Introduction
The Creative Commons copyright licences and tools strike a balance within the traditional “all rights reserved” environment created by copyright law. Their tools provide a simple, standardised way for everyone, from individual creators to large companies and institutions, to grant copyright permissions to their creative work. Their technologies and users have collaborated to create a vast and expanding digital commons, a repository of content that can be copied, distributed, altered, remixed, shared, and built upon while remaining within the bounds of copyright law.
Many important features are shared by all Creative Commons licences. Every licence assists creators — they call them licensors if they use their tools — in retaining copyright while allowing others to copy, distribute, and use their work — at least non-commercially. Every Creative Commons licence also ensures that licensors receive the credit they deserve for their work. Every Creative Commons licence is valid worldwide and lasts as long as the applicable copyright does (because they are built on copyright). When selecting how their work should be used, these common traits serve as the base upon which licences can opt to provide extra permissions.
On the path to selecting a licence, a Creative Commons licensor answers two simple questions: first, do I want to allow commercial use or not, and second, do I want to allow derivative works or not? If a licensor allows derivative works, s/he may also require anybody who uses the work — known as a licensee — to make the new work available under the same terms as the original. This concept is known as “ShareAlike,” and it is one of the mechanisms that, if implemented, helps the digital commons grow over time. The GNU General Public License, which is used by many free and open – source software projects, inspired ShareAlike.
The licences have no effect on the rights that the law grants to users of creative works that are otherwise protected by copyright, such as exceptions and limitations to copyright law, such as fair dealing. Licensees are required by Creative Commons licences to obtain permission to do anything with a work that the law reserves exclusively to a licensor and that the licence does not expressly allow. Licensees must give credit to the licensor, keep all copyright notices on all copies of the work, and include a link to the licence on all copies of the work. Licensees are not permitted to use technological measures to limit others’ access to the work.
Their approach makes it possible to search for open content, which is an important function. One can look for Creative Commons content on Google, pictures on Flickr, albums on Jamendo, and general media on spinxpress. Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia’s multimedia repository, is also a frequent user of their licences.
Each Creative Commons licence allows the artist to keep ownership of their work while enabling others to copy, distribute, and use it for non-commercial reasons. The Creative Commons licence also assures that artists are acknowledged and given credit for their work.
Anyone can utilise CC’s free copyright licences to mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to have. In the Indian context, the Copyright Act of 1957 provides rules and regulations for the same.
Difference between Copyright and Creative Common License
Creative Commons is a licence that is applied to a work that is copyright protected. It is not distinct from copyright, but rather a method of easily sharing copyrighted work.
Because copyright is magical, a large portion of what is created is automatically protected by it. Copyright provides some pretty strong safeguards to ensure that others do not use your work without your permission.
All of those precautions aren’t required or desired by everyone. However, if they took the time to licence the work each time someone expressed interest in using it, they would waste a lot of time and money allowing others to use their work.
Creative Commons is a non-profit organisation that provides licencing structures for people to use in licencing their copyrighted work to anyone who agrees to the licencing terms. It makes it simple to share work without relinquishing total control or spending hours granting permissions.
How do they operate?
CC licences are only valid when applied to material that has a copyright, and even then, only when a specific use would otherwise be prohibited by copyright. The most recent version of the CC licences also includes rights similar to copyright, such as neighbouring rights and sui generis database rights. Learn more about the license’s scope. This means that uses permitted under any applicable exceptions and limitations to copyright do not trigger CC licence terms and conditions, nor do licence terms and conditions apply to public domain elements of a licenced work. This also means that CC licences do not place contractual limits on uses of a work for which no copyright exists. This (and other) characteristics distinguish CC licences from other open licences such as the ODbL and ODC-BY, both of which are intended to impose contractual conditions and restrictions on database reuse in jurisdictions where there is no underlying copyright or sui generis database right.
All CC licences are non-exclusive, which means that creators and owners can enter into additional, different licencing arrangements for the same material at any time (this is known as “dual-licensing” or “multi-licensing”). CC licences, on the other hand, are not reversible once issued until there is a breach, and even then, the licence is only cancelled for the breaching licensee.
One must keep in mind that CC is not a licence; rather, it is a public domain dedication. In most jurisdictions around the world, when CC is applied to a work, copyright no longer applies to the work. As a result, references to dual licencing arrangements such as the one described above are inapplicable to CC. There are also videos and comics that provide visual explanations of how Creative Commons licences work.
Pre-requisites before applying for creative common license
- You do not need to register your work – just pick a license!
- Kindly ensure your work is copyrightable
- Kindly ensure you have the rights
- Kindly ensure you understand how Creative Commons licenses operate
- Please be specific about what you are licensing
- Are you a member of a collecting society? Is it possible to CC-license your work if this is the case?
Applying a Creative Commons licence to your content is a big step. When you apply a CC licence, you grant anyone the right to use your material for the duration of the applicable copyright and similar rights.
CC has identified some things you should think about before applying for a CC licence, some of which are related to your ability to apply for a CC licence at all. Here are a few examples:
- Is the content copyrighted? Is it subject to neighbouring rights or sui generis database rights if it is not? Public domain material is not covered by CC licences. Different countries have different definitions of what belongs in the public domain.
- Do you own the content you’d like to licence? If not, are you otherwise authorised to licence it under the CC licence you want to use? You should not licence material that you do not own or are not authorised to licence.
- Are you aware that Creative Commons licences are not revocable? You may discontinue offering material under a CC licence at any time, but this will have no effect on the rights associated with any copies of your work that are already in circulation. (A licensee’s rights may be revoked if he or she violates the licence, but this does not prevent other licensees from continuing to use the work.)
- Do you belong to a collecting society? If you are, you should ensure that you can use Creative Commons licences for your materials.
- Always read the terms and conditions of the licence you intend to apply for. Furthermore, several terms in earlier versions of the licence, both unported and ported, may differ Clauses such as choice of law may have an impact on your desired licence if you use a pre-4.0 version or any ported version.
How should one decide which license to choose?
If you are unsure which licence is best for your needs, there are numerous resources available to assist rights holders in selecting the appropriate CC licence. CC Australia has created a flow chart that may be useful in determining the appropriate licence for your work. You can also read case studies of others who have used Creative Commons licences. Questions can also be answered by the CC community, and issues you raise may have already been addressed. The CC community’s email discussion lists and discussion archives may be useful resources.
Finally, you may want to consult with a lawyer about the best licence for your needs.
Conclusion
Thus, the article briefly elaborates on different concepts and information to be known about creative common licenses. It also provides a differentiation between copyright and creative common license. The important concept of ShareAlike is also discussed. This article provides an overview to an individual who wants to understand everything about creative common license and its basics in short.
