About Creative Commons

1. What is Creative Commons?
   Creative Commons is an innovative project dedicated to expanding the range of creative works available for sharing and for others to build upon. It offers an alternative to the “all rights reserved” approach under copyright law. Under copyright, all rights to the creative work are automatically reserved to the creator as soon as the work is created and written down, recorded or otherwise reduced to material form. This position under copyright is automatic and universal. Therefore, the general rule is that the creative work may not be copied, performed, adapted or used unless you have the permission of the creator.
2. What is the idea underlying Creative Commons?
   Some people may not want to insist fully on the “all rights reserved” position which the law grants them in respect of their creative works. This may be because a full-fledged copyright position does not help them gain the exposure and widespread distribution they may want for their creative works and hence, may be limiting on the returns on their creative investment. The idea underlying Creative Commons is to provide an easy yet reliable way for creators and licensors to tell the world that not all rights are reserved in respect of the identified work but only “Some rights reserved” or even “No rights reserved”. This promotes easier sharing or building upon the creative work of another. This, at its core, is the mission of Creative Commons. The ends are community-minded, voluntary and libertarian in protecting some of the creator’s rights while encouraging certain uses of them.
3. How does Creative Commons seek to achieve the promotion of easier and greater sharing and the building upon creative works of others?
    By offering to the public a set of copyright licences, free of charge. These licences will help creators and licensors tell the world what can and cannot be done in respect of their copyrighted works. For example, if you do not mind others copying and distributing your online batik design as long as they give you credit and not make use of your design commercially, Creative Commons has a licence that will help you convey that to others. From a menu of options, you can mix and match the options to make up a Creative Commons copyright licence which embodies your preferences as to what you would allow others to do and not do in respect of your creative work.
4. What are the different license options available through Creative Commons and what do they mean?
   The options are: Attribution , Non-commercial , No Derivative Works and Share Alike .
   Attribution : You permit others to copy, distribute, communicate to the public, perform, show or play to the public your creative work only if they give you credit.
   Non-commercial : You permit others to copy, distribute, communicate to the public, perform, show or play to the public your creative work only for non-commercial purposes.
   No Derivative Works : You permit others to copy, distribute, communicate to the public, perform, show or play to the public only verbatim copies of your creative work but not make derivative works based on it.
   Share-Alike : You permit others to make derivative work based upon your creative work but only if the derivative work is licensed to others on identical terms. You can combine any of these options in a single licence, except for the No Derivative Works and Share-Alike licence options. You can find out more about these licence options at www.creativecommons.org/license/
5. Do I have to pay to use the Creative Commons licences and tools?
   No. They are absolutely free.
6. Who started Creative Commons?
   Creative Commons was started in 2001 by cyberlaw and intellectual property experts James Boyle, Michael Carroll and Lawrence Lessig, MIT computer science professor Hal Alberson lawyer-turned documentary filmmaker-turned-cyberlaw expert Eric Saltzman and public domain Web publisher Eric Eldred. Fellows and students at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School helped to get the project off the ground. It is a not-for-profit organization.
7. Who is responsible for bringing Creative Commons to Malaysia?
   The Multimedia Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (“MDeC”) is the host institution for Creative Commons Malaysia . MDeC started thinking seriously in late 2004 about a project to bring Creative Commons to Malaysia. By March 2005, MDeC had signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Creative Commons and work began in earnest after that. As the host institution, MDeC needs strong partners to further build and develop Creative Commons Malaysia so that copyright owners and users of creative works can take full advantage of the possibilities of content distribution provided by the Internet. MDeC wants your feedback. MDeC also welcomes your involvement and contribution of your time, ideas and resources. Please contact us. You can also participate in our community building activities and events, contribute to our discussion list and webblog, feature our work on the Creative Commons Malaysia webportal and suggest areas for collaboration.
8. Where is the Creative Commons Malaysia team based?
   The Creative Commons Malaysia team is based at Multimedia Development Corporation Sdn Bhd, MSC Headquarters, Cyberjaya, 2360 Persiaran APEC, 63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan.
