Most OERs are licensed under the Creative Commons (CC). The CC provides licenses and tools that, in their words, provide "free, simple, and standardized way to grant copyright permissions for creative and academic works; ensure proper attribution; and allow others to copy, distribute, and make use of those works" (Creative Commons).
This section will provide a basic overview of the CC licenses. For more detailed information please explore the Creative Commons website and the Creative Commons Wiki.
The Creative Commons licenses fill a gap between copyrighted material -- where any use requires permission -- and public domain material -- where no permission is needed. US copyright law begins protecting a work as soon as it's out into a fixed form so, for example, as soon as a picture is snapped only the photographer can legally reproduce the work. However, if the creator wants to allow others to be able to reproduce the work under certain circumstances they can choose to license their work under the CC, putting it in the middle zone between traditional copyright and the public domain.
Making sense of The Spectrum Of Rights by Research Outreach is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
The Creative Commons license framework offers 4 options to add conditions to a CC license. Each option is noted by the two letter code and symbol visible in the graphic below.
Creative Commons licence conditions by Research Outreach is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
By combining different license conditions to suit their needs, creators can end up with 7 different CC licenses. The graphic below compares each type of license by what is permitted. Find more detailed information on each license on the Licenses page.
The Creative Commons licences explained by Research Outreach is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Please reach out to a librarian with any questions! You can reach us by email at library@lakeforest.edu. Please allow one business day for a response.
