Copyright law offers protections for original and fixed works from the moment they are created. Those protections include several exclusive rights that belong only to the copyright owner. Some authors want to allow users to share, adapt, and display their work without needing to ask permission. Using a license provides clear conditions for what kind of uses the author wants to allow and which they do not.
Think about a driver's license. A driver's license indicates that you have permission to legally operate a motor vehicle. If you get caught driving without a license, then your use of the car is illegal. With the license, your use becomes permissible. However, the driver's license isn't all-encompassing. If you want to legally drive an 18-wheeler, you need a special license. Creative Commons licenses work similarly by providing authors several licenses to select from that convey different permissions to the user.
Creative Commons is a well-known, standardized method of communicating which rights an author wants to share with users. They provid six difference licenses that can be easily applied to your work.
There are six different license types, listed from most to least:
CC BY: This license allows 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.
CC BY includes the following elements:
BY 
– Credit must be given to the creator
CC BY-SA: This license allows 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.
CC BY-SA includes the following elements:
BY – Credit must be given to the creator
SA 
– Adaptations must be shared under the same terms
CC BY-NC: This license allows 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.
CC-BY-NC includes the following elements:
BY – Credit must be given to the creator
NC 
– Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted
CC BY-NC-SA: This license allows 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.
CC BY-NC-SA includes the following elements:
BY – Credit must be given to the creator
NC – Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted
SA – Adaptations must be shared under the same terms
CC BY-ND: This license allows 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.
CC BY-ND includes the following elements:
BY – Credit must be given to the creator
ND 
– No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted
CC BY-NC-ND: This license allows 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.
CC BY-NC-ND includes the following elements:
BY – Credit must be given to the creator
NC – Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted
ND – No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted
