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Creative Commons (CC) Licensing

Glossary of Terms

Adaptation:

An adaptation is a work based on one or more pre-existing works. What constitutes an adaptation depends on applicable law, however translating a work from one language to another or creating a film version of a novel are generally considered adaptations.

In order for an adaptation to be protected by copyright, most national laws require the creator of the adaptation to add original expression to the pre-existing work. 

Attribution

Attribution is the practice of properly attributing works to the original creator. All CC licenses require users to attribute the creator of licensed material, unless the creator has waived that requirement, not supplied a name, or asked that her name be removed. Additionally, you must retain a copyright notice, a link to the license (or to the deed), a license notice, a notice about the disclaimer of warranties, and a URI if reasonable.  You must also indicate if you have modified the work—for example, if you have taken an excerpt, or cropped a photo." 

BY:
 
The short name for the attribution term of CC licenses. "CC BY" is a CC license that only requires giving credit -- allowing commercial and derivative use.

Creative Commons:

Creative Commons is an organization, a worldwide community, and a set of open licenses. Creative Commons helps you legally share your knowledge and creativity to build a more equitable, accessible, and innovative world.

Fair Use:
 
The right to make certain uses of a work without permission of the copyright holder.

Moral Rights:

Copyright laws in many jurisdictions around the world grant creators “moral rights” in addition to the economic or commercial right to exploit their creative works. Moral rights protect the personal and reputational value of a work for its creator. Moral rights differ by country, and can include the right of attribution, the right to have a work published anonymously or pseudonymously, and/or the right to the integrity of the work. 

Public Domain:

The public domain of copyright refers to the aggregate of those works that are not restricted by copyright within a given jurisdiction. A work may be part of the public domain because the applicable term of copyright has expired, because the rights holder surrendered copyright in the work with a tool like CC0, or because the work did not meet the applicable standards for copyrightability.

Some Rights Reserved:
 
A descriptive tagline for any CC license -- the licensor offers some rights to the public, but withholds others.

References

"Frequently Asked Questions" by Creative Commons is licensed under CC BY 4.0

"Glossary" by Creative Commons is licensed under CC BY 4.0

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