P OOL I NG

I D E AS We are what we share

Attributing Creative
Commons Materials
All Creative Commons (CC) licences require that users of the work attribute the creator.
This is also a requirement under Australian copyright law. This means you always have to
acknowledge the creator of the CC work you are using, as well as provide any relevant
copyright information.

For many users of CC material, attribution is one of the hardest parts of the process. This
guide is designed to help you ensure you are attributing the creator of a CC licensed work in
the best possible way.

What to include when attributing

The same principles apply to providing attribution across all CC licences. You should:

• credit the creator;

• provide the title of the work;
• provide the URL where the work is hosted;
• indicate the type of licence it is available under and provide a link to the
licence (so others can find out the licence terms); and
• keep intact any copyright notice associated with the work.

This may sound like a lot of information, but there is flexibility in the way you present it. With
a bit of clever formatting and linking it is easy to include all this information, particularly in the
digital environment.

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 Attributing Creative
Commons materials
Of course, you do not have to include any information you cannot locate. However, you
should make a good effort to find the relevant information for the material you are planning
on using. Think about what you would want if it was your material.

For example
FlickrStorm (http://www.zoo-m.com/flickr-
storm) is an online search tool that helps you
find high-quality, CC-licensed Flickr photos
and automatically generates an appropriate
attribution.

Searching for the keyword ‘lemon’ using

FlickrStorm basic search returns a range of
search results, including
the image on the left.

Notice the site includes

an attribution for the
selected image in the
bottom right hand corner.

Although the attribution is very short it provides access to all the information requested by the
CC licence (and more) by using clever linking:

• When you roll your mouse over the logo the type of licence it is
under appears next to it (in this instance an Attribution licence).
This links to a summary of the licence (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/2.0);
• The username in the by line links to the user’s photostream on Flickr
(www.flickr.com/photos/44124425616@N01). From there you can
access the user’s profile (www.flickr.com/people/hamed) by clicking
‘Profile’next to their user avatar;
• The photo itself links to the page where the photo is hosted on Flickr
(www.flickr.com/photos/44124425616@N01/1552383685), which
includes the full title (Eid Mubarak) and other details about the
photograph; and
• The ‘contact’ link gives you direct access to Flickr’s internal messaging
system (www.flickr.com/messages_write.gne?to=44124425616@N01).

In the offline environment, where you can’t create hyperlinks between content, the attribution
becomes more lengthy. But it still doesn’t have to be intrusive.

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 Attributing Creative
Commons materials
Here is a good offline attribution for this photo. It lists the creator’s name, title and licence
(using the licence button provided by CC at http://creativecommons.org/about/downloads)
and, by including a link to the photo’s Flickr page, gives access to all the other information
and links.

Eid Mubarak by Hamed Saber

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44124425616@N01/1552383685

Check what the creator wants

When you are using someone’s work, you should always check whether they have asked to
be attributed in a particular way. Attribution instructions can often be found on the copyright
page of a personal website, or on the member’s profile page on websites like Flickr or
YouTube.

Identifying the creator

Sometimes it can be hard to identify the person who created the material you are using. Use
common sense when determining who to attribute.

If you’re on a blog or news website with a number of authors, attribute the person who seems
to be associated with the content you are reusing. If there is more than one author of the
content, you should attribute them all. It is a good idea in cases such as this to attribute the
publication as well, just in case.

Other times, it may be difficult to find the name of the creator. Particularly on web services
like Flickr or YouTube the author may only be identified by their username. It is always a good
idea to see if you can find their legal name, for example in an ‘About’ or ‘Biography’ section
of a website, on a profile page, or in the copyright notice (eg © Jane Smith 2008).

If you can’t find the name, use the pseudonym or username if there is one.

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We are what we share
 Attributing Creative
Commons materials

For example
You want to use this photograph
in a factsheet for your website.
You found it by searching Flickr
photographs licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution
licence (hwww.flickr.com/
creativecommons/by-2.0) for the
keyword ‘aquariums’.

