OER Licences
Many OER are covered by Creative Commons licences. These licences make resources available allowing for more flexible use by students and staff while protecting the rights of the creators.
Creative Commons licences are generally applied to OER materials. Each Creative Commons licence allows for a different level of open use. The CC-BY licence allows the most use, while the CC-BY-NC-ND licence is the most restrictive. Be sure to check what is allowed by a resource's specific Creative Commons licence before using it.
The CC licences
Attribution CC-BY
This licence allows users to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The licence allows for commercial use.
Attribution-Share Alike CC BY-SA
This licence allows users to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The licence allows for commercial use. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms.
Attribution-Non Commercial CC BY-NC
This licence allows users to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for non-commercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.
Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike CC BY-NC-SA
This licence allows users to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for non-commercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms.
Attribution-No Derivative works CC BY-ND
This licence allows users to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. The licence allows for commercial use.
Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivative Works CC BY-NC-ND
This licence allows users to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for non-commercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.
Degrees of openness
The CC licences reflect levels of openness. This diagram gives an indication of the licences on an openness scale:
"Creative commons license spectrum" by Shaddim is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Want to know more?
Learn more about Creative Commons licences on the Library website or at About CC Licenses on the Creative Commons website. Watch the following video to see how the creative commons licences work.
References
The information on this page has been adapted from "About CC Licenses" by Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0).