9. Which other countries have adopted Creative Commons?
   More than 30 countries all over the world have adopted Creative Commons including United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, France, Germany, Spain, Taiwan and many others as can be viewed at www.creativecommons.org/worldwide/
10. Whose interest does Creative Commons serve or represent?
    Your interest as a licensor, creator or user of creative works and the interest of the public at large that benefits from greater collaboration using creative materials.
11. Does Creative Commons provide tools for enforcing the rights which a creator may reserve in respect of his/her work?
    No. Creative Commons tools and licences provide a simple and easy way for the creator to say what rights are reserved but do not provide tools for enforcing those rights. Digital rights management (“DRM”) does. A DRM system also provides the technology for enforcing those rights. Creative Commons prefers that copyright be respected in the old fashioned way, by a common and mutual respect for copyrighted works and of the freedoms and limits prescribed by the author and enforced by the law.
12. Can I protect a work licensed under Creative Commons with digital rights management tools?
    No. You will be acting contrary to the licence. All Creative Commons licences prohibit the use of any technological measures that “control access or use of the Work or the Derivative Work in a manner inconsistent with the terms of the Licence or that alters or restricts the terms of the Licence or any rights granted under it.”
13. Is Creative Commons building a database of licensed content?
    No. Creative Commons does not believe in creating or building an information bank controlled by any single organization.
14. How can I support Creative Commons Malaysia?
    You can support Creative Commons Malaysia by participating in our community building activities and events, contributing to our discussion list and webblog, featuring your work on the Creative Commons webportal and suggesting areas for collaboration. The project team is always happy to discuss ideas to develop Creative Commons Malaysia with you.

Creative Commons & Copyright

1. Is Creative Commons against copyright?
   Absolutely not. Creative Commons licenses help you retain your copyright and manage your copyright in a more flexible, open way. In fact, Creative Commons licenses are copyright licenses and rely on copyright for their enforcement.
2. Is Creative Commons a compromise on copyright?
   Not at all. Under the Malaysian copyright law, the creator has the exclusive rights to control various uses of the copyrighted work. What Creative Commons seeks to do is to provide an easy and simple means for creators to adopt a license which allows them to maintain certain exclusive rights to their works and at the same time, let others know that they can use some of the exclusive rights in accordance with the license terms. Which Creative Commons license is adopted by the creator will depend on his/her preference and wishes. All Creative Commons licenses are based on an existing copyright in the licensed works. The copyright in the creative work is not affected unless the creator chooses to free copyright in the work.
   Under Creative Commons, a creator may choose to free copyright in his/her work either through the Public Domain Dedication or the Founders’ Copyright. The Public Domain Dedication is not a license but allows the creator to grant, permanently and irreversibly, his/her entire copyright in a work to the public without condition. The Founders’ Copyright allows the creator to free copyright in his/her creative work for it to enter the public domain after 14 years or, if the creator so chooses, after 28 years.
3. Do I need to register my copyright?
   No. Under Malaysian law, registration is not required to obtain copyright protection or to enforce copyright. Protection exists automatically for works that satisfy the requirements for protection under our copyright law.
4. Do I need a copyright notice to protect my work?
   No. A copyright notice can, however, be useful as it is a clear message to others that your work is or may be protected by copyright. If your contact details are also provided, interested users will know who to contact to obtain permission to use your work.
5. Do Creative Commons licenses affect fair use, fair dealing and other exceptions to copyright?
   No. In Malaysia , matters excluded from copyright protection are expressly specified by our Copyright Act 1977. While it is within the prerogative of the copyright owner to waive copyright granted by law in his/her work, the owner has no power or right to claim copyright for any matter which the law expressly says is freed from copyright or which is not protected by copyright in the first place. Fair use and fair dealing are acts which our law has exempted from copyright control.
   All the Malaysian Creative Commons licences have a provision which says that there is to be no limitation on any acts which are excluded from copyright control. Nothing in the licences is to “reduce, limit or restrict any rights arising from fair dealing and any acts or use specifically excluded from copyright control by the Malaysian copyright law”.

