If you want to use something you didn't create yourself, questions about copyright and usage rights arise. Many people have had the idea of printing a graphic or photo on a T-shirt or coffee mug and then distributing it commercially. Using images and vector graphics is also fairly common on the internet these days. An American organization founded over 20 years ago is ensuring greater international transparency regarding the use and application of media and works.
Creative Commons (CC for short) is a non-profit organization founded in the USA. Founded in 2001, the association's goal is to create (international) user rights for copyrighted works. The license types are applicable to all "created" works. In addition to fonts, the license types offered today also apply to manually or machine-created images, videos, and audio. Open access publications, scientific papers, and other publications can also fall under this system. The goal is to use works without having to obtain individual usage permissions.
The activity of Creative Commons must be distinguished from the public domain labeling, which labels works whose copyright has expired and is therefore in the public domain. These works are no longer subject to copyright protection. Creative Commons licenses, on the other hand, grant authors rights that allow for public, private, or even commercial use of the protected work.
Among the most well-known license types is the Creative Commons BY (CC BY), a license that allows for the modification and copying of works. Works marked with CC BY may also be used commercially. However, there is an obligation associated with this: the author of the work must be named. Any changes to the work must also be acknowledged and included in the license. This is achieved by citing the name of the author/creator, the license, and the title of the work.
Accordingly, Creative Commons offers various basic designations that allow for freedom or restrictions on the use of the work. Examples include:
- CC BY: The work may also be used commercially. It may be reproduced and distributed in any format or medium, but the author must be credited.
- CC ND (no derivates): The nature of the work must remain intact; a derivative may not be created.
- CC SA (share alike): The work may be distributed, adapted, and used commercially. However, the newly created work must remain under the same conditions and license.
- CC NC (non-commercial): The work may only be publicly distributed or adapted for non-commercial purposes
- CC0 Kennzeichnung: Waiver of all intellectual property rights.
CC0 Label (Creative Commons Zero)
It's less a license type than a release. This release is largely different from the public domain. The author remains the copyright holder, but their name doesn't have to be mentioned or referenced. A work licensed with the CC0 license can be used for any legal purpose. There are no further restrictions imposed by license terms, which the creator thus waives. US copyright law provides for a waiver of this right, and a general release of works (public domain) is possible there at any time. In the Federal Republic of Germany, a complete waiver of copyright is not possible without further ado. This is precisely where the CC0 comes in, limiting the author's legal rights.
In this respect, licensing can be successively presented with more rights for the user (and fewer for the author)
- Kein CC: The terms and conditions specified by the author apply. The work is protected by his copyright.
- CC BY ND NC: The work may be used freely, provided it is not used commercially. It may not be modified (edited), and the author must be credited.
- CC BY ND: As above. However, the work may also be used commercially, provided the author is credited. The work must remain complete.
- CC BY NC SA: The work may be adapted, but it must remain under the same conditions. It may only be used for non-commercial purposes.
- CC BY SA: The work may also be adapted and used commercially, the remaining conditions remain in effect.
- CC BY NC: Almost everything is omitted, except that the author's name must be mentioned. Furthermore, the work must not serve any commercial purpose.
- CC BY: Almost everything is omitted, except that the author's name must be mentioned. Furthermore, the work must not serve any commercial purpose.
- CC0: The author is known, but waives his intellectual property rights and does not need to be named.
---
More about this
creativecommons.org | Webseite der Creative Commons Lizenzgeber.