of general relevance.

====Does using a Creative Commons-licensed work give me all the rights I need?====

You should be aware that all of the licenses contain a disclaimer of warranties, so there is no assurance whatsoever that the licensor has all the necessary rights to permit reuse of the licensed work.  The disclaimer means that the licensor is not guaranteeing anything about the work, including that she owns the copyright to it, or that she has cleared any uses of third-party content that her work may be based on or incorporate.

This is typical of so-called “open source” licenses, where works are made widely and freely available for reuse at no charge. The original version 1.0 of the Creative Commons licenses contained a warranty, but we ultimately concluded that, as with “open source” licenses, warranties and indemnities are best determined separately by private bargain, so that each licensor and licensee can determine the appropriate allocation of risk and reward for their unique situation.  One option thus would be to use private contract to obtain a warranty and indemnification from the licensor, although it is likely that the licensor would charge for this benefit.

As a result of the warranty disclaimer, before using a Creative Commons licensed work, you should satisfy yourself that the person has all the necessary rights to make the work available under a Creative Commons license. You should know that if you are wrong, you could be liable for copyright infringement based on your use of the work.

You should learn about what rights need to be cleared and when a fair use or fair dealing defense may be available.  It could be that the licensor is relying on the fair use or fair dealing doctrine, but depending on the circumstances, that legal defense may or may not actually protect her (or you). You should educate yourself about the various rights that may be implicated in a copyrighted work, because creative works often incorporate multiple elements such as, for example, underlying stories and characters, recorded sound and song lyrics.  If the work contains recognizable third-party content, it may be advisable to independently verify that it has been authorized for reuse under a Creative Commons license.  If the work contains images, voices, or likenesses of people, educate yourself about [[#When are publicity rights relevant?|publicity rights]].

Additionally, you should know that CC licenses do not give you permission to use any trademarks that may be associated with a CC licensed-work.  You should ask the owner of a trademark for permission first.

The result of this is that you should always use your informed good judgment, and you may want to obtain legal advice.

====How do I properly attribute a Creative Commons licensed work?====

All current CC licenses require that you attribute the original author(s). If the copyright holder has not specified any particular way to attribute them, this does not mean that you do not have to give attribution. It simply means that you will have to give attribution to the best of your ability with the information you do have. Generally speaking, this implies five things:

* If the work itself contains any copyright notices placed there by the copyright holder, you must leave those notices intact, or reproduce them in a way that is reasonable to the medium in which you are re-publishing the work.

* Cite the author's name, screen name, user identification, etc.  If you are publishing on the Internet, it is nice to link that name to the person's profile page, if such a page exists.

* Cite the work's title or name, if such a thing exists.  If you are publishing on the Internet, it is nice to link the name or title directly to the original work.

* Cite the specific CC license the work is under. If you are publishing on the Internet, it is nice if the license citation links to the license on the CC website.

* If you are making a derivative work or adaptation, in addition to the above, you need to identify that your work is a derivative work i.e., “This is a Finnish translation of the [original work] by [author].” or “Screenplay based on [original work] by [author].”

In the case where a copyright holder does choose to specify the manner of attribution, in addition to the requirement of leaving intact existing copyright notices, they are only able to require certain things. Namely:

* They may require you to associate/provide a certain URL (web address) for the work.

If you are interested to see what an actual license ("legalcode") has to say about attribution, you can use the CC Attribution 3.0 Unported license as an example.  Please note that this is '''only an example''', and you should '''always''' read the appropriate section of the specific license in question ... usually, but perhaps not always, section 4(b) or 4(c):

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode

====Do I need to be aware of anything else when providing attribution or credit?====

Yes, you need to be careful not to imply that you or your use of a work is connected to, or sponsored or endorsed by, the author, licensor or attribution party, without their permission. Wrongfully implying that an author, publisher or anyone else endorses your use of a work may be unlawful. We make the obligation not to imply endorsement explicit in all of our licenses, and on the face of our CC0 and Public Domain Mark deeds.

====What is a derivative work?====

A derivative work is a work that is based on another work but is not an exact, verbatim copy. What this means exactly and comprehensively is the subject of many law journal articles and much debate and pontification. In general, a translation from one language to another or a film version of a book are examples of derivative works. Under Creative Commons’ core licenses, synching music in timed-relation with a moving image is considered to be a derivative work.

