In order to make it easy for the Web to know when a work is available under a Creative Commons license, we provide a “machine readable” version of the license - a summary of the key freedoms and obligations written into a format that software systems, search engines, and other kinds of technology can understand. The final layer of the license design recognizes that software, from search engines to office productivity to music editing, plays an enormous role in the creation, copying, discovery, and distribution of works. Think of the Commons Deed as a user-friendly interface to the Legal Code beneath, although the Deed itself is not a license, and its contents are not part of the Legal Code itself. The Commons Deed is a handy reference for licensors and licensees, summarizing and expressing some of the most important terms and conditions. We call this the Legal Code layer of each license.īut since most creators, educators, and scientists are not in fact lawyers, we also make the licenses available in a format that normal people can read - the Commons Deed (also known as the “human readable” version of the license). Each license begins as a traditional legal tool, in the kind of language and text formats that most lawyers know and love. Our public copyright licenses incorporate a unique and innovative “three-layer” design. ShareAlike is inspired by the GNU General Public License, used by many free and open source software projects. We call this idea “ShareAlike” and it is one of the mechanisms that (if chosen) helps the digital commons grow over time.

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.Ī Creative Commons licensor answers a few simple questions on the path to choosing a license - first, do I want to allow commercial use or not, and then second, do I want to allow derivative works or not? If a licensor decides to allow derivative works, she may also choose to require that anyone who uses the work - we call them licensees - to make that new work available under the same license terms. Every Creative Commons license works around the world and lasts as long as applicable copyright lasts (because they are built on copyright). Every Creative Commons license also ensures licensors get the credit for their work they deserve. Every license helps creators - we call them licensors if they use our tools - retain copyright while allowing others to copy, distribute, and make some uses of their work - at least non-commercially. All Creative Commons licenses have many important features in common.

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