Introduction

In our last episode, we underscored the consequences of copyright infringement claims on individuals and entities. We also provided practical guidelines to minimise such claims. Read more. In this episode, we discuss the concept of the Creative Commons licence.

Ever wondered who owns the copyright for Wikipedia articles or, closer home, copyright to the Kenya law report works? Well, you don’t need to. Platforms like Wikipedia and Kenya law reports use Creative Commons licence to grant the public free permission to use their works. Creative Commons provides free licenses and other legal tools to give everyone from individual creators and authors to large companies and institutions a simple, standardized way to grant copyright permissions and get credit for their creative work while allowing others to copy, distribute and make specific uses of it.

Creative Commons licenses are not an alternative to copyright. By default, copyright allows only limited reuse without the creator’s permission. Creative Commons licenses allow one to grant additional permissions to the public, allowing reuse on the terms best suited to the owners’ needs while reserving some rights for themselves. There is, however, no specific legal framework governing CC licensing in Kenya. Such licenses are protected by the Copyright Act and the Law of Contracts Act.

CC License: What is a Creative Commons Licence

A CC license can be obtained from the CC website. Creative Commons (CC) is a globally-focused non-profit organization dedicated to supporting an open and accessible internet that is enriched with free knowledge and creative resources for people around the world to use, share, and cultivate, hence making it easier for people to share and build upon the work of others, consistent with the rules of copyright. Kenya Law is the lead legal affiliate of CC in Kenya. 

There are 6 types of CC licenses that vary in their level of permissiveness. The 6 types of CC licenses include: 

• Attribution (CC BYa) – This license 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. This allows for commercial use as long as the creator is credited. If one wants to use a creator’s work without crediting the creator, he or she must get permission from the creator first.
• Attribution Share Alike (CC BY-SA) – This license 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. However, if you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms. Allows for commercial use, provided the creator is credited.
• Attribution Non-commercial (CC BY-NC) – This license 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 license 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 Derivatives (CC BY-ND) – This license 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 license allows for commercial use.
• Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) – This license allows users to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for non-commercial purposes, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.

Special cases

In addition to these 6 types of CC licenses, there are two other types of CC licenses: Creative Commons public domain dedication and copyleft license.

1. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication (CC0)

CC Zero (CC0) is a public dedication tool that allows creators to give up their copyright and put their works into the worldwide public domain. CC0 allows users to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, with no conditions

2. Copyleft license

Copyleft license is the practice of offering users of a work the right to freely distribute and modify the original work, but only under the condition that the derivative works be licensed with the same rights. It is similar to the “Share Alike” stipulation of the CC licenses. It is often found on software packages, but can be used on any work.

Key pre-licensing considerations for Creative Commons

One can choose either of the six licenses if they decide to share their copyrighted work with the public, taking into account factors such as the reason why one wants to share the work and how one hopes his or her work should be used by the public.

Before applying for a CC license, it is important to consider the following:

1. The licenses and CC0 cannot be revoked – This means once you apply a CC license to your material, anyone who receives it may rely on that license for as long as the material is protected by copyright, even if you later stop distributing it.
2. You must own or control copyright in the work. Only the copyright holder or someone with express permission from the copyright holder can apply a CC license or CC0 to a copyrighted work. If you created a work in the scope of your job, you may not be the holder of the copyright.

Conclusion

Creative Commons licenses provide a flexible and transparent way for creators to share their work. With options ranging from highly permissive (CC BY, CC0) to highly restrictive (CC BY-NC-ND), you can choose the terms that best align with your goals, be they openness, attribution, control, or preservation of commercial rights.

In our next episode, we discuss assignment and licensing of copyrights; who can grant a license to a copyrighted work, rights of the licensor, and the licensee. Stay tuned.