4.4 Open Licenses: Creative Commons and Beyond

Creative Commons Licenses: Some Rights Reserved

As we’ve discussed, by default, copyrighted works are under full, “all rights reserved” copyright. This means that they cannot be reused in any way without permission from the work’s rightsholder (often the creator). One way you can get permission to use someone else’s work is through a license, a statement or contract that allows you to perform, display, reproduce, or adapt a copyrighted work in the circumstances specified within the license. For example, the copyright holder for a popular book might sign a license to provide a movie studio with one-time rights to use their characters in a film.

All OER are made available under some type of open license to the public, which are flexible enough to meet the creators’ intended vision of future use. The most popular of these open licenses are Creative Commons (CC) licenses, a set of licenses that allow others to reuse, adapt, and re-publish content with varying levels of restrictions. CC licenses allow creators to explain in plain language how their works can be used by others. These licenses act as explicit, standing permissions for re-users.

Below are the four possible components of a Creative Commons license:

	Attribution (BY) Proper attribution must be given to the original creator of the work whenever a portion of their work is reused or adapted. This includes a link to the original work, information about the author, and information about the original work’s license.
	Share-Alike (SA) Iterations of the original work must be made available under the same license terms.
	Non-Commercial (NC) The work cannot be sold at a profit or used for commercial means such as for-profit advertising. Copies of the work can be purchased in print and given away or sold at cost.
	No Derivatives (ND) The work cannot be altered or “remixed.” Only identical copies of the work can be redistributed without additional permission from the creator.

These elements can be mixed and matched to create a total of six Creative Commons licenses. You can learn more about the individual CC licenses on the Creative Commons website.

Caution! Not All Creative Commons Licenses Are Fully Open

If you want to reuse an existing OER, there are some aspects of CC licenses you should keep in mind. Although there are different rules for each, every CC license includes the Attribution component, which requires that users provide proper attribution for an original work being shared or adapted. Attributions will be covered in the next section. Figure 4.3 shows how being open can be seen more as a spectrum than a binary, with public domain at the most open end, and All Rights Reserved copyrighted materials at the other.

It’s important to be aware of the practical restrictions with the No Derivatives (ND) and Share-Alike (SA) licenses when remixing:

• When materials are under a license that includes the No Derivatives (ND) component, they should not be remixed or revised. As an example, inserting an unedited picture generally does not violate the ND license because you are copying, not creating a derivative (also called an adaptation). You should not, however, remix text from ND works or edit ND works. If you’re not sure if your use might constitute revising or remixing, talk to a librarian or your ODC.
• Materials that are licensed under the Sharealike (SA) component should only be remixed with compatible licenses. In other words, CC BY-NC-SA-licensed content should not be remixed with CC BY-SA-licensed content. Because both of these licenses have the Sharealike but are different (one is Noncommercial), it’s not recommended to mix text with these two licenses on the same webpage. In this project, each Heading Level 2 in your Google Doc will be a webpage in Pressbooks. As with ND licenses, unedited image inserts generally do not constitute derivatives.
• The distinction between inserting an unedited image and remixing text may seem small and confusing. A helpful metaphor is Nate Angell’s distinction between a smoothie and a TV dinner. When you modify and combine text from multiple sources, you’re creating a new thing (a derivative), like a smoothie. When you’re inserting an unedited image, it’s still easily distinguished as the same image, just like carrots are still carrots, even once they’re placed in a TV dinner.

Creative Commons licenses exist to give authors some control over their works. For example, people sharing art or personal memoirs may be protective of the integrity of their work and choose the ND component.  Your work will also be Creative Commons-licensed, which is discussed further in “Choosing a License for Your Book,” on the next page. Remixing material under different licenses is one of the more complex parts of working in the open. If you find some of this confusing, you’re not alone. Talk to your ODC or a librarian if you need help.

Other Types of Licensing

Creative Commons licenses are often found at the bottom of a website, sometimes under links that say copyright or terms and conditions. Sometimes these terms and conditions give custom permission for educational or nonprofit use. Because these permissions are often vague and don’t spell out exactly what is permitted like Creative Commons licenses, it’s best to check with your librarian or ODC before using content with custom licenses or terms. It’s especially important to make sure text you use is under a standard open license like Creative Commons.

Pixabay, Unsplash, and the Standard Youtube License have licenses that allow you to insert images and embedded videos from these sites. You can find examples of how to attribute them in the Attributions Style Guide.

Finding Open Content for Your Book

Librarians are happy to help you find open content and have special training in available collections and searching techniques. You’re also free to explore the open-verse for yourself! The Open Oregon Educational Resources FAQ suggests collections of open textbooks, images, and ancillaries to get you started. Google also allows you to filter searches for openly licensed images and other content, although I recommend using caution and verifying the licensing on the page itself.

Self-Check

Use the activity below to reinforce your understanding the Creative Commons license components.