Using, Adapting & Remixing CC Licensed Materials

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Creative Commons: The Tricky Details

When using Creative Commons (CC) licensed works, ensure you follow the requirements that the work you are using is licensed under. This often includes identifying the original creator, and a link to the creative commons license - generally the ‘human readable’ version - itself. A note of caution should be mentioned here. When using, remixing, and creating derivatives of CC licensed works, attention should be paid to the types of licenses of the work you are using. Not all CC licenses are compatible with one another. In addition, if you build on the work of someone who chose a more restrictive CC licenses (e.g. CC BY-NC-SA) the license options you have available for you work may also be limited.

The chart below shows how CC licensed material can be remixed. Check marks indicate licenses which can be combined. If the cell contains an “X” then the works cannot be combined without the express permission of the creator or if an exemption applies. For more information about compatibility see Combining and adapting CC material Links to an external site..

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Attributing Creative Commons Materials

All CC licenses, except the “zero” license/public domain license, require that you attribute the original author. This is in essence, giving credit where credit is due. In many cases for both creative commons and non-creative commons works the author(s) will indicate how you should attribute the work. If the author(s) do not indicate how to attribute them it does not mean you can use, reuse, adapt, or distribute the work without attribution. Including an attribution statement is not only about following rules, and of benefit to the original authors, but it also make it easier for downstream users (i.e. people that go on to use your work). An attribution statement is a lot like a reference list at the end of a journal article or book, it lets your audience know where to find the information and materials you used to create your work.  

To create your attribution statement you can refer to the Creative Commons Wiki: Best Practices for Attribution Links to an external site., or use an attribution builder such as Open Washington’s Attribution Builder Links to an external site..