Creative Commons (CC)

Creative Commons (CC) is an international nonprofit organization that provides easy access to creative works. Others can legally build upon and share through its range of copyright licenses known as Creative Commons licenses. These licenses, which are completely free of charge, allow the makers of various creative works to easily communicate with others which rights to their works they reserve and which they voluntarily waive. In other words, CC licenses are a standardized way for all types of creators to grant permission for the public to legally use their work within the structure of established copyright law. Since it was originally founded in 2001, CC has worked to overcome the legal obstacles involved with copyright law to make it easier for people around the world to share information and creativity. CC licenses enjoy widespread use, notably serving as the default license of Wikipedia and covering millions of Flickr images and YouTube videos.

Background

Creative Commons originated in 2001. CC was primarily created to simplify the sometimes complicated concepts of copyright and copyright law. Copyright is the legal right of owners of intellectual property to reproduce their creations as they see fit. Put differently, copyright means that the creators of intellectual property and those to whom they grant permission are the only people allowed to make copies of the work in question. Copyright law, which varies from country to country, is the legal framework that governs how copyright works.

The founders of Creative Commons were motivated to provide alternatives to existing but obsolete copyright practices. These were also viewed as favoring producers with access to large financial resources. Creative Commons's insight was that licensing could be made flexible. A content producer could determine aspects of their work that could benefit from free accessability, which should be partially controlled, and aspects that should restricted altogether. Founders then sought to establish a platform where easily-distributed assets could be beneficial to both producers and consumers of content.

The basic idea of copyright is relatively straightforward. When someone uses significant mental effort to create an original product, that product is automatically viewed as intellectual property. To ensure that the creator gets appropriate credit and compensation for their work, it is necessary for their work to be protected from unauthorized duplication. Many things can be considered intellectual property, including books, films, music, and art. Copyright law is the mechanism through which intellectual property is protected.

Copyright law defines original works as those created entirely through independent thought and without any reliance on duplication. A work produced in this manner is referred to as an Original Work of Authorship (OWA). When an OWA is created, it automatically becomes copyrighted. This means that no one else has the right to use or duplicate the work without the creator’s consent. It is important to note, however, that the concept of copyright applies only to tangible works. Intangible creations like ideas, names, and logos may instead be protected through trademarks or patents.

The specifics of American copyright law clearly define the rights enjoyed by the holders of copyrights. According to the law, the creator of a copyrighted work has the exclusive right to reproduce the work, create new works derived from the original, publicly distribute copies of the work, display or perform the work publicly in various ways as applicable, and authorize others to exercise these same rights in relation to the work. Further, copyright law establishes that the legal copyright protection of an OWA lasts throughout the lifetime of its creator, plus an additional seventy years. This period is shorter when copyrighted material is owned by a corporation.

Overview

As an organization, Creative Commons provides an alternative to traditional copyright law that makes it easier for the creators of OWAs to allow others to use and share their works. It accomplishes this feat by offering a collection of CC licenses that afford creators the ability to decide for themselves how others are permitted to use their work. By releasing their work under the CC license of their choice, creators clearly define what the public can and cannot do with the work in question. Also, the use of CC licenses gives members of the public the ability to freely use a copyrighted work without having to seek permission from the creator unless they want to do so in a way that is not covered by the specific CC license at play. CC licenses are also advantageous because they all allow the open use of covered works for educational purposes. This affords teachers and students the opportunity to duplicate, share, and in some cases even modify CC works without having to seek permission.

The six distinct types of CC licenses place different restrictions on how a work may be used, but all share some common characteristics. All CC licenses allow users to copy a work, distribute a work, display or perform a work, communicate a work, and format shift verbatim copies of a work. Beyond that, each type of CC license varies in its degree of permissiveness. The six types of CC licenses, denoted by special symbols, appear on or near a licensed work. The four elements that make up CC licenses are:

• BY: Attribution
• SA: Share Alike
• NC: NonCommercial
• ND: No Derivatives

The four elements can be combined to create six types of CC licenses. CC BY, the most permissive CC license, allows users to copy, distribute, change, and build upon an existing work in virtually any way as long as the work is properly attributed to the original creator. It also allows for commercial use. CC BY-SA licenses allow users to do all of the same things that a CC BY license does, except that it requires users who change or build upon an existing work to license the modified materials under the same terms. CC BY-SA licenses allow for commercial uses as well. CC BY-NC licenses are the same as CC BY licenses, but the works they protect can only be used for non-commercial purposes. CC BY-NC-SA licenses are the same as CC BY-SA licenses, except that they prohibit commercial uses. CC BY-ND licenses allow users to copy and distribute a work in any medium or format, but only in unaltered form. Commercial use is permitted. CC BY-NC-ND licenses are the same as CC BY-ND, except that commercial uses are not permitted.

CC’s work goes well beyond issuing licenses. The organization also provides helpful public domain tools, works with other institutions and governments to create and implement open licensing protocols, develops technologies that make it easier to find and use open license materials, offers a course for those who wish to become open license experts, and more.

After twenty years in operation, Creative Commons remains the most widely utilized platform for open content licensing. Despite providing wider availability to users, Creative Commons also demands proactive engagement by content producers. It emphasizes that producers understand exactly how they intend their content to be utilized, particularly if they do not want third parties to exploit their work for commercial gain.

Bibliography

“20 Years of Creative Commons Licenses: Key Legal Considerations and Best Practice.” Farrer & Co., 24 Feb. 2024, www.farrer.co.uk/news-and-insights/twenty-years-of-creative-commons-licences-key-legal-considerations-and-best-practice. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.

“About CC Licenses.” Creative Commons, 2021, creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses. Accessed 13 May 2021.

Bailey, Jonathan. “What Is Creative Commons Anyway?” Plagiarism.org, 24 July 2018, www.plagiarism.org/blog/2018/07/24/what-is-creative-commons-anyway. Accessed 13 May 2021

Kenton, Will. “Copyright.” Investopedia, 13 Sept. 2020, www.investopedia.com/terms/c/copyright.asp. Accessed 13 May 2021.

Park, Jane. “What Is Creative Commons and Why Does It Matter?” Common Sense Education, 4 May 2016, www.commonsense.org/education/articles/what-is-creative-commons-and-why-does-it-matter. Accessed 13 May 2021.

Tumadóttir, Anna. “What Lies Ahead in 2024.” Creative Commons, 1 Mar. 2024, creativecommons.org/2024/03/01/what-lies-ahead-in-2024. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.

“What Is a Creative Commons License?” Copyright Alliance, 2021, copyrightalliance.org/faqs/what-is-creative-commons-license. Accessed 13 May 2021.

“What Is Copyright?” Copyright.gov, 2021, www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright. Accessed 13 May 2021.

“What Is Creative Commons?” Smartcopying, 2021, smartcopying.edu.au/what-is-creative-commons. Accessed 13 May 2021.

“What We Do.” Creative Commons, 2021, creativecommons.org/about. Accessed 13 May 2021.