The photo was uploaded by

the Flickr user Qole Pejorian.
You’re uncertain whether ‘Qole
Pejorian’ is the user’s real
name. You know that some users
include their real name on their
user profile so you figure that’s a
good place to start.

You click on the username (Qole Pejorian) next to the user’s avatar in the right-hand column.
This takes you to Qole Pejorian’s photostream where you can easily access their profile by
clicking ‘Profile’ in the photostream navigation bar.

On the profile you find the statement below.

Now you know that his real name is Alan
Bruce, but you also know how he wishes to
be attributed.

Following these instructions, you use the following attribution for the photo, and leave a
comment on the photo’s page on Flickr telling him about your use.

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 Attributing Creative
Commons materials

Vivian and the Giant Fish by Alan Bruce, available under a

Creative Commons Attribution Licence 2.0 at http://www.flickr.com/
photos/qole/2284384975

Attributing others
The creator of the work may also require other parties to be included in the attribution, such
as co-creators, sponsors or publishers. Where other parties are identified you should also
include them in the attribution. If you are unable to provide details of all the parties, be sure
to provide details of where you found the work (eg the website, book or magazine).

Always include the CC licence URL

Even though it can sometimes be difficult to provide all the information, you must always
include the details of the CC licence that the work is available under. This is so other people
know that you (and they) have permission to use the work and under what conditions.

As you can see in the example below, licences can be identified in several ways. You can list the
licence name in full (eg Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial Australia 2.5), or you
can use the abbreviated form of the licence (eg CC BY-NC Aus 2.5) or the licence buttons.

Link to the site

As you can see from the above examples, it is also important that, where possible, you
provide a link to the site where you obtained the original work. This gives other people the
ability to easily access the original work themselves. Depending on the medium in which you
are reusing the work, this can be done either using a hyperlink or the URL (ie web address) as
text. In instances where the original work does not have an associated URL, you do not have
to link back to it.

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We are what we share
 Attributing Creative
Commons materials

Offline attribution
Where your reuse is offline, such as in a book or as part of an exhibition, or where you think
people are likely to want to print the work you should follow the same principles by providing
the creator’s name, title of the work, the licence it is under and the source where you got it
from, remembering that for offline works it is a good idea to spell out the licence type and any
URLs in full.

For example
You want to use parts of the report Unlocking the Potential
Through Creative Commons: An Industry Engagement and
Action Agenda.

The document clearly states on the inside

of the front cover that the report is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5
Australia licence, granting you the right to copy,
communicate or adapt the report “…so long as
you attribute the Australian Research Council
Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and
Innovation and the authors.”

Here are three examples of how you might

attribute the document.

Full attribution
Unlocking the Potential Through Creative Commons: An industry engagement
and action agenda by Elliott Bledsoe, Jessica Coates and Brian Fitzgerald.
Published by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Creative
Industries and Innovation. Available under a Creative Commons Attribution
2.5 Australia licence. For more information see http://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/2.5/au. Available at http://creativecommons.org.au/
unlockingthepotential.

Abbreviated attribution
Elliott Bledsoe et al, Unlocking the Potential Through Creative Commons
(http://creativecommons.org.au/unlockingthepotential). Published by the
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and
Innovation. Creative Commons BY 2.5 Aus.

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 Attributing Creative
Commons materials
Attribution using a CC licence button
Unlocking the Potential Through Creative Commons
(http://creativecommons.org.au/unlockingthepotential)
Elliott Bledsoe et al, published by the Australian
Research Council Centre of Excellence for Creative
Industries and Innovation.
Or

Unlocking the Potential Through Creative Commons

(http://creativecommons.org.au/unlockingthepotential). Elliott Bledsoe et
al, published by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for
Creative Industries and Innovation.

Remixing the original work

If you change the original work in any way, such as cropping the work, changing the colours
or replacing words, you will be creating a ‘derivative work’ of the original. You should always
attribute the original work in any derivative work and identify that changes have been made to it.