Using Creative Commons To License Your Work

1. What type of work is Creative Commons for?
   Creative Commons is primarily for work showcased on the Internet. The on-line work could be in any form: audio recording, audio-visual recording, music recording, images, video, text or interactive creation. Your on-line work can be uploaded on your website or if you do not have a website, you may upload your work onto websites which provide services (whether for free or otherwise) to feature your work on-line. The Malaysian Creative Commons web portal will feature a central depository to store works, which will be made accessible by all.
2. Can I use Creative Commons if I do not showcase my work on the Internet?
   Yes. Even if your work is off-line, you can still license or publish it under Creative Commons. You should display the terms and conditions of the license at the place you are showcasing your work, whether it is an exhibition or performance, that you have adopted the Creative Commons license. Mark your work with (a) a statement such as “This work is licensed under the Creative Commons [insert description] License. To view a copy of this license, visit [insert url]”; or, (b) send a letter to Creative Commons at 543, Howard Street, 5 th Floor, San Francisco, California 94105, U.S.A. or insert the applicable license buttons with the same statement and URL link.
3. How do I apply a Creative Commons license to my work?
   For on-line works, you will need to first select a Creative Commons license matching your preferences as to use by others of your work. After this is done, follow the instructions to include a html code in your work. The html code will automatically generate the “Some Rights Reserved” button and a statement that your work is licensed under a Creative Commons license. The button gives notice to others that your work is licensed under Creative Commons and of the type of Creative Commons license which governs your work. If you choose to dedicate your work to the public domain, a “No Rights Reserved” button will appear.The html code will also include the metadata which will enable your work to be searched and found via Creative Commons-enabled search engines. For off-line works, please see “Can I use Creative Commons if I do not showcase my work on the Internet?”
4. How does a Creative Commons license operate?
   A Creative Commons license is a copyright license agreement and can apply to all copyrighted works. The types of works protected by copyright under Malaysian law are literary works, musical works, artistic works, films, sound recordings and broadcast. Each category of works is defined under the Malaysian copyright law and the works include books, stories, dramas, stage directions, computer programs, photograph, sculpture, collage, architectural works, works of artistic craftsmanship, musical compositions, lyrics, music videos.
   The Creative Commons license you select will tell others how they may exercise the copyright in your work – such as to copy your work, make derivative works or adaptations of your work, distribute your work and/or make money from your work. If you do not wish others to exercise any of your copyright rights, choose a Creative Commons license that will also make this clear. You will get a license which is expressed in three ways:
   Commons Deed : A simple, plain-language summary of the actual license (the Legal Code), complete with the relevant icons. It summarizes what others can and cannot do with your work.
   Legal Code : The fine print that you need to enforce your rights in a court of law.
   Digital Code : A machine-readable translation of the license that helps search engines and other applications identify your work by its terms of use.
   You do not need to pay or sign anything to get a Creative Commons licencs.
   Once the Creative Commons license you have selected is attached to your work, it authorizes others to use your work in accordance with the license. All Creative Commons licenses are non-exclusive. This means that there can be more than one licensee of your work. At the same time as licensing your work under Creative Commons, you can also license others to use your work outside Creative Commons, on terms separate and different from what you have permitted under the Creative Commons license. For example, you may allow only non-commercial uses under the Creative Commons license and at the same time, also license someone else to use your work for profit, with royalties payable to you.
5. What Creative Commons license should I choose?
   You should choose a license which meets your preferences as to what others can and cannot do with your work. For example, if you wish to gain exposure for your work but would not like others to modify or change your work, you should choose a license permitting others to copy and distribute your work as it is but not to change it or make derivative works based on your work. If you are uncertain, you may want to consult a lawyer for advice on the best license for your needs.
6. Will works licensed under Creative Commons be in the “public domain”?
   No, unless you choose to put your work in the public domain, by freeing up copyright in your work. You can do this by using the Public Domain Dedication. Licensing under Creative Commons does not mean giving up all your rights or the copyright in your work. Creative Commons licenses are copyright licenses that notify others what rights are retained by you and what others can and cannot do with your work.
