Can I sell or adapt CC0 material?
You can sell and adapt CC0 material. The Creative Commons CC0 dedication removes copyright and related rights as far as the affirmer is legally able. No permission is needed from the original creator to copy, modify, distribute, or sell the work. The exact condition appears in section 1 of the CC0 legal code: the affirmer waives all rights equivalent to copyright in the work, including any neighbouring or related claims that would otherwise require clearance. The decisive exception is that CC0 does not remove rights that are not copyright or copyright-like. Non-copyright protections, privacy, publicity, trademark, patent, contract, cultural heritage, can still block a use. Before you sell or adapt, identify every right that might apply to the material. Check who is depicted, whether a brand or logo appears, and whether any data or database protections survive in your jurisdiction. CC0 is not a guarantee that every legal barrier has fallen.
What CC0 Actually Removes
The Three Components Of A CC0 Dedication
Creative Commons CC0 is not one of the six 4.0 licenses. It is a public-domain dedication with three components: a waiver of copyright and related rights to the maximum extent possible under the law; a fallback license to cover any rights the waiver does not legally reach; and a non-assertion promise limited to remaining Copyright and Related Rights. The effect is that the work enters the public domain for copyright purposes. You do not need to give credit, pay royalties, or ask consent to use it, even for commercial gain.
CC0 Versus The Public Domain Mark
The Public Domain Mark changes no rights. It is a label a person applies to material they believe is already free of copyright worldwide. PDM is not a legal tool. If you rely on PDM for a work that is still under copyright, you have no license at all. CC0 is the appropriate tool when someone who controls the rights intends to dedicate a work to the public domain.
A CC0 dedication applies only where copyright or similar protections require consent. If the affirmer did not own all the rights in the work, because the work includes a sample, a third-party photograph, or a trademark, CC0 cannot waive those missing rights. The reuser is responsible for verifying that the affirmer controlled the rights being waived.
What CC0 Does Not Remove
Personality, Privacy, And Moral Rights
Privacy, publicity, personality, and moral rights are handled only to the limited extent stated in the CC0 legal code. The affirmer waives moral rights as far as the law permits. That waiver may not be effective in jurisdictions that treat moral rights as inalienable. If the work depicts a living person, you may still need consent under applicable privacy or publicity law.
Trademarks, Patents, And Other Surviving Rights
Trademark and patent rights are not licensed by CC0. A logo or brand name in a CC0 image does not grant you permission to use it as your own trademark or in a way that suggests endorsement. Patent rights require a separate license.
Cultural heritage laws, contract terms, and database protections may also survive. The CC0 deed includes a disclaimer about these limitations: the deed states that CC0 does not affect rights outside copyright and related rights. The official legal code at creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode lists the specific rights the affirmer intends to waive. Everything else is the reuser's problem.
| Tool | What It Does | Can You Sell? | Can You Adapt? | Credit Required? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CC0 | Removes copyright and similar rights as far as legally possible | Yes | Yes | No |
| Public Domain Mark (PDM) | Marks material believed free of copyright; does not remove rights | Depends on actual status | Depends on actual status | No, but citation is proper |
| CC BY 4.0 | License allowing sharing, adapting, and commercial use with attribution | Yes | Yes | Yes, attribution |
| CC BY-ND 4.0 | License allowing sharing and commercial use, but no sharing of adaptations | Yes | Private use yes; sharing no | Yes, attribution |
| CC BY-NC 4.0 | License allowing sharing, adapting, and noncommercial use only | No for commercial use | Yes, noncommercial only | Yes, attribution |
Adapting CC0 Material
What You Can Do Without Asking
Since CC0 removes copyright conditions, adaptation does not require consent from the affirmer. You can crop, edit, combine, translate, or synchronise CC0 material without needing a separate license. The adaptation you create is your own copyright work. License it under any terms you choose, including a standard copyright or a Creative Commons license. You are not bound by a ShareAlike condition because CC0 has no such condition.
Translation is normally an adaptation under copyright law, and synchronising music with a moving image is expressly Adapted Material under version 4.0 of the licenses. Under CC0, none of these activities require the affirmer's consent. The affirmer has already waived the rights that would otherwise control those uses.
The Hidden Third-Party Trap
What can go wrong: if the CC0 work contains material the affirmer did not own, your adaptation could infringe the actual rights holder's copyright. A CC0 dedication does not guarantee that every component is covered. The failure case is that you adapt a work that looks CC0-marked but includes a third-party element, and you have no defence when that party sues. Trace the origin of every constituent part of the work before you adapt it. That is your only protection.
Common Questions
Do I need to credit the creator when I use CC0 material?
No. CC0 has no legal condition requiring attribution. Credit is not a CC0 legal condition. However, research integrity, community norms, and the risk of false authorship can still make credit proper. If you publish a CC0 work without credit and someone later claims they created it, you have no record of the original affirmer. Preserving the source is a practical safeguard, not a legal requirement.
Can I put CC0 material into a product I sell?
Yes, as far as copyright is concerned. Because CC0 removes copyright and related rights, you can incorporate a CC0 image into a T-shirt, a book cover, or a software interface and sell the resulting product. The risk comes from non-copyright protections. If the image shows a celebrity, a trademarked logo, or a building with restricted photography rights, those claims can block the sale. CC0 does not address them.
Does CC0 expire?
No. The Creative Commons license terms grant permission for the term of the licensed copyright and similar rights. CC0 is a dedication, not a license with a term. Once applied, the affirmer cannot withdraw it for anyone who already received the work while complying. The affirmer may stop distributing the work or offer it under other terms, but cannot revoke the CC0 dedication for copies already in circulation.
What happens if a platform says CC0 material cannot be sold?
Platform terms are a separate contract. The CC0 dedication grants permission under copyright law, but a platform like a stock-image website or a print-on-demand service can impose its own rules that are more restrictive. A platform's exclusive sublicensing terms, download restrictions, or DRM can conflict with a CC badge. Check the current terms of the platform you plan to use. A CC dedication does not override a contractual agreement you sign with the platform.
Is CC0 the same as the Public Domain Mark?
No. CC0 is a legal tool that actively removes copyright and related rights. The Public Domain Mark is a label applied to material the marker believes is already free of copyright. PDM changes no rights. If you rely on PDM for a work that is still under copyright, you have no license. CC0 is the safer tool because it creates a legal fallback if the waiver is not fully effective.
Can I use CC0 material for a trademark or logo?
Not if doing so creates confusion about the source of goods or services. CC0 does not license trademark rights. Using a CC0 image as your brand mark could infringe someone else's trademark if the mark is confusingly similar. Even if it is not, you cannot prevent others from using the same CC0 image because the dedication is irrevocable. A trademark that is also a CC0 work is not protectable against reuse.
What is the one thing that most often goes wrong with CC0 material?
The reuser assumes CC0 removes every legal barrier. It does not. A common failure is using a CC0 image that depicts a person and getting sued under privacy or publicity law. Another common failure is adapting a CC0 work that contains a third-party element the affirmer did not own. Identify every non-copyright right that could apply and, if in doubt, get local legal advice before selling or adapting.