Unit 3: Anatomy of a CC licence

Introduction

Which licence? [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] ’ was produced by Visual Thinkery for TIDE project, part of the UK-Aid-funded SPHEIR programme (spheir.org.uk), and is licensed CC BY 2.0

Creative Commons licences give everyone from individual creators to large companies and institutions a clear, standardised way to grant permission to others to use their creative work. From the reuser’s perspective, the presence of a Creative Commons licence answers the question, ‘What can I do with this?’ and provides freedom to reuse, subject to clearly defined conditions.

All Creative Commons licences ensure that creators retain their copyright and get credit for their work, while permitting others to copy and distribute it. Although the tools are designed to be as easy to use as possible, there are still some things to learn in order to fully understand their mechanics.

This unit has four sections:

  • 3.1 Licence design and terminology
  • 3.2 Licence scope
  • 3.3 Licence types
  • 3.4 Licence enforceability

There are also additional resources if you are interested in learning more about any of the topics covered in this unit.

3.1 Licence design and terminology