Editing Creative Commons license (section)

==Types of licenses {{Anchor|Types of license}}==
{|
|[[File:Creative commons license spectrum.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|Creative commons license spectrum between [[public domain]] (top) and [[all rights reserved]] (bottom). Left side indicates the use-cases allowed, right side the license components. The dark green area indicates [[Free Cultural Works]] compatible licenses, the two green areas compatibility with the [[Remix culture]].]]
|[[File:Free-cultural-license-cc.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|CC license usage in 2014 (top and middle), "Free cultural works" compatible license usage 2010 to 2014 (bottom)]]
|}

=== Four rights ===
The CC licenses all grant "baseline rights", such as the right to distribute the copyrighted work worldwide for non-commercial purposes and without modification.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 12, 2008 |title=Baseline Rights |url=http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Baseline_Rights |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208081209/http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Baseline_Rights |archive-date=February 8, 2010 |access-date=February 22, 2010 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref> In addition, different versions of license prescribe different rights, as shown in this table:<ref name="Creative Commons-2020">{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=28 August 2020 |title=Frequently Asked Questions |url=https://creativecommons.org/faq/#what-are-creative-commons-licenses |access-date=26 November 2020 |website=Creative Commons |publisher=Creative Commons Corporation |archive-date=November 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127205528/http://wiki.creativecommons.org/FAQ#what-are-creative-commons-licenses |url-status=live }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|-
! Icon !! Right ||  Description
|-
| [[File:Cc-by new.svg|75px|Attribution]]
| [[Attribution (copyright)|Attribution]] (BY)
| Licensees may copy, distribute, display, perform and make derivative works and remixes based on it only if they give the author or licensor the credits ([[attribution (copyright)|attribution]]) in the manner specified by these. Since version 2.0, all Creative Commons licenses require attribution to the creator and include the BY element. The letters BY are not an abbreviation, unlike the other rights.
|-
| [[File:Cc-sa.svg|75px|Share-alike]]
| [[Share-alike]] (SA)
| Licensees may distribute derivative works only under a license identical to ("not more restrictive than") the license that governs the original work. (See also ''[[Copyleft]]''.) Without share-alike, derivative works might be sublicensed with compatible but more restrictive license clauses, e.g. CC BY to CC&nbsp;BY-NC.
|-
| [[File:Cc-nc.svg|75px|Non-commercial]]
| [[Creative Commons NonCommercial license|Non-commercial]] (NC)
| Licensees may copy, distribute, display, perform the work and make derivative works and remixes based on it only for [[non-commercial]] purposes.
|-
| [[File:Cc-nd.svg|75px|Non-derivative]]
| No [[derivative works]] (ND)
| Licensees may copy, distribute, display and perform only verbatim copies of the work, not [[derivative work]]s and [[Remix culture|remixes]] based on it. Since version 4.0, derivative works are allowed but must not be shared.
|}

The last two clauses are not [[free content]] licenses, according to definitions such as [[DFSG]] or the [[Free Software Foundation]]'s standards, and cannot be used in contexts that require these freedoms, such as [[Wikipedia]]. For [[software]], Creative Commons includes three free licenses created by other institutions: the [[BSD License]], the GNU [[LGPL]], and the GNU [[GPL]].<ref name="GNU LGPL">{{Cite web |title=Creative Commons GNU LGPL |url=https://creativecommons.org/license/cc-lgpl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090622222019/http://creativecommons.org/license/cc-lgpl |archive-date=June 22, 2009 |access-date=July 20, 2009}}</ref>

Mixing and matching these conditions produces sixteen possible combinations, of which eleven are valid Creative Commons licenses and five are not. Of the five invalid combinations, four include both the "ND" and "SA" clauses, which are mutually exclusive; and one includes none of the clauses. Of the eleven valid combinations, the five that lack the "BY" clause have been retired because 98% of licensors requested attribution, though they do remain available for reference on the website.<ref name="Creative Commons-3">{{Cite web |title=Retired Legal Tools |url=https://creativecommons.org/retiredlicenses/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503224254/https://creativecommons.org/retiredlicenses/ |archive-date=May 3, 2016 |access-date=May 31, 2012 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |df=mdy}}</ref><ref name="Creativecommons.org-2004">{{Cite web |date=May 25, 2004 |title=Announcing (and explaining) our new 2.0 licenses |url=https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/4216 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060401/http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/4216 |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |access-date=September 20, 2013 |publisher=Creativecommons.org |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="Creative Commons-2">{{Cite web |title=About The Licenses – Creative Commons |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150726003931/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ |archive-date=July 26, 2015 |access-date=July 26, 2015 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref> This leaves six regularly used licenses plus the CC0 [[public domain]] declaration.

