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- 42 - CHAPTER 3

All Creative Commons licenses have many important features in common. At a minimum, every license helps creators (we call them “licensors” when they use CC tools) retain copyright while allowing others to copy and distribute their work. Every CC license also ensures that licensors get credit for their work. CC licenses work around the world and last as long as the applicable copyright lasts (because they are built on copyright) and as long as the user complies with the license. These common features serve as the baseline, on top of which licensors can choose to grant additional permissions when deciding how they want their work to be used.

All Creative Commons licenses are structured to give the user permission to make a wide range of uses as long as the user complies with the conditions in the license. The basic condition in all of the licenses is that the user provides credit to the licensor and certain other information, such as where the original work may be found.

A CC licensor makes a few simple decisions on the path to choosing a license: first, do I want to allow commercial use of my work; and second, do I want to allow derivative works (also known as adaptations)? We’ll address adaptations in greater detail within chapter 4.

If a licensor decides to allow derivative works, they may also choose to require that anyone who uses the work—we call them “licensees”—make their new work available under the same license terms. This is what is meant by “ShareAlike,” and it is one of the mechanisms that has helped the digital commons of CC-licensed content grow over time. ShareAlike is inspired by the GNU General Public License, which is used by many free and open-source software projects.

These different license elements are symbolized by visual icons, as shown in figures 3.3a to 3.3d below.

The symbol shown in figure 3.3a means Attribution or “BY.” This license means that others who use your work must give you credit for it (i. e., attribute it to you) in the way you request. All of the licenses include this condition.