Introduction

Now we know why Creative Commons was started. But what is Creative Commons today?

Today, CC licences are prevalent across the web and are used by creators around the world for every type of content you can imagine. The open movement, which extends beyond just CC licences, is a global force of people committed to the idea that the world is better when we share and work together. Creative Commons is the non-profit organisation that stewards its licences and helps support the open movement.

Today, the CC licences and public domain tools are used on more than 1.6 billion works, from songs to YouTube videos to scientific research. The licences have helped a global movement come together around openness, collaboration and shared human creativity. Once housed within the basement of Stanford Law School, Creative Commons now has a staff working around the world on a host of different projects in various domains.

We’ll take these aspects of Creative Commons – the licences, the movement and the organisation – and look at each in turn.