How do I use Creative Commons?
A CC license is simply a brief list of what people can and cannot do with a given piece of media.
There are four attributes that can be combined for a license. Below are explanations of each CC attribute, but for making your first license, try the Creative Commons License Chooser.
Step 1: Mix a License
Attribution (BY)
This is a basic component of all CC licenses. It simply requires anyone using, sharing, or re-mixing your videos to give you credit.
Share Alike (SA)
This component stipulates that if a person modifies your video, they must share the resulting media under the exact same CC license. This is super cool because it encourages people to use your videos and to share their work alike!
Non-Commercial (NC)
Adding the non-commercial stipulation means that a person can't sell your videos or any resulting media that incorporates your work. Be aware that this technically means that a website using Google Adsense might not be allowed to incorporate your videos.
No Derivatives (ND)
This stipulation restricts people from modifying your work. We actually encourage people to not exercise this option, as it can limit a lot of the creative potential of a work. Mashups are a great example of how video and culture can be remixed and refined (external link: example of mashup, The Grey Video).
Using Other Peoples' Creative Commons Works
If someone else has marked their music, art, or video as Creative Commons, you can use it without even asking them. Just make sure you follow the stipulations of the license and give them credit. This is why CC is so cool!
Find more CC'ed media using the Creative Commons Resources
Step 2: Put It All Together
All you've got to do is declare that your work is CC and has attributes X, Y and Z. For example, this site is pretty much 100% Creative Commons. We simply attached a notice at the bottom of each page, declaring the site CC-BY-SA.
This means that any 3rd party can share or remix any part of our site into their work, as long as they give us credit and share the resulting work under the same terms. Simple and effective.
Irrevocability
Once you release a copy of your work with a CC license, you cannot 'undo' the license. However, you always retain full-rights to the original, and can re-release subsequent versions (of the work) without a CC license.
This might sound scary, but it protects everyone using CC licenses. In other words, if you were to use a song (that someone else released as CC) for the theme in every episode of your video blog, it will never be un-CC'ed.
We're always looking to improve these guides.
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