7. Can I use a Creative Commons license for software?
   Creative Commons licenses are not intended to apply to software and should therefore not be used for software. There are good software licenses available today, such as, licenses made available by the Free Software Foundation or listed at the Open Source Initiative and you may want to consider using those. These licenses were written specifically for use with software, unlike Creative Commons licenses which do not make mention of source or object code. Creative Commons licenses are however suitable for software documentation which are text materials.
8. When viewers view my on-line work licensed under Creative Commons, how will they know what type of license I am offering?
   This “Some Rights Reserved” button or sign will be seen. When a user clicks on it, the Commons Deed will be displayed. The Commons Deed is a simple plain-language summary of the actual license (the Legal Code) and provides a summary of what others can and cannot do with your work. Within the Commons Deed there will be a link to the Legal Code which users may access.
9. I want to incorporate the Creative Commons logos into my website or to use it on materials which I create. Can I do this?
   Creative Commons only authorizes use of its logos, name and license buttons in accordance with its policies, that is, to link back to a Creative Commons license or its website and/or to otherwise describe a Creative Commons license that applies to a work. Please do not use the Creative Commons logos if your intended use is outside Creative Commons’ policies (please see the Creative Commons policies page).
10. My intended use of the Creative Commons logos is within the policies of Creative Commons. Can I change the Creative Commons logos so that they look better on my site or with my other work?
    Please do not change the Creative Commons logos in any way. The Creative Commons “Some Rights Reserved” and “No Rights Reserved” buttons need to be used consistently because they are a core part of the Creative Commons licensing system. More importantly, the Creative Commons logos are identifiable trade marks of Creative Commons.
11. Why would anyone be interested to allow copying and distribution of his / her creative work without collecting royalty?
    A creator may want to do this for a number of reasons such as to obtain maximum exposure for his/her work, to get feedback from others or to simply contribute to and participate in the public sphere whilst building his/her reputation. Others may simply want their ideas to reach the widest possible audience, gaining popularity at the same time. It can also be a good business promotional tool for the creator to give a sampling of his/her work via on-line or internet distribution under a Creative Commons license. The creator can offer more of his/her works for purchase on-line or in the stores and those who have come to know or enjoyed the creator’s works are more likely to be purchasers.
12. Can I still make money from a work I make available under a Creative Commons license?
    Absolutely. Your work can be licensed under Creative Commons and at the same time, be licensed outside Creative Commons upon terms separate and different from terms in the Creative Commons license. For example, your work can be licensed under Creative Commons for non-commercial purposes and be licensed at the same time to others for revenue-generating uses. Creative Commons licenses are there to help creators and licensors experiment with new ways to expose, promote and market their works. Therefore, the non-commercial option in a Creative Commons license is designed to help you maximize exposure and distribution while retaining control of commercial uses of your work. To be clear, the non-commercial use restriction applies to others who use your work. It does not apply to you (the licensor). As the creator and/or licensor, you are free to license others and make use of your work whether for commercial or non-commercial uses. The fact that you have licensed your work under Creative Commons for non-commercial purposes does not preclude you from licensing others the same work for commercial uses. If people using your work under a non-commercial use Creative Commons license would like to use it for commercial purposes, they can do so but they will have to get your permission first. In short, you can license your work under a Creative Commons “non-commercial” license and seek to exploit it commercially at the same time.
13. What is the meaning of “commercial purpose”?
    It means any use for a commercial venture or which is “primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or private monetary compensation”.
14. What advantage does it give me as an author or creator to use Creative Commons to license my work?
    With Creative Commons, one clear advantage is direct contact with the audience. You can publish the work yourself, you can have a ready license to stipulate how you want your work to be used, you can be contacted directly if others want to use your work outside the terms of the Creative Commons license. All of these help to cut down on the intermediaries, making it easier and more affordable for you to publish and gain returns from as many of your works as you wish.
