What are Creative Commons licenses?
Creative Commons licenses (often referred to as CC licenses) provide an easy way to grant the public rights of use. CC licenses are based on copyright regulations, but allow for a more extensive use of works than generally envisaged in copyright law. The licenses remove barriers to greater dissemination of knowledge in research and culture, for example, the adaptation of a work in a different language. CC BY is the recommended licence for Open Access content. In Art and Culture, there is no general recommendation, as it often makes sense to restrict adaptations or their reuse for commercial purposes.
The author's moral rights are not affected by a Creative Commons license, i.e. the author must be cited for each use.
Creative Commons licenses are used widely internationally. There are various different versions of CC licenses, some of which have been partly adapted in line with national legislation - including Germany. CC licenses are legally compliant as confirmed by the courts.
CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
As long as attribution is given to the author or copyright holder, this licence allows reusers to copy, distribute, and display or perform the material in public. You may use the material for commercial use. The material may be modified (such as for translations). Modified material must be distributed unter the same license.
CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0
As long as attribution is given to the author or copyright holder, this licence allows reusers to copy, distribute, and display or perform the material in public. Adaptations may be made and distributed. You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
CC BY-ND: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0
As long as attribution is given to the author or copyright holder, this licence allows reusers to copy, distribute, and display or perform the material in public. You may not modify or publish the material in an amended form. You may use the material for commercial purposes.
CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0
As long as attribution is given to the author or copyright holder, this licence allows reusers to copy, distribute, and display or perform the material in public. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. The material may be modified (such as for translations). Modified material must be distributed unter the same license.
CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0
As long as attribution is given to the author or copyright holder, this licence allows reusers to copy, distribute, and display or perform the material in public. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. You may not modify or publish the material in an amended form.
