How do I use a Creative Commons-licensed work?
Open the original source page, not a repost or a platform filter. Record the exact license, its version number, and its conditions. Then comply with every term and attribute the rightsholder. That is the workflow. Get it wrong and the license terminates automatically. A 30-day window to cure the breach helps, but it does not wipe out liability for the period you were non-compliant.
Verify the Licence on the Original Source
Go to the page where the rightsholder published the work. Never trust a search thumbnail, a third-party repost, or a platform badge that says "CC". Platforms change their interfaces. YouTube has at different times offered a CC BY option for an entire video, but that label may not cover music, clips or other components embedded in the upload. Read the actual license text on the rightsholder's page.
Record the exact version number: 4.0, 3.0, 2.5, 2.0, 1.0. Note the specific abbreviation: BY, BY-SA, BY-ND, BY-NC, BY-NC-SA, BY-NC-ND. The 4.0 suite is the current standard. Older jurisdiction-specific ports exist and remain valid. You cannot upgrade someone else's license unilaterally.
Capture a screenshot or save the URL and the date you checked. This record is your evidence if a dispute arises. Creative Commons does not register works, does not verify ownership, and does not enforce individual licenses. The source page is your primary document.
Record Everything Before You Act
Write down the rightsholder's name or username, the source URL, the exact license and version, any attribution parties the rightsholder designated, a copyright notice if supplied, and any disclaimer or exclusion included in the notice. Include the URI or hyperlink the rightsholder provided for the work. If the work contains multiple components, a video that includes a separate music track, for example, record each component's license separately. The license covers only what the rightsholder controlled. Possession of a CC-licensed copy does not guarantee that the uploader owned all necessary rights or that every element inside the file is covered by the same terms.
For uses that matter, a publication, a product, a public-facing project, preserve a screenshot of the entire license notice area. The 4.0 legal code requires the reuser to retain, when supplied: identification of the rightsholder and designated attribution parties, a copyright notice, a notice referring to the license, a warranty disclaimer, and a URI or hyperlink to the work where reasonably practicable. Record them all before you move to the compliance step.
| Licence | Share Unchanged | Adapt And Share | Commercial Use | ShareAlike Applies | Attribution Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CC BY 4.0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| CC BY-SA 4.0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CC BY-ND 4.0 | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| CC BY-NC 4.0 | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
Comply With The Four Licence Conditions
The six 4.0 licenses combine four conditions: BY (Attribution), SA (ShareAlike), NC (NonCommercial), and ND (NoDerivatives). Each license requires attribution. The rest modify what you can do.
Give Attribution (BY)
Credit the rightsholder in a manner reasonable for the medium. The 4.0 legal code requires you to retain, when the licensor supplied them, the rightsholder's name, designated attribution parties, copyright notice, license notice, warranty disclaimer, and a URI or hyperlink where reasonably practicable. You must also link or refer to the exact license and indicate modifications you made, keeping any earlier modification notices the rightsholder supplied. The mnemonic TASL, title, author, source, license, is a useful memory aid but is not the complete legal text of the 4.0 attribution clause. Under 4.0 the title is not separately required; including it is good practice and older versions may require it when the title was supplied. Attribution must not imply endorsement.
Apply ShareAlike (SA)
This condition triggers only when Adapted Material is shared, not when unchanged work sits beside other separate works in a collection. If you adapt a work under BY-SA 4.0 and share the adaptation, you must apply BY-SA 4.0 or a license that Creative Commons has formally named as compatible. The official compatibility list controls. Do not assume two SA licenses are compatible. Creative Commons lists one-way compatibility from BY-SA 4.0 to GPLv3 for adapted material; this does not turn a CC license into a software license, and it does not create compatibility in the reverse direction.
Respect NonCommercial (NC)
Version 4.0 defines NonCommercial as not primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or monetary compensation. The identity of the user, a business, a nonprofit, a school, an individual, does not decide the issue by itself. Advertising, sponsorship, fundraising, internal business use, and mixed purposes require context. There is no bright-line rule. If your planned use has material commercial risk, get separate permission or local legal advice.
Honour NoDerivatives (ND)
Sharing Adapted Material is not permitted under an ND license. Reproduction in a different format alone does not create Adapted Material under the 4.0 definition. Translation is normally an adaptation. Synchronising music with a moving image is expressly Adapted Material under 4.0. Whether cropping, excerpting, editing, or combining creates an adaptation depends on applicable copyright law; no universal boundary exists for those actions. If you need to share a modified version, pick a license that does not include ND.
Common Questions
What is the difference between CC0 and a CC licence?
CC0 is a public-domain dedication with a waiver, a fallback license where the waiver is not effective, and a non-assertion promise limited to remaining Copyright and Related Rights. The six 4.0 licenses are standard copyright licenses that operate on top of copyright; the rightsholder retains copyright while granting the public specified permissions in advance. CC0 and the Public Domain Mark are not part of the six-license suite.
Do I need to register the work with Creative Commons before I use it?
No. Creative Commons does not register works. The rightsholder applies the license by placing a notice on the work. There is no central registry. Your only source of the license terms is the notice on the original source page.
Can I use a CC-licensed work for commercial purposes?
Only if the license permits it. CC BY and CC BY-SA permit commercial use. CC BY-ND permits commercial sharing of the unadapted work. All NC licenses, BY-NC, BY-NC-SA, BY-NC-ND, prohibit commercial use as defined in the 4.0 legal code. The identity of the user does not decide the issue; the purpose of the use does.
What happens if I violate the licence conditions?
Rights under a 4.0 license terminate automatically on breach. They are automatically reinstated from the date the violation is cured, if you cure it within 30 days after finding the violation. The licensor may also expressly reinstate rights. Cure does not erase possible liability for the period of violation. Older versions have different termination language and do not contain the same automatic 30-day mechanism.
Can the creator change the licence after I have used the work?
No. The licensor may stop distributing the work or offer it under other terms, but cannot withdraw the license from people who already received it while complying with its terms. Dual licensing is permitted; the rightsholder may offer the same work under a different license to a specific user without changing the public CC offer.
Is a CC licence the same as being in the public domain?
No. A CC license operates on top of copyright. The rightsholder retains copyright while granting permissions. CC0 is a tool designed to remove copyright and related-right conditions as far as the affirmer is legally able. The Public Domain Mark is a label for work believed free of known copyright restrictions worldwide; it changes no rights.
Can I combine two CC-licensed works into one adaptation?
Combining material is not automatically lawful because each input uses a CC license. ND may block sharing the combination if the combination is an adaptation. SA may require a specific adapter's license. Two inputs can impose incompatible terms. Check the official Creative Commons compatibility chart and distinguish mere aggregation, keeping separate works in a collection, from an integrated adaptation where the inputs are modified to create something new.