Creative Commons Licenses

Types of Creative Commons Licenses

License	Abbreviation	Description	Use Case
Attribution	CC BY	Allows use, sharing, adaptation—even commercially—with credit.	Preferred by open access journals
Attribution-ShareAlike	CC BY-SA	Allows changes, but derivatives must use the same license.	Used in collaborative platforms like Wikipedia
Attribution-NoDerivatives	CC BY-ND	No modifications allowed, even with attribution.	Used when original work must remain unchanged
Attribution-NonCommercial	CC BY-NC	Allows reuse for non-commercial purposes only.	Educational and academic reuse without commercial benefit
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike	CC BY-NC-SA	Non-commercial use only, and share alike on adaptations.	Ideal for open courseware and non-profit sharing
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives	CC BY-NC-ND	Most restrictive: no changes, no commercial use.	Drafts or reports not meant for reuse
Public Domain Dedication	CC0	Waives all rights; work is free to use without attribution.	Datasets and government documents