It's important to note, however, that the Creative Commons licenses allow the user to exercise the rights permitted under the license in any format or media, even in the NoDerivatives licenses. This means that, under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license, for example, you can copy the work from a digital file to a print file consistent with the terms of that license.

====If I use a Creative Commons-licensed work with other works, do I have to Creative Commons license everything else as well?====

With the exception of those of our licenses that contain the ShareAlike element, the Creative Commons licenses do not require everything else to be Creative Commons licensed as well. We specifically designed the Creative Commons licenses so that they would not turn all other works they were combined with into being Creative Commons-licensed. If you combine any work with a Creative Commons-licensed work that is licensed with a ShareAlike license provision, then, because of the way that the ShareAlike license element operates, the resultant work will need to be licensed under the same license as the original work.

If you include a Creative Commons licensed work in a “collective work” (ie. a collection of works in their exact original format, not adaptations), then you only need to continue to apply the Creative Commons license to that work (even if the work was licensed under a Creative Commons Share-Alike license provision). You do not need to apply it to the entire collection.

====Can I combine two different Creative Commons licensed works? Can I combine a Creative Commons licensed work with another non-CC licensed work?====

Generally yes; you can combine one Creative Commons licensed work with another Creative Commons licensed work or with another work.  

The one big caveat is for Creative Commons licenses that contain the ShareAlike license element (ie. Attribution-ShareAlike, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike). These licenses require derivative works (ie. the result of two combined works) to be licensed under the same license elements. So, you cannot, for example, combine an Attribution-ShareAlike license with an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. If you are combining a work licensed under a ShareAlike license condition, you need to make sure that you are happy and able to license the resulting work under the same license conditions as the original work.

====If I use a Creative Commons-licensed work to create a new work  (ie a derivative work or adaptation), which Creative Commons license can I use for my new work?====

The chart below should give you some assistance in figuring out which Creative Commons license you can use on your new work. Some of our licenses just do not, as practical matter, work together.  

The green boxes indicate license compatibility.  That is, you may use the license indicated in the top row for your derivative work or adaptation, or for a collective work. The blank rows for the by-nc-nd

and by-nd licenses indicate that derivative works or adaptations are not permitted by the license of the original work, therefore you are never allowed to re-license them.

{| style="width:600px;" border="1" cellpadding="10"

| colspan="2" rowspan="2" | '''Compatibility chart'''

| colspan="7" align="center" | Terms that can be used for a derivative work or adaptation

| by || by-nc || by-nc-nd || by-nc-sa || by-nd || by-sa || pd

| pd || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp;

| by || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || &nbsp;

| by-nc || &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp;

| by-nc-nd || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp;

| by-nc-sa || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp;

| by-nd || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp;

| by-sa || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || &nbsp;

*by = [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Attribution only]

*by-nd = [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ Attribution-NoDerivatives]

*by-nc-nd = [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives]  

*by-nc = [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ Attribution-NonCommercial]

*by-nc-sa = [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ Attribution-NonCommercial- ShareAlike]  

*by-sa = [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Attribution-ShareAlike]

*pd = Dedicated to or certified to be in the public domain via one of our [http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain public domain tools] or other public domain work

Fair use note: CC Licenses do not change, alter, or modify fair use rights. You may still use fair use rights to incorporate CC works for any qualifying purpose.  

This chart is not a substitute for obtaining your own legal advice, nor should it be relied upon or represented as legal advice.

====I’m collecting a number of different works together into one resource. Can I include Creative Commons-licensed material? ====

 

 

 

{| style="width:400px;" border="1" cellpadding="10"

| Original Work ||Commercial Collected Work || NonCommercial Collected Work

| pd || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp;  

| by || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp;  

| by-nc || &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp;  

| by-nc-nd || &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp;

| by-nc-sa || &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp;  

| by-nd || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp;  

| by-sa || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp; || style="background-color:green;" | &nbsp;  

====Can I change the terms of a CC license or waive some of its conditions? ====

You can change any of our licenses, but if you do so you should know that your modified license is not likely to be compatible with CC’s licenses. Also, if you change our licenses then you cannot say that your work is licensed under a CC license. Read  [http://creativecommons.org/policies our policies] for more information.  