Often the simplest way to do this is to use the phrase “This work is a derivative of…” and
attribute the original work as you would normally. If your work incorporates a number of
derivative works, you might say, “This work includes material from the following…” and list each
original work. It is a good idea to state the order you are listing them in (eg sequentially).

For example
All the content on poet and hip-hop artist
CharlieHipHop’s website (www.charliehiphop.
com) is available under a CC licence. You
and some of your friends decide to use one of
Charlie’s poems, Let’s Get Moving, as a rap
in a video you are making. You change the
words to suit the video’s topic.

In the right hand column of his site

CharlieHipHop displays the licence button
and standard notice for the CC Attribution-
Noncommercial-ShareAlike licence. Below this he has provided a link to his own attribution
guidelines which outline in detail how he would like his songs attributed.

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We are what we share
 Attributing Creative
Commons materials

For example
To comply with these guidelines, you
should include the following attribution
for CharlieHipHop in the credits of
your film.

The rap used in this film was based on Lets get moving by
CharlieHipHop available at http://charliehiphop.com

http://creativecommons.org.au/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

Of course, if you’re using content available under a licence that includes the Share
Alike element you must release your new work under a Creative Commons Attribution-
Noncommercial-Share Alike licence too. For more information on complying with the full terms
of the CC Licences, see our fact sheet at http://creativecommons.org.au/materials/licences.

Attributing in different mediums

Where possible, the same information should be included regardless of how you are
reusing the work. However, sometimes this is impractical or impossible. The CC licences
let you change the exact placement, the language or level of detail from medium to
medium, as long as your attribution is ‘reasonable to the medium’.

For example, when you are using CC material in a book, it is easy to provide a long,
written attribution with all the information next to the work. However, where you use a
CC song in a podcast, it is trickier to provide the same amount of information so immediately.

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Attributing Creative
Commons materials
Below are suggestions on how you might attribute a CC work in different mediums. Remember,
however, to always check whether the creator has specified particular attribution.

Type Details
Books, journals • Include the relevant attribution information next to the CC work or
and magazines as a footer along the bottom of the work on the page that the work
appears on; and
• Alternatively, you can list the CC works in the back of the publication.
If you take this option, it is best to list the works in the order in which
they appear in the publication and indicate this to the reader.
Photos and • Provide the relevant attribution next to the photograph, or close by
images (eg on the edge or bottom of the page) if that is too obtrusive.
Slideshows • Include the relevant attribution information next to the CC work or
as a footer along the bottom of the work on each slide that the work
appears on; and
• Alternatively, you can include a ‘credits’ slide at the end of the
show, that lists all the materials used and their attribution details.
Film • Include the relevant attribution information with the work when it
appears on screen during the film; and
• If this is not possible, attribute the work in the credits, just as you
would see with music in a commercial film.
Podcasts • Mention the name of the artist and that it is under a CC licence
during the podcast, like a radio announcement, and provide full
attribution on your website, next to where the podcast is available.

Keep track of everything you use

Finally, in order to attribute properly, it is important that you keep track of all the materials
that you use as you use them. Re-finding materials later can be very difficult and time
consuming. Reproduce the table below to keep track of all the CC material you use.

Author/s Title Source Licence

CharlieHipHop Lets get moving www.charliehiphop.com/ BY-NC-SA 3.0
lets_get_movin_mp3

Published by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (www.cci.edu.au) in partnership with Creative Commons
Australia (http://creativecommons.org.au). Find this factsheet on the ccAustralia website at http://creativecommons.org.au/materials/attributingccmaterials.pdf

Unless otherwise noted, material in this information pack is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia licence. You are free to copy,
communicate and adapt the work, so long as you attribute Creative Commons Australia and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for
Creative Industries and Innovation. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au or send a letter to
Creative Commons Australia, c/- Law Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane Q 4001.