For those willing to share their copyrighted work, Creative Commons licenses allow authors and others to clarify exactly how they are willing to have the content used. Creative Commons does not replace copyright; it merely provides a standardized platform for users to know exactly what they can do without requesting permission from the owner. There are four features, or conditions, offered through Creative Commons. These features can be combined to create the license best fitting the needs of the creator.
Attribution: All CC licenses require that others who use your work in any way must give you credit the way you request, but not in a way that suggests you endorse them or their use. If they want to use your work without giving you credit or for endorsement purposes, they must get your permission first. Note: the most basic Creative Commons license, Attribution (CC BY) allows your work to be used for any purpose, including commercial use.
ShareAlike: You let others copy, distribute, display, perform and modify your work, as long as they distribute any modified work on the same terms. If they want to distribute modified works under other terms, they must get your permission first.
NoDerivs: You let others copy, distribute, display and perform only original copies of your work. If they want to modify your work, they must get your permission first.
NonCommercial: You let others copy, distribute, display, perform and (unless you have chosen NoDerivs) modify and use your work for any purpose other than commercially unless they get your permission first.
Creative Commons also offers a symbol showing that the author has put the work into the public domain.
Attribution
CC BY
Attribution - ShareAlike
CC BY-SA
Attribution-NoDerivs
CC BY-ND
Attribution-NonCommercial
CC BY-NC
Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND