Research Guides: Creative Commons: Using CC Licensed Works

CC Attributions

All works marked with a Creative Commons license require attribution.

Whether you're reusing a CC licensed work or creating one of your own, best practice for attribution includes four elements:

T - Title of the work
A - Author of the work receiving credit
S - Source link back to the original work
L - License with link to the appropriate CC license deed

Starting with CC 4.0 licenses, users are only required to list the author, license and URL or hyperlink to the original work when reusing CC licensed content, but best practice continues to be sharing all of the TASL elements if you have it.

Example Attribution:

"Psychology 2e" by Rose M. Spielman, William J. Jenkins, Marilyn D. Lovett, OpenStax is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Title = Psychology 2e
Author(s) = Rose M. Spielman, William J. Jenkins, Marilyn D. Lovett
Source = The title is hyperlinked to the original source of the material
License = CC BY 4.0 with link back to license deed.

Note that this attribution also includes the publishing organization, OpenStax. It is okay to add additional information if it provides helpful detail to help a user identify the work.

Best practices for attribution
In-depth information on attribution best practices from Creative Commons with clear examples of great and not-so-great attributions.
Attributions for CC Collections, Adaptations, and Remixes
Learn how to provide the correct license and attribution information for collections, adaptation, or remixes of CC licensed work.
Open Washington
This is a fantastic and easy-to-use tool to help you build a Creative Commons attribution.

Applying a CC License to Your Work

Applying a CC license to your work does not mean giving up copyright.

The CC license allows others to use and share your work under the terms of the license with attribution to you as the creator. A CC license can be applied to:

Work that you originally created.
Work for which you are the copyright holder.
Work built on copyrighted work that you obtained permission to use.
Work in the public domain.
A combination of the above in a collection or remix/adaptation.

To apply a CC license to your work:

Select the CC license that fits how you'd like the public to use and share your work.
List the CC license in the copyright notice, footer, or other location that fits the format of the work.
- Digital Works: Include a link back to the CC license deed for the CC license you are using.
- Audio works: Read the license and license deed URL aloud.
- Print and image-only works: Spell out the license deed URL.

Helpful resources for applying a CC license to your work:

Creative Commons: Considerations for licensors and licensees
Key things to consider before you release your own work under a CC license or use CC licensed work created by others.
Creative Commons: Marking your work with a CC license
How to mark your work with a CC license with examples for a variety of material types.
Creative Commons License Chooser
Interactive tool to help you choose the right CC license for your work.
Creative Commons Video Bumpers
Free graphics that can be used to mark a video with a CC license.

What if you change your mind?

You can take down work shared online, but cannot revoke use of the work.
You can rerelease the work under a new license, but cannot revoke use of work under the old license if the user is accessing a copy of the work found under the old license.
You can request that reuse of the work lists the author as anonymous.

Sources:

Guide License:

"Creative Commons" by Molly Ledermann, Washtenaw Community College, is licensed under CC BY 4.0