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Copyright: Creative Commons

What is Creative Commons?

Creative Commons is an online initiative that offers digital content producers the opportunity to select from a range of licences which permit access to their content. Creative Commons licences are available digitally in various forms – ranging from those that enable rights holders to give up most controls over how their content is used (“Public Domain”) to those that permit the rights holder to retain a level of control over how their work is treated (“Some Rights Reserved”). The Creative Commons licences can be transferred to websites and other content, particularly as Microsoft Office now provides the tools for these licences to be added to Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications. See http://www.creativecommons.org for details

Increasingly, individuals are likely to encounter content on the internet which is governed by Creative Commons licences. In addition, organisations in the cultural heritage sector will need to decide if CC licences are appropriate for use with their own digital content It is therefore crucial that the full implications of using Creative Commons licences are understood.

What do Creative Commons licences look like?

Creative Commons licences are available in three different formats and can be found on the Creative Commons website. They are:

  • Machine readable format which provides the code for search engines and other applications to identify the work by its terms of use
  • User-friendly summary of the licence which includes internationally recognised and trademarked symbols to signify key terms and conditions of use which can be easily and quickly understood.
  • Detailed legal format

What are the key elements of Creative Commons licences?

Apart from the options to choose specific conditions, all licences include the following elements:

Worldwide

All content licensed with Creative Commons licences is available to users across the world without limitation.

Irrevocable

The licences can not be retracted.

Lasting for the duration of copyright

Users must always abide by the terms and conditions of the licences for as long as copyright lasts in the content.

No derogatory use

In the UK, work cannot be subjected to any derogatory treatment as defined in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Restricted use of digital rights management

The user cannot impose any digital rights management technology, such as certain types of encryption on the content which might prevent users from legitimately accessing the content in accordance with the terms of the licence.

How can Creative Commons licences be customised?

There are different types of Creative Commons licences available as pre- written model licences. In order to create a licence, content producers need first to select the jurisdiction under which their licence will be determined, such as the England and Wales version or the Scottish version. Then they will need to choose which specific terms and conditions they wish to apply when others access their content. Whilst all licences require that the original creator of the digital content is credited, content producers can also choose from the following options:

Non-Commercial Use or Commercial Use

Non-Commercial is defined as 'not primarily intended for or directed towards commercial advantage or private monetary compensation'. This means that the user of the content agrees not to use your content in order to generate an income or for commercial gain.

Derivative works or No derivative works or derivative works

Derivative work refers to any editing, modification, adaptation or translation of your work in any media. No derivative works prohibits you from doing this.

Sharing or not sharing

This option allows the user of your work to re-publish, distribute, perform or otherwise disseminate your work, or not. Once a new work has been created under these sharing terms, the creator of the new work must allow others to access it under these same terms.

Using Creative Commons to provide access to digital cultural content

In order to make their works available to others through the use of Creative Commons licences, museums, libraries and archives must ensure that:

  • They own all the rights in the works themselves
  • They have permission from all third party rights holders for the works to be made available to the public through the use of Creative Commons licences
  • The works are out of copyright

Creative Commons licences are irrevocable, world-wide and for the duration of copyright, so suppliers of digital content need to be aware of the extent of usage that any Creative Commons licences permits. In addition, the broad definition of “non-commercial” needs to be considered carefully to ensure that cultural heritage organisations do not undermine their ability to exploit their cultural content for financial gain at some time in the future.

Using third party content licensed under Creative Commons licences

Works licensed under Creative Commons can be found easily on the internet, so there are plenty of options for organisations in the cultural heritage sector to use content for which they may not need to clear rights.

Creative Commons licences create a legal framework between the content creator and others who wish to access and use the creator's content. This obliges any user of content to respect the terms under which the content is made available. Recent test cases in Europe have reaffirmed the validity of the licences as legally binding documents. It is therefore important that staff understand that content licensed under Creative Commons licences will require them to fulfil certain obligations, the very least by crediting of the original creator.

When you see the Creative Commons symbol always make sure you understand the terms of the licence before re-using the content.

Conclusion

Creative Commons licences, like any other licences need to be fit for purpose. Since Creative Commons licences may not be adapted or altered in any way beyond the options that are given, owners of rights in digital cultural content may find that the broad access rights that Creative Commons licences provides, are more than they would normally permit. In these cases, it might be advisable to explore the use of Creative Archive licences http://creativearchive.bbc.co.uk which are a set of more restrictive licences, based upon the same premise as Creative Commons but with limits upon the use of the content and the territories in which they may be used. Alternatively, museums, libraries and archives may decide that it is more appropriate to use licences which are written for specific needs and requirements.

In conclusion, any use of licences to facilitate access to digital cultural content needs to be used as part of a managed approach to copyright which includes staff training to raise awareness about rights issues, effective rights management and clearance procedures and a full awareness of strategic and commercial goals.