OERs often utilize Creative Commons (CC) licensing. CC licenses provide a way for creators to retain their rights to their works, while still allowing for free usage and adaptation of it.
When a CC license is applied to a work, it means that anyone can use that work, as per the terms in the license, without having to contact the author/copyright holder for permission ahead of time.
While Creative Commons is the ideal licensing for OER, you can find lots of other materials, such as photos and music, available for use under these licenses.
There are six types of Creative Commons Licenses (content from creativecommons.org):
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Attribution This license lets others distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered. Recommended for maximum dissemination and use of licensed materials.
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Attribution-NonCommercial This license lets others remix, adapt, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms. |
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Attribution-ShareAlike This license lets others remix, adapt, and build upon your work even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. |
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike This license lets others remix, adapt, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. |
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Attribution-NoDerivs This license lets others reuse the work for any purpose, including commercially; however, it cannot be shared with others in adapted form, and credit must be provided to you. |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs This license is the most restrictive of our six main licenses, only allowing others to download your works and share them with others as long as they credit you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially. |
CC0: The Public Domain
Typically, works enter the public domain when their copyright expires (currently life of the author + 90 years in the US). However, the CC0 license allows creators to release their works into the public domain early. Unlike the other 6 CC licenses, in which authors retain their copyright while allow certain uses, with CC0, author's relinquish their copyright completely.
Creative Commons Images:
Creative Commons Music:
Use of RIT resources is reserved for current RIT students, faculty
and staff for academic and teaching purposes only.
Please contact your librarian with any questions.
