Licences explained
The following describes each of the six main Creative Commons licences which are offered by Creative Commons Aotearoa New Zealand. They are listed starting with the most accommodating licence type you can choose with which to publish your work. You can also download a brochure which explains the New Zealand licences.
1. Attribution (BY):
This licence lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licences offered, in terms of what others can do with your works licensed under Attribution.
Pop-up exampleJess publishes her photograph with an Attribution licence, because she wants to share her pictures with people around the world as long as they give her credit. Rangi finds her photograph online and wants to display it on the front page of his website. He puts Jess’s picture on his site, and clearly indicates Jess’s authorship. |
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Attribution-Noncommercial (BY-NC):
This licence lets others remix, tweak, 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.
Pop-up exampleDave publishes his photograph on his blog with a Noncommercial licence. Shanti prints Dave’s photograph. Shanti is not allowed to sell the print photograph without Dave’s permission. |
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Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works (BY-NC-ND):
This licence is the most restrictive of our six main licences, allowing redistribution. This licence is often called the “free advertising” licence because it allows others to download your works and share them with others as long as they mention you and link back to you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.
Pop-up exampleKate releases an original vocal recording on to the Internet Archive under an Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works licence. Nick wants to distribute some copies of her recording to his friends. He must Attribute Kate and not receive any money for these copies or change her recording in any way. |
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Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike (BY-NC-SA)
This licence lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. Others can download and redistribute your work just like the BY-ND-SA licence, but they can also translate, make remixes, and produce new stories based on your work. All new work based on yours will carry the same licence, so any derivatives will also be non-commercial in nature.
Pop-up exampleGus's online photo is licensed under the Noncommercial and Share Alike terms. Camille is an amateur collage artist, and she takes Gus's photo and puts it into one of her collages. The Share Alike element requires Camille to make her collage available on a Noncommercial plus Share Alike licence. It makes her offer her work back to the world on the same terms Gus gave her. |
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Attribution-No Derivative Works (BY-ND)
This licence allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to you.
Pop-up exampleKiri licenses a recording of her song with a No Derivative Works licence. Joe would like to cut Kiri’s track and mix it with his own to produce an entirely new song. He cannot do this without Kiri’s permission. |
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Attribution-Share Alike (BY-SA)
This licence lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work even for commercial reasons, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. This licence is often compared to open source software licences. All new works based on yours will carry the same licence, so any derivatives will also allow commercial use.
Pop-up exampleTim creates some digital graphic designs and licenses them as Attribution-Share Alike. A class of students re-work Tim’s graphics as part of their individual assignments. Some of the students want to release their new designs online, but they must release them as Attribution-Share Alike also. |
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