Licensing work with a Creative Commons (CC) license is easy.
Upon setting a Creative Commons license, the creator of the work decides if both commercial and noncommercial uses are allowed (some are noncommercial only), if others are allowed to modify the work once it is licensed (called, “derivative work”), and if derivative works are allowed, whether or not the newly modified work also has to be licensed with CC (called, “share alike”).
The six types of licenses and a very brief description of each follows. More information can be found on CreativeCommons.org. All CC licenses state that the original author will be given credited for her work, in addition to the following details:
1.
Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd)
This license provides the least freedom to others as the work cannot be used for commercial purposes and derivative works cannot be made (in other words, it would be illegal to use this work as part of a collage).
2.
Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa)
This license allows others to build upon the original work (for instance, this work could be used, legally, in a collage) as long as the new work is also licensed in the same manner, with a CC by-nc-sa.
3.
Attribution Non-commercial (by-nc)
This license allows others to build upon the original work (this work could be used, legally, in a collage) without having to license it as a CC by-nc. However, the resulting work cannot be used for commercial purposes and the original author, as with all CC licenses, must be credited.
4.
Attribution No Derivatives (by-nd)
This license allows others to use the work as it is, without making derivative work, for any purpose (commercial or noncommercial).
5.
Attribution Share Alike (by-sa)
This license allows others to use the work as it is or in derivative forms, for commercial and noncommercial purposes, as long as the new work is also licensed with the same CC by-sa license.
6.
Attribution (by)
This license provides the most freedom to others who want to use the licensed work.