=== Six regularly used licenses ===
{{anchor|Six regularly used licenses}}<!--old title-->
<!--Please do not change this title without good reason; a number of Wikiversity pages link to it because this seems to be the best brief summary of the options available on the sister-wikis-->
The six licenses in most frequent use are shown in the following table. Among them, those accepted by the Wikimedia Foundation – the public domain dedication and two attribution (BY and BY-SA) licenses – allow the sharing and remixing (creating [[derivative works]]), including for commercial use, so long as attribution is given.<ref name="Creative Commons-2" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=November 16, 2009 |title=Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 United States |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100224022605/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/ |archive-date=February 24, 2010 |access-date=February 22, 2010 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="Creative Commons" />
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:20em" | License name
! scope="col" | Abbreviation
! scope="col" | Icon
! scope="col" | [[Attribution (copyright)|Attribution]] required
! scope="col" | Allows [[remix culture]]
! scope="col" | Allows commercial use
! scope="col" | Allows [[Free Cultural Works]]
! scope="col" | Meets the [[Open Knowledge Foundation|OKF]] '[[Open Definition]]'
|-
! scope="row" | Attribution
| CC {{visible anchor|BY}} || [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|alt=CC-BY icon|88px]] || {{Maybe|Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}}
|-
! scope="row" | Attribution-ShareAlike
| CC {{visible anchor|BY-SA}} || [[File:CC BY-SA icon.svg|alt=CC-BY-SA icon|88px]] || {{Maybe|Yes}} || {{yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}}
|-
! scope="row" | Attribution-NonCommercial
| CC {{visible anchor|BY-NC}} || [[File:Cc-by-nc icon.svg|alt=CC-by-NC icon|88px]] || {{Maybe|Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{No}} || {{No}} || {{No}}
|-
! scope="row" | Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
| CC {{visible anchor|BY-NC-SA}} || [[File:Cc-by-nc-sa icon.svg|alt=CC-BY-NC-SA icon|88px]] || {{Maybe|Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{No}} || {{No}} || {{No}}
|-
! scope="row" | Attribution-NoDerivatives
| CC {{visible anchor|BY-ND}} || [[File:Cc-by-nd icon.svg|alt=CC-BY-ND icon|88px]] || {{Maybe|Yes}} || {{No}} || {{Yes}} || {{No}} || {{No}}
|-
! scope="row" | Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
| CC {{visible anchor|BY-NC-ND}} || [[File:Cc-by-nc-nd icon.svg|alt=CC-BY-NC-ND icon|88px]] || {{Maybe|Yes}} || {{No}} || {{No}} || {{No}} || {{No}}
|}

=== Zero, public domain <span class="anchor" id="CC0"></span><!-- CCO links here --> ===
{{Redirect-distinguish|CC0|CCO (disambiguation)}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:20em" | Tool name
! scope="col" | Abbreviation
! scope="col" | Icon
! scope="col" | [[Attribution (copyright)|Attribution]] required
! scope="col" | Allows [[remix culture]]
! scope="col" | Allows commercial use
! scope="col" | Allows [[Free Cultural Works]]
! scope="col" | Meets the [[Open Knowledge Foundation|OKF]] '[[Open Definition]]'
|-
! scope="row" | "No Rights Reserved"
| {{visible anchor|CC0}} || [[File:CC0 button.svg|alt=CC0 icon|88px]] || {{Yes|No}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}}
|}

