licenses and public domain

creators, authors, and licensors

technical

general

Our model for success depends on your participation so please send us your feedback at info@creativecommons.org. We've grouped our frequently asked questions by category for your convenience. If you have a specific question we have not included here please let us know.

licenses and public domain

creators, authors, and licensors

technical

general

licenses and public domain

I would like to license my works for money and get help collecting my royalties. Can Creative Commons help?

More power to you, but no, we do not provide these services. We recommend that you visit the Copyright Clearance Center for such needs. The Copyright Clearance Center offers excellent services for publishers and authors to set up pay-for-use licenses and to collect royalties.

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Is Creative Commons only about licenses?

Not at all. The December 16 release of our licenses is only the first of many Creative Commons projects. We also provide tools for people who want to dedicate their work to the public domain to do so. And soon, with our Founders' Copyright, we'll help copyright holders simulate the healthy balance between free and owned that the Framers of the U.S. Constitution envisioned. In 2003, we plan to start the Creative Commons Conservancy, a sort of "land trust" for intellectual works. We'll acquire or receive donations of works that we'll then hold out for widespread public access while safeguarding against exploitive uses. We'll also highlight the many innovative approaches to the marketing and distribution of intellectual works happening today, in both the private and public spheres. Finally, keep in mind that this batch of licenses is also only our first. We may well offer further options in the future, depending on your needs and wants. So please send us your feedback.

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Is Creative Commons building a database of licensed content?

Absolutely not. We believe in the Net, not a centralized, Soviet-style information bank controlled by a single organization. We are building tools so that the semantic web can identify and sort licensed works in a distributed, decentralized manner. We are not in the business of collecting content, or building databases of content.

Now, to give you an idea of the sorts of uses that can be made of our licenses and metadata, we've provided some examples in our registry of featured works. It's by no means a comprehensive catalog of everything being done with Creative Commons licenses today, nor is it the beginnings of a database. It's simply a sampling of some works, in a variety of media, that have been licensed so far.

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Will works that use Creative Commons licenses be in the "public domain"?

If you want to put your work in the public domain -- the realm of creative material unfettered by copyright law -- we can help you do that. If you want to keep your copyright and a measure of control, you can use one of our licenses. These licenses won't release your work in the public domain, but they will encourage creative re-uses of your work in ways that full copyright protection does not.

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Is Creative Commons against copyright?

Not at all. Our licenses help you retain your copyright while allowing certain exceptions to it, upon certain conditions. In fact, our licenses rely upon copyright for their enforcement -- just like the GNU General Public License. The justification for intellectual property protection (under U.S. law, at least) is the "promot[ion of] the progress of science and the useful arts." We want to promote science and the useful arts, too, and believe that helping creators fine-tune the exercise of their rights to suit their preferences helps do just that.

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If I choose the noncommercial license option, can I still make money from my licensed works?

Absolutely. The "noncommercial use" condition applies only to others who use your work, not to you (the copyright holder). When other people use or trade or copy your work, they cannot do so for "monetary compensation or financial gain," unless they get your permission.

One of our central goals is to encourage people to experiment with new ways to promote and market their work. In fact, we designed the noncommercial license option to be a tool to help people make money from their work, by allowing them to maximize the distribution of their works while keeping control of the commercial aspects of their copyright.

Take this example: You license your photograph with a noncommercial license and post it on your website. An editor at Spectacle, a for-profit magazine, comes across your photo and wants to use it for the next issue's cover. Under the noncommercial term, the editor could copy your photograph and show it to her friends and co-workers, but she would have to strike a separate deal with you (for money, if you're smart) to use it for the magazine.

A special note on the noncommerical provision: Under current U.S. law, file-sharing or the trading of works online is considered a commercial use -- even if no money changes hands. Because we believe that file-sharing, used properly, is a powerful tool for distribution and education, all Creative Commons licenses contain a special exception for file-sharing. The trading of works online is not a commercial use, under our documents, provided it is not done for monetary gain.

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Do Creative Commons licenses affect fair use rights?

