What are Creative Commons Licenses?

This video will introduce you to Creative Commons licenses, which makes copyright easier to understand.

Copyright

Let’s say you create something. This thing could be creative, like a picture of your cat, or scholarly, like an essay about cats. Because you are the creator of this picture or this essay, copyright allows you to decide what people can do with your creation. When you are the copyright holder, people have to ask you for permission before putting your cat picture into a powerpoint or adapting your cat essay into a movie.

Creative Commons

Getting permission can be time consuming and complicated for both the creator and the user. This is where Creative Commons can help. Creative Commons exists to make permissions explicit and straightforward. Creative Commons licenses use icons and simple language so that creators can make their intentions clear and users can be certain that their use of a work is legal.

Creative Commons Licenses 

These different licenses help people understand if and how they can use, share, or build on a work. The Non-Commercial Use icon means that only non-commercial uses are permitted, so no one can profit from using your picture. The No Derivative icon means that no one can make changes to the original work, such as photoshopping a dog into your cat picture. The Share Alike icon means that someone can change your work but their version must be shared under the same license as yours.  

All Creative Commons licenses give credit to the original creator, preserving your reputation as a creative genius while the world engages with your work. Licenses can be attached to most things, including blog posts, images, artworks, journal articles, and more!

To learn more about Creative Commons licenses, visit the Creative Commons website or check out some of the other videos in our series.

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