A Creative Commons license lets someone share their work — a photo, song, article, or software — while keeping some control over how you use it
Instead of "all rights reserved" (the default when someone creates something), a Creative Commons license says "you can use this, but follow these rules." The creator picks which rules matter to them. You might be allowed to share the work freely, or only if you credit them, or only for non-commercial purposes. The license is written into the file or posted where the work lives, so you know the rules before you use it.
Creative Commons licenses exist because copyright law is strict by default — you own everything you make, and nobody else can copy it without permission. That works for some creators, but others want their work to spread. A Creative Commons license is a middle ground: the creator keeps copyright, but gives permission in advance for specific uses.
Key Takeaways
- A Creative Commons license tells you what you can do with someone's work without asking permission first — share it, modify it, use it commercially, or some combination of those.
- The six main license types stack four rules: Attribution (credit the creator), NonCommercial (no money involved), NoDerivatives (don't change it), and ShareAlike (share your changes under the same license).
- You must follow the license terms even if the work is old, free, or posted on the internet — the license is the legal permission, and breaking it means copyright infringement.
- Creative Commons licenses do not override other laws: you still cannot use someone's face to sell a product, and you still cannot break a website's terms of service to read something.
The six standard Creative Commons license types and what each one allows
Creative Commons publishes six main licenses. Each one is a combination of four rules that the creator can turn on or off. Understanding the four rules makes the six licenses clear.
Attribution (BY) means you must credit the creator. This is on every Creative Commons license — there is no license without it. You have to say who made it, usually by name and with a link to the original if it is online.
NonCommercial (NC) means you cannot make money from it. You can share it, modify it, and use it freely — but not for profit. Selling it, using it in an ad, or charging for access counts as commercial use. Some creators add this because they want their work to help people, not to fund someone else's business.
NoDerivatives (ND) means you cannot change it. You can copy it and share it as-is, but not remix it, edit it, or build on it. This protects creators who do not want their work altered.
ShareAlike (SA) means if you do change it, you have to share your version under the same license. It is a "pay it forward" rule: if someone gave you freedom to modify their work, you give that same freedom to the next person.
The six licenses are these combinations:
| License Name | Rules | What You Can Do |
|---|---|---|
| CC BY | Attribution only | Share, modify, use commercially — just credit the creator |
| CC BY-SA | Attribution + ShareAlike | Share and modify, but share your version under the same license |
| CC BY-NC | Attribution + NonCommercial | Share and modify, but not for profit |
| CC BY-NC-SA | Attribution + NonCommercial + ShareAlike | Share and modify for non-commercial use, share your version under the same license |
| CC BY-ND | Attribution + NoDerivatives | Share as-is and credit the creator, but do not change it |
| CC BY-NC-ND | Attribution + NonCommercial + NoDerivatives | Share as-is for non-commercial use only |
Where you find Creative Commons licenses and how to check what you can do
Creative Commons licenses live in three places: in the file itself (as metadata), on the webpage where the work is posted, or in a document that comes with the work. When you find something online — a photo on Flickr, a video on YouTube, an article on a blog — look for a Creative Commons badge or a statement that says "This work is licensed under Creative Commons BY-SA" or similar.
If you cannot find a license statement, the work is not under a Creative Commons license. That means the creator has kept all rights, and you need permission to use it. Do not assume something is Creative Commons just because it is on the internet or because the creator did not ask for money.
When you do find a license, read the full text or click through to the license summary. The Creative Commons website has a plain-language summary for each license that shows exactly what you can and cannot do. That summary is your guide — it is legally binding, and it is written for humans, not lawyers.
What "attribution" means and how to credit a creator properly
Attribution is on every Creative Commons license, so you will always need to credit the creator. But "credit" does not mean a tiny footnote. The license asks you to include the creator's name (or the name they give you), the title of the work, a link to the original (if it is online), and the license type.
The exact format depends on where you are using the work. If you are sharing a photo on social media, a caption like "Photo by Jane Smith, licensed under CC BY-SA" works. If you are using it in a document, a footnote with the same information is fine. If you are building a website, a link back to the original is standard. The point is that someone reading or using your version can find the original creator and the license.
Some creators ask for attribution in a specific way — they might say "credit me as 'J. Smith'" or "link to my website." If they do, follow their instructions. If they do not, the standard format above is acceptable.
When a Creative Commons license does not cover everything you want to do
Creative Commons licenses are legal tools, but they do not override other laws. If a work is licensed CC BY-NC, you still cannot use someone's photograph of their face to sell a product without their permission — that is a separate right called the right of publicity, and the license does not touch it. Similarly, if you read a Creative Commons song from a website that forbids downloading in its terms of service, the license does not give you the right to break that rule.
If the license does not cover what you want to do, you can contact the creator and ask for permission. Many creators are happy to grant additional rights — for example, allowing commercial use of a work that is licensed NC. There is no harm in asking.
You also cannot use a Creative Commons license to override someone else's rights. If a song uses a Creative Commons license but samples a copyrighted recording without permission, the license does not make that legal. The creator has to have the right to grant what they are licensing.
How Creative Commons licenses differ from open-source software licenses
Creative Commons licenses are for creative works: photos, music, writing, video, and art. Open-source software licenses (like GPL, MIT, and Apache) are for code. They look similar — both let you use something with conditions — but they solve different problems.
Open-source licenses focus on source code: they let you read it, modify it, and redistribute it, usually with rules about how you credit the original author and whether you have to share your changes. Creative Commons licenses focus on finished works: they let you use, share, and sometimes modify a photo or song, with rules about credit and commercial use.
A software project might use both: the code under an open-source license (like MIT) and the documentation or artwork under a Creative Commons license (like CC BY). They work together because they are designed for different things.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a Creative Commons work if I do not credit the creator?
No. Attribution is required on every Creative Commons license. Using the work without credit is copyright infringement, even if the license allows everything else. The creator has to be credited in a way that is reasonably visible to anyone using your version.
If something is Creative Commons, can I sell it?
It depends on the license. CC BY and CC BY-SA allow commercial use — you can sell the work or use it to make money. CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-SA, and CC BY-NC-ND do not allow commercial use. If the license has "NC" in it, you cannot profit from it. If it does not, you can, as long as you credit the creator.
What happens if I break the license terms?
You are infringing copyright. The creator can ask you to take it down, demand payment for damages, or pursue legal action. Most creators are reasonable — if you made a mistake, they might just ask you to fix it. But the license is a legal agreement, and breaking it has consequences.
Can I use a Creative Commons work in my own Creative Commons project?
Yes, but you have to follow the original license. If you use a CC BY-SA photo in your own CC BY-SA project, that is fine — both require attribution and sharing changes under the same license. If you use a CC BY-ND photo (no changes allowed), you cannot modify it, so you would have to use it as-is. Check each license before you combine works.
Is Creative Commons the same as public domain?
No. Public domain means the creator has given up all rights, or the copyright has expired — anyone can use it for anything with no conditions. Creative Commons licenses always require attribution and may have other conditions. Public domain is more free, but Creative Commons is more common for recent work.