No. All of our licenses include this language: "Nothing in this license is intended to reduce, limit, or restrict any rights arising from fair use, first sale or other limitations on the exclusive rights of the copyright owner under copyright law or other applicable laws." Fair use, the first sale doctrine, and other such limitations apply whether a copyright holder consents to them or not. That's a good thing, and we want to let such rights be.

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Are some combinations of the custom license options incompatible?

There is one combination of options that does not make sense: No Derivative Works combined with Share Alike. This combination does not work because the Share Alike condition applies only to derivative works. If you choose both options, we'll give you a friendly reminder about this and ask that you please make your selection again. Note that every Creative Commons license requires licensees to attach the original license terms to every verbatim copy they distribute. So if you copy a music file licensed under a noncommercial license, you must tell the world that your copy of that file is also licensed under a noncommercial license. The Share Alike option simply extends this requirement to all derivative works as well. So if you were to use that same noncommercial MP3 in a documentary film, the Share Alike provision would oblige you to license your film under a noncommercial license, too.

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What happens when a copyright owner says her work is governed by two different Creative Commons licenses?

Choose which license you'd like to use the work under. Generally, a licensor that offers the same work under two different licenses gives the public a choice between them. If, for example, a photograph is governed by one license with a noncommercial provision, plus a separate license with an attribution provision, it does not mean that both provisions apply together. If an owner wants both to apply together, she should be sure to choose a single license that contains both provisions.

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What legal standing will CC licenses have outside of the United States?

We and our lawyers have worked hard to craft the licenses to be enforceable in as many jurisidictions as possible. That said, we can not account for every last nuance in the world's various copyright laws, at least not given our current resources. We hope, as our resources and network of allies grow, to begin offering licenses designed for specific jurisdictions sometime in 2003. Please note, however, that our licenses contain "severability" clauses -- meaning that, if a certain provision is found to be unenforeceable in a certain place, that provision and only that provision drops out of the license, leaving the rest of the agreement intact.

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Will Creative Commons help me enforce my license?

No, we will only provide the license, plus a plain-language summary and machine-readable translation of it. We're not a law firm. We're much like a legal self-help press that offers form documentation -- at no cost -- for you to use however you see fit. We cannot afford to provide any ancillary services particular to your situation and, in any case, our mission does not include providing such services.

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creators, authors, and licensors

Why should I turn my work over to the public domain, or make it available under a Creative Commons Custom license, if copyright provides more legal protection?

You might do so for a few reasons. Some people may be attracted by the notion of others building upon their work, or by the prospect of contributing to an intellectual commons. As the Creative Commons community grows, licensors will have the satisfaction of helping develop new ways to collaborate. Or you might license your stuff purely out of self-interest. A scholar might want his writings to be copied and shared so that his ideas spread around the world. An upstart designer may want to encourage the unfettered dissemination of her sketches to help build a reputation. An established commercial musician might post samples to whet the public's appetite for his other, fully protected songs. A political activist may want her message to reach the widest possible audience through unlimited copying. Our licenses can help implement such strategies, all while leaving you in ultimate control of your copyright. Read more examples.

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technical

Why did Creative Commons choose to use the RDF format for its metadata?

Creative Commons looked for the best way to express the intent behind the licenses in machine-readable form. We feel that our system provides the best of all possible worlds: RDF, XML, and even plain text-based tools can easily process our metadata files because we provide them with a structured format. But just as XML tools make it easier to process the information than text-based ones, RDF ones make it even easier -- so we encourage all of our developers to use RDF tools where possible. We're also working with the community to provide CC sample code, in many different languages, that shows how easy it is to take advantage of the RDF information. We're also open to providing converters from RDF to other formats. If you have such a tool or would like one, please send information about it to our metadata list.

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How can I use Creative Commons metadata in my program?

You can use it in a variety of ways. A painting, writing, or drawing program could let its users know about their rights granted by the licensor of the file. File sharing software could highlight files with Creative Commons licenses and encourage users to download them. In fact, we see peer-to-peer file sharing software as an excellent distribution mechanism for Creative Commons works, especially large music, picture, and movie files that the authors might not have the bandwidth or tools necessary to distribute themselves. Search systems could allow users the choice of only searching for files with licenses that permit certain uses (such as searching for pictures of cats that you can include in your non-commercial collage). There are many ways to take advantage of this information and we hope the developer community will surprise us by coming up with others!

