How does a Creative Commons license differ from a copyright, and how might the CC license benefit a website?

Answer 1

Copyright is the protection that the law affords to the creator of an artistic work -- but the creator can still allow that work to be used, copied, modified whatever by issuing a license to do so -- that's why you see Software Licenses that allow using software, even though the software is protected by copyright.

The alternative to Copyright is Public Domain -- no protection at all.

Creative Commons (CC) is a standard type of license, that attempts to find a middle ground. The author releases the work under a CC license, which allows certain activities with certain restrictions.

A CC does not eliminate the copyright held by the author -- it just automatically grants a non-revocable license to anyone who meets the requirements, allowing them to do certain things for free, and without needing to negotiate an individual license directly from the copyright holder.

There are other comparable concepts -- such as the GNU Public License, or various Open Source licenses, or even the Open Gaming License -- which allow for copying and modifying the work, but the requirement that credit still be given to the original creator.

Answer 2

definite, each and every paintings with a CC license is likewise "copyrighted", otherwise no person might choose a license. you do no longer "copyright your paintings with the copyright place of work." Your paintings is ALREADY copyrighted, immediately, the 2nd you recorded your creation in a tangible medium. you're able to optionally "sign up" your copyright, in spite of the indisputable fact that it would not exchange your unique rights one way or the others. a resourceful commons license is in simple terms a constrained permission for somebody to apply your paintings in conformity with the words of the particular license you have chosen. It has no concerning any of the different unique rights particular via Congress. somebody violating your CC license is infringing on your copyright and the only thank you to enforce your copyright in america of a is to first sign up it in the U. S. Copyright place of work. on the different hand, in case you employ CC kit to assert "all rights granted", under the "CC0" waiver, then you definately might have completely disadvantaged your self of any copyright secure practices on that paintings. you will possibly have, in result, granted all rights to the familiar public, fairly than one in each and every of the different CC constrained licenses.

Answer 3

Unlike Copyright, CC allows parts of a work to be re-used and for the author of that work to secure themselves a profit. For example, I could write a book and copyright it using CC, and then I could stipulate that anyone is allowed to use my characters, in whatever way they want, in books they write. A website that provides content could benefit by using CC because they could stipulate what types of content and information you can copy in your own work.