Creative Commons vs. Copyright. Which one is better?

 

What is copyright? What are creative commons? How do they work? Is one better than the other? Read the article to find out.

First of all, what is copyright? Copyright is a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship as soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression. In copyright law, there are a lot of different types of works, including paintings, photographs, illustrations, musical compositions, sound recordings, computer programs, books, poems, blog posts, movies, architectural works, plays, and so much more!

Copyright law gives creators of original material the exclusive right to further use and duplicate that material for a given amount of time, at which point the copyrighted item becomes public domain.

Now let’s see how copyright actually works. When someone creates a product that is viewed as original and that required significant mental activity to create, this product becomes an intellectual property that must be protected from unauthorized duplication. Some examples are art, poetry, graphic designs, musical lyrics and compositions, novels, film, original architectural designs, website content, etc. One safeguard that can be used to legally protect an original creation is copyright.

The copyright law states that a work is original if the author made it by thinking independently and not copying it from somewhere. If you have that copyright to your product, no one can use or replicate your work.

The original owner can voluntarily register that copyright to get the upper hand. Although not every work is eligible to be copyrighted. For instance, you cannot protect an idea or theory with copyright. Similarly, logos, names of brands, slogans, etc., are not up for protection by the law of copyright. For instance, a copyright example protects against selling Michael Jackson's music as your own.

Now that we know what copyright is, lets move onto Creative commons.

Creative commons are a global non-profit organization that enables sharing and reuse of creativity and knowledge through the provision of free legal tools. Their legal tools help those who want to encourage reuse of their works by offering them for use under generous, standardized terms; those who want to make creative uses of works; and those who want to benefit from this symbiosis. Their vision is to help others realize the full potential of the internet. CC has affiliates all over the world who help ensure that the licenses work internationally and who raise awareness of our work.

The Creative Commons form licenses are particularly useful for people who want to share their work as broadly as possible on the Internet. Rights granted are broad and are intended to facilitate sharing as well as mashups and derivative works. Although some creators find Creative Commons licenses useful for expanding access to their works, this may not be the appropriate approach to take with works you think may have a commercial value you may be interested in exploiting now or in the future.

As long as the use of the work is consistent with the license, a Creative Commons licenses attaches to the work and authorizes everyone who comes in contact with the work to use it according to the terms of the license. This means that if person A has a copy of your Creative Commons-licensed work, person A can give a copy to person B and person B will be authorized to use the work consistent with the Creative Commons license.

CC provides six core licenses, each of which allow members of the public to use the material in different ways. While there are different CC licenses, all CC licenses include certain standard rights and obligations.

 

Along with the basic rights and obligations set out in each CC license, there are a set of ‘optional’ license elements which can be added by the creator of the work. These elements allow the creator to select the different ways they want the public to use their work. The creator can mix and match the elements to produce the CC license they want. This process is a simple and quick way for creators to indicate how they wish their work to be used. Each element has its own icon and abbreviation, making them easy to identify. There are four standard license elements:

Attribution (BY)

You must credit the creator, the title and the licence the work is under. This is compulsory for all Creative Commons licences.

 

Non-commercial (NC)

Any use of the work must be for non-commercial purposes only. For example, file sharing, educational use and film festivals are all allowed, but advertising and for-profit uses are not.

 

No Derivative Works (ND)

The work can only be used exactly how it is. The work cannot be adapted or modified in any way.  This means you will need to get extra permission if you want to remix the work, crop a photo, edit down text or use a song in a film.

 

Share Alike (SA)

Any new work produced using this material must be made available under the same license as the original work.

These elements are mixed and matched to create the six standard CC licenses.

 

Now the question arises, is creative commons better than copyright? The answer is, you cannot compare the two.

Creative Commons licenses work alongside the rules of copyright, allowing you to authorize a freer usage of your work and choose the protection that best suits your needs. Creative Commons licenses apply to any work covered by copyright law.

Creative Commons licenses do not replace copyright registration—they apply in addition to copyright.

Even if you're using a Creative Commons license, it is advisable to register your copyright so you can protect your work from unauthorized uses through the courts.

Think of copyright as an "all rights reserved" option in which you hold all rights—something that you may desire if you don't want anyone taking, using, and potentially making money off your work. A Creative Commons license, on the other hand, offers a "some rights reserved" option, which permits certain uses of your work under conditions that you choose.

CREATIVE COMMONS AND COPRYRIGHT ARE FRIENDS!

- Yukta Gandhi