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I'd prefer to use a PNG image instead of the provided GIF button. What should I do?

We provide GIF images by default for maximum browser compatibility, but if you prefer to use PNG images to display our button, there are PNG versions on our server in the same location as the GIF images. In the HTML that was given to you when you created a license, simply add ".png" to the end of the image URL (/somerights --> /somerights.png).

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general

What is Creative Commons?

Creative Commons is a non-profit corporation founded on the notion that some people may not want to exercise all of the intellectual property rights the law affords them. We believe there is an unmet demand for an easy yet reliable way to tell the world "Some rights reserved" or even "No rights reserved." Many people have long since concluded that all-out copyright doesn't help them gain the exposure and widespread distribution they want. Many entrepreneurs and artists have come to prefer relying on innovative business models rather than full-fledged copyright to secure a return on their creative investment. Still others get fulfillment from contributing to and participating in an intellectual commons. For whatever reasons, it is clear that many citizens of the Internet want to share their work -- and the power to reuse, modify, and distribute their work -- with others on generous terms. Creative Commons intends to help people express this preference for sharing by offering the world a set of licenses on our Website, at no charge.

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Who started Creative Commons?

Cyberlaw and intellectual property experts James Boyle, Michael Carroll, and Lawrence Lessig, MIT computer science professor Hal Abelson, lawyer-turned-documentary filmmaker-turned-cyberlaw expert Eric Saltzman, and public domain Web publisher Eric Eldred founded Creative Commons in 2001. Fellows and students at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School helped get the project off the ground. Creative Commons is now based at and receives generous support from Stanford Law School, where we share space, staff, and inspiration with the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society.

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What problem does Creative Commons intend to solve?

Creative works are automatically copyrighted as soon as they "are fixed in a tangible medium of expression." The moment you lift your pen from a cocktail napkin doodle, you earn an exclusive right to copy and distribute that doodle. In some countries, including the United States, no copyright notice is required. Many people may prefer an alternative to this "copyright by default," particularly those who do their creating on the Internet -- a place that has always promised unfettered communication and collaboration. In theory, anyway. In fact, there is no easy way to announce that you intend to enforce only some your rights, or none at all. At the same time -- and again, because copyright notice is optional -- people who want to copy and reuse creative works have no reliable way to identify works available for such uses. We hope to provide some tools that solve both problems: a set of free public licenses sturdy enough to withstand a court's scrutiny, simple enough for non-lawyers to use, and yet sophisticated enough to be identified by various Web applications. Read about some examples of how Creative Commons hopes to promote collaborative creativity.

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So what, exactly, does Creative Commons plan to do?

Our first project is to offer the public a set of copyright licenses free of charge. These licenses will help people tell the world that their copyrighted works are free for sharing -- but only on certain conditions. For example, if you don't mind people copying and distributing your online photograph so long as they give you credit, we'll have a license that helps you say so. If you want the world to copy your band's MP3 but don't want them to profit off it without asking, you can use one of our licenses to express that preference. With the help of our licensing tools, you'll even be able to mix and match such preferences from a menu of options: Attribution. Permit others to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work and derivative works based upon it only if they give you credit. Noncommercial. Permit others to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work and derivative works based upon it only for noncommercial purposes. No Derivative Works. Permit others to copy, distribute, display and perform only verbatim copies of the work, not derivative works based upon it. Share Alike. Permit others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs your work. When you've made your choices, you'll get the appropriate license expressed in three ways: 1. Commons Deed. A simple, plain-language summary of the license, complete with the relevant icons. 2. Legal Code. The fine print that you need to be sure the license will stand up in court. 3. Digital Code. A machine-readable translation of the license that helps search engines and other applications identify your work by its terms of use. If you prefer to disclaim all ownership -- in the footsteps of innovators ranging from Benjamin Franklin to modern-day software pioneers -- we'll help you do that, too. You can dedicate your work to the pool of unregulated creativity known as the public domain, where nothing is owned and all is permitted. In other words, we'll help you declare "No rights reserved."

