Textbook Affordability & Open Educational Resources (OER)

This symbol stands for Attribution or “BY,” which means a specific form of credit is given to the creator of a work. All of the CC licenses include this condition.

This symbol stands for NonCommercial or “NC,” which means the work is only available for uses that do not intend commercial gain. Three of the CC licenses include this restriction. This definition depends on the use. A for-profit entity could use a CC Licensed work if not for commercial gain. 

This symbol stands for ShareAlike or “SA,” which means that adaptations based on this work must be licensed under the same license when they are shared. Two of the CC licenses include this condition.

This symbol stands for NoDerivatives or “ND,” which means that no derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted. Two of the CC licenses include this condition. Derivatives does have several exceptions. Format shifting is not an adaptation of the work, like converting from a print to digital copy. Fixing a spelling or punctuation is not an adaptation. Putting works into a collection is not an adaptation.  Putting an unaltered photo into a blog post, PowerPoint, or article is not an adaptation. However, syncing a moving picture with music is an adaptation.  

The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of his or her rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. The person who associated a work with this deed makes no warranties about the work, and disclaims liability for all uses of the work, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Deed CC0 1.0 UNIVERSAL

Unlike CC0, the Public Domain Mark has no legal effect when applied to a work. It serves only as a label to inform the public about the public domain status of a work and is often used by museums, libraries, and archives working with very old works. Unlike CC licenses and CC0, which require the license holder to apply the license, anyone can apply the Public Domain Mark to a work known to be in the public domain. PDM 1.0

The Attribution-ShareAlike license or “BY-SA” allows people to use and adapt the work for any purpose (even commercially), as long as they give credit to the creator and make any adaptations they share with others available under the same or a compatible license. This is CC’s version of a copyleft license.

See Deed CC BY-SA 4.0

The Attribution-NonCommercial license or “BY-NC”allows people to use the work, or adaptations of the work, for noncommercial purposes only, and only as long as they give credit to the creator. 

See Deed CC BY-NC 4.0

The Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license or “BY-NC-SA” allows people to use and adapt the work for noncommercial purposes only, and only as long as they give credit to the creator and make any adaptations they share with others available under the same or a compatible license.

See Deed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

The Attribution-NoDerivatives license or “BY-ND” allows people to use the unadapted work for any purpose (even commercially), as long as they give credit to the creator. They may also adapt the work for their own personal use but may not share any adaptations publicly.

See Deed CC BY-ND 4.0

The Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license or “BY-NC-ND” is the most restrictive license offered by CC. It allows people to use the unadapted work for noncommercial purposes only, and only as long as they give credit to the creator. They may also adapt the work for their own personal use but may not share any adaptations publicly.

See Deed CC BY-NC-ND 4.0