[[File:Cc-zero.svg|thumb|upright=.7|CC zero public domain dedication tool logo<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-12-16 |title=Downloads |url=https://creativecommons.org/about/downloads |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225052559/https://creativecommons.org/about/downloads |archive-date=December 25, 2015 |access-date=2015-12-24 |publisher=Creative Commons |df=mdy-all}}</ref>]]
[[File:Cc-public domain mark white.svg|thumb|upright=.7|Creative Commons [[Public Domain Mark]]. Indicates works which have already fallen into (or were given to) the public domain.]]
Besides copyright licenses, Creative Commons also offers '''CC0''', a tool for relinquishing copyright and releasing material into the [[public domain]].<ref name="Creative Commons">{{Cite web |title=CC0 |url=https://creativecommons.org/choose/zero |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226071411/http://creativecommons.org/choose/zero |archive-date=February 26, 2010 |access-date=February 22, 2010 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref> CC0 is a legal tool for [[Waiver|waiving]] as many rights as legally possible.<ref name="Kreutzer">{{Cite web |first=Till |last=Kreutzer |title=Validity of the Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication and its usability for bibliographic metadata from the perspective of German Copyright Law |url=https://rd-alliance.org/sites/default/files/cc0-analysis-kreuzer.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525023540/https://www.rd-alliance.org/sites/default/files/cc0-analysis-kreuzer.pdf |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |access-date=July 4, 2017}}</ref> Or, when not legally possible, CC0 acts as fallback as [[public domain equivalent license]].<ref name="Kreutzer" /> Development of CC0 began in 2007<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Creative Commons Launches CC0 and CC+ Programs |date=December 17, 2007 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |url=https://creativecommons.org/press-releases/entry/7919 |access-date=February 22, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223053554/http://creativecommons.org/press-releases/entry/7919 |archive-date=February 23, 2010 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> and it was released in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baker |first=Gavin |date=January 16, 2009 |title=Report from CC board meeting |url=http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/01/report-from-cc-board-meeting.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919010433/http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/01/report-from-cc-board-meeting.html |archive-date=September 19, 2010 |access-date=February 22, 2010 |website=Open Access News |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 11, 2009 |title=Expanding the Public Domain: Part Zero |url=https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/13304 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060406/http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/13304 |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |access-date=September 20, 2013 |publisher=Creativecommons.org |df=mdy-all}}</ref> A major target of the license was the scientific data community.<ref name="Christopher Allan Webber">{{Cite web |last=Christopher Allan Webber |title=CC withdrawl &#91;sic&#93; of CC0 from OSI process |url=http://projects.opensource.org/pipermail/license-review/2012-February/000231.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906005825/https://lists.opensource.org/pipermail/license-review/2012-February/000231.html |archive-date=2015-09-06 |access-date=February 24, 2012 |website=In the Open Source Initiative Licence review mailing list}}</ref>

In 2010, Creative Commons announced its [[Public Domain Mark]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 10, 2010 |title=Marking and Tagging the Public Domain: An Invitation to Comment |url=https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/22940 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060643/http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/22940 |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |access-date=September 20, 2013 |publisher=Creativecommons.org |df=mdy-all}}</ref> a tool for labeling works already in the public domain. Together, CC0 and the Public Domain Mark replace the Public Domain Dedication and Certification,<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 20, 2009 |title=Copyright-Only Dedication (based on United States law) or Public Domain Certification |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223035835/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/ |archive-date=February 23, 2010 |access-date=February 22, 2010 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref> which took a U.S.-centric approach and co-mingled distinct operations.

In 2011, the [[Free Software Foundation]] added CC0 to its [[List of FSF approved software licenses|free software licenses]]. However, the Free Software Foundation currently does not recommend using CC0 to release [[public domain software|software into the public domain]] because it explicitly does not grant a patent license.<ref name="GNU Project">{{Cite web |title=Various Licenses and Comments about Them |url=https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#CC0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724023833/https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html |archive-date=July 24, 2010 |access-date=April 4, 2015 |publisher=[[GNU Project]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In February 2012, CC0 was submitted to [[Open Source Initiative]] (OSI) for their approval.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carl Boettiger |title=OSI recognition for Creative Commons Zero License? |url=http://lists.opensource.org/pipermail/license-review_lists.opensource.org/2012-February/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926193810/http://projects.opensource.org/pipermail/license-review/2012-February/ |archive-date=September 26, 2013 |access-date=February 1, 2012 |website=In the Open Source Initiative Licence review mailing list |publisher=Open Source Initiative |df=mdy-all}}</ref> However, controversy arose over its clause which excluded from the scope of the license any relevant patents held by the copyright holder. This clause was added for scientific data rather than software, but some members of the OSI believed it could weaken users' defenses against [[software patent]]s. As a result, Creative Commons withdrew their submission, and the license is not currently approved by the OSI.<ref name="Christopher Allan Webber" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=The Open Source Initiative FAQ |title=What about the Creative Commons "CC0" ("CC Zero") public domain dedication? Is that Open Source? |date=October 21, 2007 |url=http://opensource.org/faq#cc-zero |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130519153636/http://opensource.org/faq#cc-zero |archive-date=May 19, 2013 |access-date=May 25, 2013 |publisher=Open Source Initiative |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

