Creative Commons

Are you combining more than one CC licensed source in the same work? Are you remixing, creating an adaptation of the original work(s) or are you just putting together a collection?

These are the types of questions you might have to ask your self in order to correctly abide by the CC licensing terms.

In this section you will learn about the difference between adaptations, remixes and collections, and a few considerations to have in mind when using others CC licensed work.

Adaptation means creating something new from an already existing work. Simply copying or showing an original work is not enough to be considered an adaptation, but determining exactly when an adaptation is created is one of the tricker aspects of copyright law. Examples of adaptations are translations, collages or making a novel into a play.

If you want to adapt a CC licensed work and share the result, make sure that the license allows derivative works and give proper attribution. If you want to use more than one CC licensed work, see below for information about collections and remixes. 

A collection combines works in a way that makes it clear where one work ends, and another begins. A good example of a collection would be a book that compiles chapters from different CC-licensed books. Collections are not considered adaptations, and you are allowed to create collections even if the works included are licensed with one of the CC-licenses prohibiting derivative works (CC-BY-ND, CC-BY-NC-ND).

When creating a collection, remember to give proper attribution to all included works, using the TASL format.

Below is an example of a collection, with proper attribution:

Craterellus tubaeformis	Boletus edulis	Cantharellus cibarius	Craterellus cornucopioides
Craterellus tubaeformis Holger Krisp, Wikimedaia, CC BY 3.0 Unported	Boletus edulis  Bernie Kohl, Wikipedia,  Public Domain 1.0	Cantharellus cibarius, Elena Regina, Flickr.  Public Domain 1.0	Craterellus cornucopioides, Jerzy Opioła, Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Remixes are different from collections because in a remix it is impossible to tell the different underlying works apart. A good example of a remix would be an open online course, seamlessly mixing together a multitude of sources without any way for the reader to distinguish where one work ends and another begins.

• When creating a remix, you must make sure that all the underlying works are licensed with a CC license that allows derivative works. This license compatibility chart can tell you wether two different license types are possible to combine.
• When creating a remix, remember to give proper attribution to all included works, using the TASL format.
• When licencing your remix you must pick a license that is compatible with the underlying licenses to the included works. See this chart for more information.

For example, if you were to make a mushroom soup with the mushrooms in the collection above, that would be a remix since you can no longer tell the source materials apart. They have become something different. 

"Creamy mushroom soup" by Kurman Communications LLC is licensed under CC BY 2.0