How To Get A Creative Commons License

Creative Commons has updated its Master Terms of Service and Master Privacy Policy, effective November 7, 2017. Before continuing on our websites or using our services, please review.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons LICENSE_NAME License. To view a copy of this license, visit LICENSE_URL.

We are currently testing a new version of the License Chooser. Please consider using the Chooser beta, and leave us feedback on how we can improve.

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About earlier versions

The most recent license version is 4.0, which can be used internationally. If you are searching for a port of the license for a particular jurisdiction, however, you may still use them.

If your jurisdiction is not on this list, or if you want to use the latest version of the licenses instead of a ported license, you can return to the 4.0 license chooser.

About earlier versions

The most recent license version is 4.0, which can be used internationally. Earlier versions of licenses, including 3.0 international and ports localized to particular jurisdictions, can be still be used by clicking the "show earlier licenses" link below.

Allow adaptations of your work to be shared?

Yes

The licensor permits others to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work, as well as make and distribute derivative works based on it.

Yes, as long as others share alike

The licensor permits others to create and distribute derivative works, but only under the same or a compatible license.

No

The licensor permits others to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work, but not distribute derivative works based on it.

Allow commercial uses of your work?

Yes

The licensor permits others to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work, including for commercial purposes.

No

The licensor permits others to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work for non-commercial purposes only.

Selected License

The "Selected License" panel displays information about the license that was described in the "License Features" panel. Changing the values in the "License Features" panel will update the information displayed here.

Approved for Free Cultural Works

If the selected license provides the freedoms required of a free culture license, then the "Approved for Free Cultural Works" icon appears on this panel. This feature is intended to assist you in making a more informed decision. NonCommercial and NoDerivatives licenses include additional restrictions which, by definition, prevent them from being considered free culture licenses.

While our non-free culture licenses are useful in particular circumstances, unintended consequences may result from their use (such as license incompatibility). For example, a work that is under the license "Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike" may not be combined with a work licensed "Attribution-ShareAlike" because putting the resulting work under either license violates the other by either adding or removing the NonCommercial restriction.

A real world example of license incompatibility: Works with the NonCommercial or the NoDerivatives restriction may not be posted to Wikipedia.

Freedomdefined.org is a great source of information about free culture. The free culture definition and permissible restrictions pages are wonderful starting points for further learning.

Title of work

The title of the work you are licensing.

Attribute work to name

The name of the person who should receive attribution for the work. Most often, this is the author.

Attribute work to URL

The URL to which the work should be attributed. For example, the work's page on the author's site.

Source work URL

The URL of the work upon which this work is based or derived.

More permissions URL

A URL where a user can find information about obtaining rights that are not already permitted by the CC license.

Format of work

This describes what kind of work is being licensed. For example, a photograph would have the "Image" format. If unsure, choose "Other / Multiple formats".

License mark

The "License Mark" select box determines the content of the bottom right panel. That panel provides a means of marking your work in a consistent and standardized way.

HTML + RDFa

HTML is provided that you can copy into your webpage. The HTML is annotated with machine-readable metadata. This allows search engines to find similarly licensed works, and for tools to automatically recognize information about the work (such as who authored it).

XMP

An XMP file can be embedded in a variety of file formats, such as PDFs.

Offline

Provides a simple plain text notice that can be used to mark offline works

Have a web page?

The HTML provided in this panel may be pasted into your website to display which license applies to your work, as well as attribution information. The HTML combines information provided in the "License Features" panel and the "Help others attribute you!" panel. The HTML also contains RDFa metadata, which allows search engines to accurately determine which license your work is under, and how you want to be attributed.

This panel also contains a preview of what the HTML will look like when included in your website. The radio buttons at the bottom of the panel may be used to change the size and appearance of the license icon in the HTML.

Attribution

You must give appropriate credit to the licensor in a reasonable manner.

Share Alike

The licensor permits others to distribute derivative works only under the same license or one compatible with the one that governs the licensor's work.

No Derivative Works

The licensor permits others to copy, distribute and transmit the work provided that any alterations you may make do not constitute an adaptation.

Noncommercial

The licensor permits others to copy, distribute and transmit the work. In return, licensees may not use the work for commercial purposes — unless they get the licensor's permission.