Chapter contributor credit:  Isabel Soto Luna, Business Librarian, UNO Libraries

Why are there so many Creative Commons licenses?

There is no single Creative Commons license. The CC license suite (which includes the six CC licenses) and the CC0 public domain dedication offer creators a range of options. At first, all of these choices can appear daunting. But when you dig into the options, you will realize the spectrum of choices is fairly simple.

Creative Commons licenses are standardized tools, but part of the vision is to provide a range of options for creators who are interested in sharing their works with the public rather than reserving all rights under copyright.

The four license elements—BY, SA, NC, and ND—combine to make up six different license options.

All the licenses include the BY condition. In other words, all the licenses require that the creator be attributed in connection with their work. Beyond that commonality, the licenses vary whether (1) commercial use of the work is permitted, and (2) whether the work can be adapted, and if so, on what terms.

The six licenses, from least to most restrictive in terms of the freedoms granted reusers, are:

Icon	Meaning
	The Attribution license or “CC BY” allows people to use and adapt the work for any purpose (even commercially) as long as they give credit to the creator.
	The Attribution-ShareAlike license or “BY-SA” allows people to use and adapt the work for any purpose (even commercially). As long as they give credit to the creator and make any adaptations they share with others available under the same or a compatible license. This is CC’s version of a copyleft license.
	The Attribution-NonCommercial license or “BY-NC” allows people to use the work, or adaptations of the work, for noncommercial purposes only, and only as long as they give credit to the creator.
	The Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license or “BY-NC-SA” allows people to use and adapt the work for noncommercial purposes only. Only as long as they give credit to the creator and make any adaptations they share with others available under the same or a compatible license.
	The Attribution-NoDerivatives license or “BY-ND” allows people to use the unadapted work for any purpose (even commercially), as long as they give credit to the creator. They may also adapt the work for their own personal use, but may not share any adaptations publicly.
	The Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license or “BY-NC-ND” is the most restrictive license offered by CC. It allows people to use the unadapted work for noncommercial purposes only, and only as long as they give credit to the creator. They may also adapt the work for their own personal use, but may not share any adaptations publicly.

To understand how the different license options really work, let’s dig into the different license elements. Attribution is a part of all CC licenses, and we will dissect exactly what type of attribution is required in a later unit. For now, let’s focus on what makes the licenses different.

1. Commercial vs. noncommercial use

As we know, three of the licenses (BY-NC, BY-NC-SA, and BY-NC-ND) limit reuse of the work to noncommercial purposes only. In the legal code, a noncommercial purpose is defined as one that is “not primarily intended for or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation.” This is intended to provide flexibility depending on the facts surrounding the reuse, without over specifying exact situations that could exclude some prohibited and some permitted reuses.

It’s important to note that CC’s definition of NC depends on the use, not the user. If you are a nonprofit or charitable organization, your use of an NC-licensed work could still run afoul of the NC restriction. And if you are a for-profit entity, your use of an NC-licensed work does not necessarily mean you have violated the term. For example, a nonprofit entity cannot sell another’s NC licensed work for a profit, and a for-profit may use an NC licensed work for non-commercial purposes. Whether a use is commercial depends on the specifics of the situation. See our CC NonCommercial Interpretation page here for more information and examples.

2. Adaptations

The other differences between the licenses hinge on whether, and on what terms, reusers can adapt and then share the licensed work. (The question of what constitutes an adaptation of a licensed work depends on applicable copyright law.) One of the exclusive rights granted to creators under copyright is the right to create adaptations of their works or, as they are called in some places, derivative works. (For example, creating a movie based on a book, or translating a book from one language to another.)

As a legal matter, at times it is tricky to determine exactly what is and is not an adaptation. Here are some handy rules about the licenses to keep in mind: Technical format-shifting (for example, converting a licensed work from a digital format to a physical copy) is not an adaptation, regardless of what applicable copyright law may otherwise provide.

Resolving minor problems with spelling or punctuation is not an adaptation. Syncing a musical work with a moving image is an adaptation, regardless of what applicable copyright law may otherwise provide.

Reproducing and putting works together into a collection is not an adaptation of the individual works. For example, combining stand-alone essays by several authors into an essay collection for use as an open textbook is a collection and not an adaptation. Most open courseware is a collection of others’ open educational resources (OER).

Including an image in connection with text, as in a blog post, a PowerPoint, or an article, does not create an adaptation unless the photo itself is adapted.

Two of the licenses (BY-ND and BY-NC-ND) prohibit reusers from sharing (i.e., distributing or making available) adaptations of the licensed work. To be clear, this means anyone may create adaptations of works under an ND license, so long as they do not share the work with others in adapted form. This allows, among other things, organizations to engage in text and data mining without violating the ND term.

Two of the licenses (BY-SA and BY-NC-SA) require that if adaptations of the licensed work are shared, they must be made available under the same or a compatible license. For ShareAlike purposes, the list of compatible licenses is short. It includes later versions of the same license (e.g., BY-SA 4.0 is compatible with BY-SA 3.0) and a few non-CC licenses designated as compatible by Creative Commons (e.g., the Free Art License). You can read more about this here, but the most important thing to remember is that ShareAlike requires that if you share your adaptation, you must do so using the same or a compatible license.

DIY Resource Example: Making a foldover pamphlet

While we all live in the Age of Zoom, we do sometimes get to do in-person presentations.  On these occasions, it’s nice to have a handout for faculty.  Along with my colleague Isabel Soto Luna, Business Librarian at UNO Library, I created a DIY foldover staple pamphlet that we hand out when we have the opportunity.

Feel free to download, adapt and share!

Creative Commons Licenses pamphlet