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Creative Commons Licenses

Learn about selecting & applying open licenses to your work, as well as interpreting open licenses.

4 Elements of Creative Commons Licenses

Four Elements of CC Licenses:

These 4 license elements work in combination to create the 6 Creative Commons licenses:

Element Icon	CC Element Name	Meaning
	Attribution or “BY”	Attribution must be given to the creator. "BY" is part of all CC licenses.
	Non-Commercial or “NC”	Users cannot use the work for purposes of commercial gain.
	No Derivatives or “ND”	Users cannot share derivatives (adaptations) of the works. Verbatim copies are fine.
	Share Alike or “SA”	All derivatives (adaptations) of the work have the same license as the original.

For more detailed info & tips for each element, see individual sections below.