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Does it cost me anything to use your licenses?

Nope. They're free.

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Who funds Creative Commons?

Creative Commons was founded with a generous donation from the Center for the Public Domain. We also thank the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, from whom we received another substantial grant this year. We continue to seek donations from other sources, including foundations, individuals, and government grants.

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Whom does Creative Commons serve or represent?

Creative Commons serves the public interest in a robust exchange of expression, knowledge, and art. We will help people who want to license their work on generous terms, people who want to make creative uses of those works, and people who benefit from this symbiosis. We hope that teachers, scholars, scientists, writers, photographers, filmmakers, musicians, graphic designers, Web hobbyists -- as well as listeners, readers, and viewers -- gain from the use of our tools.

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Where is Creative Commons based?

Creative Commons is a Massachusetts corporation that draws on the work of geographically distributed staff and volunteers. The core team is based at the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society.

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Is Creative Commons part of Stanford Law School?

No, but Creative Commons does share space, personnel, and inspiration with the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society, and receives generous support from Stanford Law School.

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Does Creative Commons work with any other organizations or institutions?

Creative Commons is pursuing collaborations with a few like-minded organizations. See our Collaborators page to learn more, or contact us if you or your organization would like to help.

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Aren't there enough licenses out there already? What will Creative Commons add to what's already being done?

We take inspiration from other folks interested in promoting the sharing of creative works. Foremost among these is Richard Stallman, founder of The Free Software Foundation and author of the General Public License, or the GNU GPL. We want to complement, rather than compete with, these existing efforts to ease online sharing and collaboration. Right now we don't plan to get involved in software licensing at all. Instead, we'll concentrate on scholarship, film, literature, music, photography, and other kinds of creative works. To the extent that we'll deal with types of content that others are already building licenses for -- take the EFF's Open Audio License, for example -- we view that as a good thing. The more ways authors have to get their works out in the public sphere, the better.

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Does Creative Commons host or own any content?

Not right now. We'll simply help you license your own and point to examples of CC-licensed content from our featured works. We'll also offer ways for users to find licensed works and easily understand their license terms. Sometime next year, we plan to launch a separate project that will involve our owning the rights to certain works: the Creative Commons Conservancy. We'll accept donations of various kinds of intellectual works -- including software -- which we'll then license to the public on generous terms.

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Is Creative Commons involved in digital rights management (DRM)?

No; we prefer to describe the technical aspect of our work as digital rights description. Whereas digital rights management tools try to prevent certain uses of copyright works and restrict your rights, we're trying to promote certain uses and grant you rights. Instead of having software say, "No, you cannot modify this file," we want it to say something more like "The author will let you modify this file, but in return, give her credit." While the tools are similar, our goals are different. Instead of using one of the many DRM formats, we've chosen to go with the W3C's RDF/XML format. Instead of saying "We're not placing these restrictions," we say "We grant you these permissions," so that search engines and other applications can easily find generously licensed works and sort them. A physical analogy may be helpful. It's DRM's job to put up signs that say "No Trespassing." It would seem silly to take those signs and change them to say "Yes Trespassing," which is what using a DRM format to express our licenses would be like. Instead, we're building new signs that say "Welcome, Please Come In," and that use different colors and designs to convey their different messages. We're leaving "enforcement" to the law, social norms, and the good faith of the participants. Our tools act as informative aids, not instruments of control. We want to help copyright holders notify others of their obligations and freedoms, and to help everyone find places on the Internet where creative reuses are encouraged.

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What happens if someone tries to protect a CC-licensed work with digital rights management (DRM) tools?

If a person uses DRM tools to restrict any of the rights granted in the license, that person violates the license. All of our licenses prohibit licensees from "distributing the Work with any technological measures that control access or use of the Work in a manner inconsistent with the terms of this License Agreement."

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This is a great idea! How can I help?

We want your feedback and welcome your input and participation. Please contact us.

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