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In addition to the CC license suite, Creative Commons also has two public domain tools, which are represented by the icons in figures 3.4a and 3.4b above. These public domain tools are not licenses.

CC0 (figure 3.4a) enables creators to dedicate their works to the worldwide public domain to the greatest extent possible. Note that some jurisdictions do not allow creators to dedicate their works to the public domain, so CC0 has other legal mechanisms included to help deal with this situation where it applies. (There is more on this in “License Types.”)

The Public Domain Mark (figure 3.4b) is a label used to mark works that are known to be free of all copyright restrictions. Unlike CC0, the Public Domain Mark is not a legal tool and has no legal effect when applied to a work. It serves only as a label to inform the public about the public domain status of a work and is often used by museums and archives working with very old works.

Final Remarks

There is a learning curve to some of the terminology and basics about how CC legal tools work. But as you now know, it is far less intimidating than it looks. Now that you understand how to “speak CC” and know some of the fundamentals about CC license design, you are well on your way to becoming versed in CC licensing.