This doesn’t mean, however, that if a user of your work comes to you and asks permission to do (or not do) something the license says she must not do (or do), that you can’t agree to that.  Our licenses anticipate that a licensor may want to waive compliance with a specific condition, such as attribution.  Our 3.0 licenses specifically allow this to happen, so long as the waiver or consent is in writing and signed.

===Technical Questions===  

====I want to give users of my site the option to choose Creative Commons licensing; how do I do that?====

You can directly integrate the Creative Commons license selection engine into your site. This can be useful if you have an application or website that allows people to contribute content and you want to give them the option to apply Creative Commons licenses to their works. Here is a [http://creativecommons.org/technology/web-integration step-by-step guide] on how to integrate our license selection engine with a website.  We also have a [http://api.creativecommons.org web services API] for integration with any application.

====Why did Creative Commons choose to use the RDF format for its metadata?====

====How can I use Creative Commons metadata in my program?====

You can use it in a variety of ways. A painting, writing, or drawing program could let its users know about their rights granted by the licensor of the file. File sharing software could highlight files with Creative Commons licenses and encourage users to download them. In fact, we see peer-to-peer file sharing software as an excellent distribution mechanism for Creative Commons works, especially large music, picture, and movie files that the authors might not have the bandwidth or tools necessary to distribute themselves. Search systems could allow users the choice of only searching for files with licenses that permit certain uses (such as searching for pictures of cats that you can include in your non-commercial collage). There are many ways to take advantage of this information and we hope the developer community will surprise us by coming up with others!

====I'd prefer to use a PNG image instead of a GIF image or vice versa. What should I do?====

We provide older license buttons in both formats.  Change, e.g., [http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.gif somerights20.gif] to [http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png somerights20.png] or vice versa.

Newer license buttons that include license property icons are only available in PNG format.

====Where can I get a high resolution version of the Creative Commons logos?====

You can get high resolution versions of the Creative Commons logos and license buttons [http://creativecommons.org/presskit here]. Creative Commons only authorizes the use of our logos, name and license buttons in accordance with our [http://creativecommons.org/policies policies].

====I want to print out some t-shirts & stickers with Creative Commons logos; how do I go about doing this?====

We’re glad you are excited about Creative Commons and want to spread the message. We only authorize use of our logo, name and license buttons in accordance with our [http://creativecommons.org/policies policies], ie. to linkback to the Creative Commons website, a Creative Commons license and/or otherwise describe a Creative Commons license that applies to a work.

You can support Creative Commons and purchase t-shirts and stickers via our [http://support.creativecommons.org/store store]. In addition, movies about Creative Commons are available for download [http://support.creativecommons.org/videos here].

====I want to incorporate the Creative Commons logos into my site or work, can I?====

You are welcome to incorporate the Creative Commons logos into your site or work if you do so in accordance with our [http://creativecommons.org/policies policies page]. Basically, we only authorize use of the Creative Commons corporate logo (that is the name Creative Commons and the “CC” in a circle) to link back to our website; and our “Some Rights Reserved” and “No Rights Reserved” buttons as well as our license element buttons (ie. the Attribution license button, the NonCommercial license button etc.) to be used to link back to our respective licenses.

====Can I change the Creative Commons logos so that they look better on my site or with my work?====

Please don’t change our logo so that it works better with the look of your site or work. Our “Some Rights Reserved” and “No Rights Reserved” buttons need to be used consistently because they are our trademark and a core part of our licensing system. You can also use the license elements buttons that are in black and white to signal that your work or site is licensed under the relevant Creative Commons license; this is also explained at our [http://creativecommons.org/policies policies page].

===About Creative Commons===

====Is Creative Commons against copyright?====

Not at all. Our licenses help you retain your copyright and manage your copyright in a more flexible, open way. In fact, our licenses rely upon copyright for their enforcement. The justification for intellectual property protection (under U.S. law, at least) is the "promot[ion of] the progress of science and the useful arts." We want to promote science and the useful arts, too, and believe that helping creators or licensors fine-tune the exercise of their rights to suit their preferences helps do just that.