Correct licensing attribution is vital for ensuring legal compliance, maintaining ethical standards, and reinforcing transparency and credibility. It also supports the long-term reuse and adaptation of materials. For example, the majority of OpenLearn Create content is released under the NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) licence.
Here are the licencing options available on OpenLearn Create.
Open Educational Resources (OER) licences
These licences make it easier for others to reuse and share your work, but the rules depend on which licence you choose.
Public domain
Your work is no longer under copyright. Anyone can use, share, change, or build on it — even for commercial purposes — without asking for permission.
Attribution: CC BY
Others can use, share, change, or build on your work, including for commercial purposes. They just need to give you credit.
Attribution-ShareAlike: CC BY-SA
Others can use, share, change, or build on your work, including for commercial purposes, as long as they credit you and share their new work under the same licence.
Attribution-NonCommercial: CC BY-NC
Others can use, share, change, or build on your work for non-commercial purposes only. They must credit you, but they don’t need to use the same licence for their versions.
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike: CC BY-NC-SA
Others can use, share, change, or build on your work for non-commercial purposes only. They must credit you and share their new work under the same licence.
Non OER licences
These are more restrictive licences. They limit how others can use your work.
Attribution-NoDerivs: CC BY-ND
Others can copy and share your work (for commercial or non-commercial use) if they give you credit, but they cannot change it.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs: CC BY-NC-ND
Others can only download and share your work if they credit you. They cannot change it or use it commercially.
All Rights Reserved
You keep full copyright. No one can use, copy, or share your work unless they ask you directly for permission.
