What Is A Creative Commons License and Can I Use It?

The creative commons license was developed by Creative Commons, a non-profit organization that was implemented for the purpose of gathering creative work that others can build on and share.

A creative commons license allows those who hold copyrights to grant some of those rights to the public, while retaining other rights.

This was originally done because current copyright laws prohibit changing copyrighted information. This enables you to use work that has a creative commons license, but if you plan to sell a product, a creative commons license isn’t really what you want to use.

Furthermore, it is not ethical to use work that has a creative commons license and turn it into a copyrighted product. This is not only unethical, but it can and will damage your reputation and possibly your credibility.

Creative commons licenses are typically used in the academic and creative community, much like Copyleft material – where one person starts with an idea and allows others to add to it to make it better for the greater good, without cost. When it comes to developing products, using work that is in the public domain, as opposed to work that has a Copyleft license or a creative commons license is advised. This is typically more acceptable, and you can do what you want with the work you create from the public domain material, including making a profit. It is best to use a directory to find such public domain works. You can find a great resource through http://www.publicdomainmastermind.biz.

Pay attention to how work is licensed. A copyright symbol has a C enclosed in a circle. A Copyleft symbol is a backwards C enclosed in a circle, and a creative commons license is indicated by CC. Public domain work will usually have the copyright symbol, but the copyright term will have expired.

You should not assume that the copyright has expired, however. Instead, you should do your homework and certify that the copyright has expired before using the materials.

Justin K. Grayman
Public Domain Wealth
http://www.publicdomainmastermind.biz

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