5 Anatomy of a CC license

Comic Version

Now we know Creative Commons licenses developed out of the need to have an alternative to the all-rights-reserved default of copyright. CC licenses are an example of non-exclusive licenses, granting some of the rights usually reserved under copyright to the general public, as long as the user follows the rules of the license. They work entirely within the confines of copyright, and so works with CC licenses are also subject to the same copyright exceptions that their all rights reserved counterparts are.

While the images at the start of this section may be interpreted to suggest that CC licenses are customizable, that’s not the case. Creators are encouraged to use the 6 CC licenses exactly as they are to avoid confusion by the people who are using their works. They are encouraged to think about the individual license elements (BY, NC, SA, and ND), and what matters to them with respect to each. In fact, two of the elements cannot even be used with one another (SA and ND)!

To fully understand the license elements, let’s break them down with some examples.

• BY: This requires a reuser to give credit to the author of the original work credit (which is an example of the moral rights of an author). This is present in all the CC licenses.
• SA: This stands for “Share Alike”. It means that anyone who creates something new using the original work would have to apply a compatible license to the new work.
• NC: This stands for “Non-Commercial”. This requires that users cannot use the work for commercial purposes. Put simply, they can’t make money off their use of the work. This is a condition that is sometimes confusing, because it is the use of the work that has to be non-commercial, not the actor. For example, a for profit entity can use a work with an NC licensed if their use is not making money, but a non-profit organization could not use an NC licensed work in a fundraising capacity. It is also not always clear how far “commercial” goes (ex. Does ad revenue from a website count as commercial use?), and so if you are unsure, it is best not to use the NC licensed work.
• ND: This stands for “No Derivatives”. This means that the work needs to be kept whole, with no new works created from it. This too can be a little confusing, because as of Version 4.0, all CC licenses, even the NoDerivatives 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 (4.4 Remixing CC licensed work by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.).

From the images at the start of this section, we can see that CC licenses are effectively a non-exclusive license granted to anyone who is using the work, and there are three layers to the license. There is a machine-readable layer, human-readable, and finally the legal code. The legal code is where we can see some of the familiar terms from the Canadian Copyright section. For example, the CC BY 4.0 License legal code reads:

License grant

1. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Public License, the Licensor hereby grants You a worldwide, royalty-free, non-sublicensable, non-exclusive, irrevocable license to exercise the Licensed Rights in the Licensed Material to:
   1. reproduce and Share the Licensed Material, in whole or in part; and
   2. produce, reproduce, and Share Adapted Material.

You means the individual or entity exercising the Licensed Rights under this Public License. Your has a corresponding meaning.

Users can also consult the more human-friendly Commons deed for each license, ensuring that they are able to confidently use CC licensed material. For example, the CC BY 4.0 Commons Deed explains what can be done in a more user-friendly manner than the legal code above.

Text Version of the Comic

Image of pink cartoon robot in a box with a starburst on it’s chest that reads “Customize me!”. Above the box is a banner that reads “Build the CC license that’s right for you”. On the front of the box there are the logos for the four creative commons license elements: BY, NC, SA, and ND, along with the two public domain tools: CC0 and the Public Domain Mark.

The edge of the box is split into three layers. The first layer reads “Machine-readable Layer. The standardized way to make licenses decipherable by computers -increasing findability of CC resources”. The second layer reads “Human-readable layer – “Commons Deed”. Not legally enforceable, these webpages explain the CC licenses in plain language.” The third layer reads “Lawyer-readable layer – legal code. Terms & conditions that are legally enforceable in court.”

On a new page there are 6 robots with creative commons license elements on their chest. Beside each is the license they represent and information about the license.

CC BY: Reusers can distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material as long as attribution is given to the creator. This is the least restrictive licese.

CC BY-SA: Similar to the CC BY license, but with the additional requirement that is the reuser is remixing, adapting, or building on the original, they must license the modified material under these identical terms.

CC BY-NC: Similar to the CC BY license, but only non-commercial reuse is permitted (the use of the material cannot make the reuser money).

CC BY-NC-SA: A combination of the CC BY-NC and CC BY-SA licenses, this license requires reusers to share their modified material under identical terms and the use must be non-commercial.

CC BY-ND: Reusers can copy and distribute in unadapted form only. Attribution must also be given to the creator.

CC BY-NC-ND: Similar to the CC BY-ND, but with the additional requirement that only non-commercial reuse is permitted. This is the most restrictive of the CC licenses.

Below the robots there is a note: All CC licenses work with copyright law to indicate to users what the copyright holder permits them to do without asking. Copyright limitations and exceptions still apply.

At the bottom of the page there is a heading that says “Public Domain Tools: these are not equivalent to licenses!”. Below there is the icon and description for each tool.

CC0 (a.k.a. CC zero): enables creators to dedicate their work to the public domain to the greatest extent possible. In some jurisdictions it is not possible to waive all rights, but there are mechanisms to deal with this situation as it arises.

Public Domain Mark: Has no legal effect, is only used to inform people about the public domain status of a work.