From 2013 to 2017, the [[stock photography]] website [[Unsplash]] used the CC0 license,<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 14, 2013 |title=Unsplash is a site full of free images for your next splash page |url=https://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2013/08/14/unsplash-is-a-site-full-of-images-you-can-use-freely-for-your-next-startups-splash-page/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117024732/http://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2013/08/14/unsplash-is-a-site-full-of-images-you-can-use-freely-for-your-next-startups-splash-page/ |archive-date=November 17, 2015 |access-date=2015-11-13 |website=The Next Web |language=en-US |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=License {{!}} Unsplash |url=https://unsplash.com/license |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117015514/https://unsplash.com/license |archive-date=November 17, 2015 |access-date=2015-11-13 |website=unsplash.com |df=mdy-all}}</ref> distributing several million free photos a month.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 18, 2015 |title=Why Building Something Useful For Others Is The Best Marketing There Is |url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3042417/how-i-get-it-done/why-building-something-useful-for-others-is-the-best-marketing-there-is |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114225726/http://www.fastcompany.com/3042417/how-i-get-it-done/why-building-something-useful-for-others-is-the-best-marketing-there-is |archive-date=November 14, 2015 |access-date=2015-11-13 |website=Fast Company |language=en-US |df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[Lawrence Lessig]], the founder of Creative Commons, has contributed to the site.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lawrence Lessig {{!}} Unsplash Book |url=https://book.unsplash.com/lawrence-lessig/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117022116/https://book.unsplash.com/lawrence-lessig/ |archive-date=November 17, 2015 |access-date=2015-11-13 |website=book.unsplash.com |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Unsplash moved from using the CC0 license to a custom license in June 2017<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 22, 2017 |title=Community update: Unsplash branded license and ToS changes |url=https://creativecommons.org/2017/06/22/unsplash/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107174853/https://creativecommons.org/2017/06/22/unsplash/ |archive-date=January 7, 2018 |access-date=2018-01-07 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> and to an explicitly [[nonfree software|nonfree]] license in January 2018.

In October 2014, the [[Open Knowledge Foundation]] approved the Creative Commons CC0 as conformant with the [[Open Definition]] and recommend the license to dedicate content to the public domain.<ref name="Open Definition" /><ref name="Vollmer-2013" />

In July 2022, [[Fedora Linux]] disallowed software licensed under CC0 due to patent rights explicitly not being waived under the license.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Claburn |first=Thomas |date=2022-07-25 |title=Fedora sours on CC 'No Rights Reserved' license |url=https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/25/fedora_sours_on_creative_commons/ |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=[[The Register]] |language=en |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012114806/https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/25/fedora_sours_on_creative_commons/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Retired licenses ===
Due to either disuse or criticism, a number of previously offered Creative Commons licenses have since been retired,<ref name="Creative Commons-3" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lessig |first=Lawrence |author-link=Lawrence Lessig |date=June 4, 2007 |title=Retiring standalone DevNations and one Sampling license |url=https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/7520 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070707023305/http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/7520 |archive-date=July 7, 2007 |access-date=July 5, 2007 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref> and are no longer recommended for new works. The retired licenses include all licenses lacking the Attribution element other than CC0, as well as the following four licenses:
* '''Developing Nations License''': a license which only applies to [[developing countries]] deemed to be "non-high-income economies" by the [[World Bank]]. Full copyright restrictions apply to people in other countries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Developing Nations License |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/devnations/2.0/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412101407/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/devnations/2.0/ |archive-date=April 12, 2012 |access-date=April 9, 2012 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
* '''Sampling''': parts of the work can be used for any purpose other than advertising, but the whole work cannot be copied or modified<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sampling 1.0 |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/sampling/1.0/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316011404/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/sampling/1.0/ |archive-date=March 16, 2012 |access-date=April 9, 2012 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
* '''Sampling Plus''': parts of the work can be copied and modified for any purpose other than advertising, and the entire work can be copied for noncommercial purposes<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 13, 2009 |title=Sampling Plus 1.0 |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/sampling+/1.0/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411100732/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/sampling+/1.0/ |archive-date=April 11, 2012 |access-date=April 9, 2012 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
* '''NonCommercial Sampling Plus''': the whole work or parts of the work can be copied and modified for non-commercial purposes<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 13, 2009 |title=NonCommercial Sampling Plus 1.0 |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/nc-sampling+/1.0/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325110847/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/nc-sampling+/1.0/ |archive-date=March 25, 2012 |access-date=April 9, 2012 |publisher=[[Creative Commons]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref>