Subject/Research Guides: Open Education Resources (OER): Reusing &amp; Remixing OER

Creative Commons

Creative Commons (CC) are licenses that allow creators of works to designate permissions on how their work can be reused. All creative works are covered by copyright automatically, but CC licensing provides flexibility for the creator and user of content. As long as you give attribution to the creator and follow the CC licensing permissions, you can use the content without contacting the creator.

You will know if a work has a CC license by looking for a statement with link to the license, or the license image. These are the different icons used to build the licenses and their meaning.

Note: Licenses that contain the ND attribute do not allow revising or remixing.

CC license icons that compose the various licenses.
Icon	Right	Description
	Attribution or “BY.”	You are required to give attribution to the creator(s). All of the licenses include this condition.
	Noncommercial or "NC"	The work is only available to be used for noncommercial purposes.
	Share Alike or "SA"	Adaptations based on this work must be licensed under the same license.
	No Derivatives or "ND"	Reusers cannot share adaptations of the work.

CC License Remixing - Compatibility Chart
Creative Commons licenses are designed for ease of use. Users can see in a transparent manner how your work is available for reuse. Things can become complicated however if you want to combine two Creative Commons licensed works, for example when making a collage or remixes of music. Not all licenses are in fact to compatible. In the chart below we show which licenses are compatible.
Best practices for attribution of CC work
You can use CC-licensed materials as long as you follow the license conditions. One condition of all CC licenses is attribution. Here are some good (and not so good) examples of attribution.
Marking your work with a CC license
You have chosen a CC license for your work. Now how do you go about letting the world know? Here are some examples of how to mark your work with the CC license.