All OER are subject to copyright law, and creators of OER have the right to decide how they want to share the material they create. An OER creator may choose to make their work available through Creative Commons licensing. Creative Commons licensing is real. It is guided by legal standards and allows the creator to communicate how their work may be used. Creative Commons has six different labels to define licensing.
For much more information on Creative Commons Licensing and Copyright visit this page.
This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. To use this material you must give credit to the creator.
This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms. To use this material you must credit the creator and adaptations to the material must be shared under the terms of the original Creative Commons license.
This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. To use this material you must credit the creator and you can only use the material for noncommercial purposes.
This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial 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. To use this material you must give credit to the creator, use it for noncommercial purposes, and any adaptations must be shared under the same Creative Commons licenses as the original material.
This license enables reusers 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 license allows for commercial use. To use this material you must give credit to the creator and the work cannot be adapted or changed.
This license enables reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. To use this material you must give credit to the creator, only use it for noncommercial purposes, and no changes or adaptations can be made to the material.
CC0 (aka CC Zero) is a public dedication tool, which enables creators to give up their copyright and put their works into the worldwide public domain. CC0 enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, with no conditions.
