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A Dictionary of Creative Commons (CC) Licenses: BY, NC, ND, SA

What exactly does a mark like CC BY-NC beneath an image or piece of writing mean? Here is everything explained in one place, including how to credit a work properly and what you can and cannot do with it.

BY (Attribution): the element in every license

Included in all six CC licenses. A condition requiring that when a work is used, you credit the original creator, give the source, name the license, and indicate whether you changed the work. A handy memory aid is TASL: Title, Author, Source, License. Attribution should be reasonable for the medium, so a caption under an image, a credits page in a video, or a footnote in a document usually works.

NC (NonCommercial): no use primarily for commercial advantage

A condition stating that the work may not be used in a way that is primarily intended for commercial advantage or monetary compensation. Personal blogs, school projects, and non-profit materials are typical safe uses. Where the line falls can be debated: an ad-supported blog, a company newsletter, or a paid course may be judged commercial, so when in doubt, ask the creator for permission or choose a work with a different license.

ND (NoDerivatives): share only the original

A condition stating that the work may be shared only in its original form. You cannot remix, transform, or build on it and then distribute the result. Cropping, retouching, translating, or adapting a song into a new arrangement generally count as adaptations that are not allowed under ND, while quoting a short excerpt in a way the law already permits is a separate matter.

SA (ShareAlike): keep the same terms

A condition that allows a work to be modified or combined with other works to create something new, but requires that the resulting work be released under the same license, or a compatible one. This keeps a pool of works open: improvements made by others must stay open under the same terms. It is sometimes called the copyleft element.

CC BY: the most permissive of the six

The most open Creative Commons license in common use, allowing free commercial use, modification, and redistribution as long as the creator is credited. It is well suited for creators who want maximum reach, and it is widely used for open educational resources and scholarly open-access articles.

CC BY-SA: Attribution plus ShareAlike

A license that allows free commercial use and modification as long as the creator is credited, but requires that any derivative work be released under the same license or a compatible one. It is used by Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, which moved new contributions to version 4.0 of the license in 2023. Because of ShareAlike, you cannot take a CC BY-SA work, adapt it, and then publish the result under a stricter or more closed license.

CC BY-NC: Attribution plus NonCommercial

A license that allows free use and modification only for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to the creator. Derivative works may be released under different terms, as long as they are also non-commercial and credit the original.

CC BY-NC-SA: NonCommercial plus ShareAlike

Attribution, NonCommercial, and ShareAlike together. A license that allows modification as long as attribution and the non-commercial condition are observed, but requires that the resulting work carry the same license conditions. It is popular for open course materials and educational content.

CC BY-ND: Attribution plus NoDerivatives

A license that allows free distribution, including for commercial use, with attribution, but does not permit modifying the content or creating derivative works. Use of the original in its entirety is allowed, which makes it common for reports and essays that the author wants to keep unchanged.

CC BY-NC-ND: the most restrictive of the six

The most restrictive Creative Commons license, allowing distribution only with attribution, in unaltered original form, and only for non-commercial purposes. Both modification and commercial use are prohibited. It lets others share your work freely, like a free copy, while keeping control over adaptation.

CC0 (Public Domain Dedication): a creator's waiver

A tool for voluntarily giving up copyright. A creator waives their copyright and related rights to the fullest extent allowed by law, and where a full waiver is not possible, CC0 acts as a very permissive license. Anyone can use the work for any purpose without asking or crediting, although crediting is still courteous. CC0 is used for datasets, scientific data, and works by creators who want no restrictions at all.

Public Domain Mark: a label, not a license

A mark used for a work already known to be free of known copyright restrictions, for example because the copyright term has expired. Unlike CC0, where the creator voluntarily waives their rights, the Public Domain Mark does not change anything legally; it only labels the status. Copyright terms differ by country, so a work can be public domain in one country and still protected in another.

Crediting a work correctly: a worked example

Suppose you use a photo called Autumn Bridge by Jane Kim, hosted at an example website, under CC BY 4.0. A complete credit would read: Autumn Bridge by Jane Kim, source: the page URL, licensed under CC BY 4.0, with a link to the license text. If you cropped or color-corrected it, add a note such as modified from the original. If the creator supplies a preferred credit line, use that. Missing attribution is the most common way people unintentionally violate a CC license.

What is Creative Commons (CC)?

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization and a standardized licensing system that allows creators to share their work under a range of conditions between All Rights Reserved and no rights reserved. It was founded in the early 2000s, and its first licenses were released in 2002. The four elements, Attribution (BY), NonCommercial (NC), NoDerivatives (ND), and ShareAlike (SA), combine to create six license types. Version 4.0 was published in late 2013 and is the most current suite. The licenses work alongside copyright law rather than replacing it, and each license is a legal permission in advance, so you do not need to contact the creator if you follow the terms.

What a CC license does not cover

A CC license deals with copyright and related rights only. It does not cover trademark rights, privacy or publicity rights, or moral rights, which can still apply. For example, a photo of a recognizable person under CC BY may still require the person's consent for some commercial uses, and a CC-licensed logo does not let you use the brand name as your own. Exceptions and limitations in copyright law, such as fair use or quotation rights, also remain available, so some uses do not need the license at all. The licenses are also irrevocable for the work as released, meaning a creator can stop offering new copies under the license but cannot take back permissions already given to you for the versions you obtained.

Mixing works with different licenses

When you combine works, the more restrictive condition generally controls. CC BY works can be combined with almost anything. ShareAlike works require the combined result to use the same or a compatible license, and a NonCommercial element means the whole combination must stay non-commercial. Two different ShareAlike licenses, such as CC BY-SA and CC BY-NC-SA, are generally not compatible with each other. Version 4.0 of BY-SA has an official compatibility with some other licenses, and CC publishes a compatibility chart. If a work has an ND license, you cannot include an adapted version in a remix at all.

Want to add an attribution watermark to an image?

If you want to add creator attribution directly onto an image to meet CC license conditions, our image watermark generator can help. Keep in mind that a watermark placed over the work can count as a modification, which is not allowed under ND licenses, so place the credit in a margin, a caption, or a separate credit line.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use anything marked with a CC license completely for free, without restriction?

No. The conditions differ depending on the license type. For example, a work marked CC BY-NC cannot be used for commercial purposes, and a work marked CC BY-ND cannot have its content modified. Before actually using a work, check the exact license conditions indicated on that specific work, including the license version.

Are CC0 and the public domain the same thing?

They are similar, but they come about in different ways. CC0 is a tool through which a creator actively declares they are waiving their own copyright, while the Public Domain Mark labels a work whose copyright has already expired, for example because the protection period has ended.

Can I use a CC BY-NC image on my business website?

Only if the use is not primarily for commercial advantage. A page that sells products, runs ads, or promotes a company is likely to count as commercial. If your use is borderline, choose an image under CC BY or CC0, or ask the creator for permission.

Can I translate a CC BY-ND article?

A translation is generally an adaptation, which ND does not allow you to share. You may translate for your own private use, but you cannot publish the translation without permission. For BY, BY-SA, BY-NC, and BY-NC-SA works, translations are allowed under the license terms.