15. What would users be able to do by virtue of a Creative Commons license?
    The rights to your work allowed by a Creative Commons license are essentially to copy your work, to incorporate your work in a collective work, to communicate to the public, to perform, show or play to the public and to distribute your work, subject always to the terms and conditions of the selected Creative Commons license selected by you, including restrictions as to making adaptations or derivative works based upon your work and commercial uses of your work.
16. What if I change my mind after adopting the Creative Commons license?
    You can, at any time, stop distributing your work under a Creative Commons license or to release your work under different license terms. This will, however, not revoke the earlier granted Creative Commons license and you cannot stop someone, who has used or obtained your work under a Creative Commons license, from using your work according to that license. Stopping distribution of your work or releasing it under different license terms will also not have effect of withdrawing any copies of your work that already exist under a Creative Commons license from circulation, whether they are verbatim copies, copies included in collective works and/or adaptations of your work.
    So, you will need to think carefully when selecting a Creative Commons license for your work. You must be happy that others can continue to use your work in accordance with the license terms even if you later stop distributing it or want to license it under different terms.
17. Can I use Creative Commons licenses if I am a member of a collecting society?
    It will depend on the terms and conditions of your membership. Currently, some of the collecting societies or licensing bodies in Malaysia, such as the Music Authors’ Copyright Protection (MACP) Berhad, operate by taking an assignment of certain copyright rights (such as the right to publicly perform and communicate to the public) in existing and future works of their members when the members join the society. By the assignment, the society becomes the owner of those rights. The society then administers and manages those rights as owners on behalf of their members.
    If you have given an assignment of your rights when you joined to become a member of the collecting society, you may not be in a position to license your works under Creative Commons. The rights you are licensing under Creative Commons may no longer be owned by you but by the collecting society. If you find yourself in this position, please feel free to encourage your collecting society to give you the option of Creative Commons licensing or to work with your collecting society to come to an arrangement that will allow you to use Creative Commons licenses.
    The Creative Commons Malaysia project team is seeking ways to reach out to collecting societies whose members are excluded from Creative Commons licensing because of this problem and to try to work towards a solution or arrangement that will allow their members to enjoy the benefits of both systems.
    If you have suggestions or wish to discuss ways to deal with this problem, please contact the Creative Commons Malaysia project team.
18. What if someone misuses my Creative Commons-licensed work?
    A Creative Commons license terminates automatically if someone uses your work contrary to the license terms. Therefore, if someone uses your Creative Commons licensed work and fails to give attribution in the manner you specified, then that person no longer has rights to continue to use your work. In fact, the license agreement between you and that person is terminated automatically. Any use after that will be unlicensed and infringing. To be clear, this, however, applies only to the person in breach of the license. It does not apply generally to the other people who use your work under a Creative Commons license and comply with its terms.
    In dealing with the person in breach, you can contact him/her and ask that he/she rectifies the situation and/or you can consider consulting a lawyer to act on your behalf.
19. What can I do if I do not like the way a person has used my work in a derivative work or the way my work is included in a collective work?
    Creative Commons licenses expressly reserve rights to request the user to remove from the collective work and/or derivative work any credit or attribution to you and the user must comply with the request, to the extent practicable, when the request is made.
    Additionally, the Malaysian copyright law grants to authors and creators moral rights in respect of their creative works. What this means is that unless the author or creator consents, no person may distort, mutilate or modify the work so that it is significantly altered and might reasonably be regarded as adversely affecting the honour or reputation of the author or creator.
    Creative Commons Malaysian licenses which allow for derivative works in effect allow for modification and alteration of your work, although, as mentioned, if you do not like the results of the alteration or modification (even if it does not amount to “adversely affecting your honour or reputation”) you can request not to be credited or attributed and this request must be complied with.
20. Will Creative Commons help me to enforce my license if there is a breach?
    No, Creative Commons will not be able to assist. It is not a law firm and its mission does not include providing legal advice and services. In fact, Creative Commons will be breaching Malaysian legal profession rules and regulations if it were to do so.
    You may get in touch with the Malaysian Bar Council at 13, 15 & 17 Leboh Pasar Besar, 50050 Kuala Lumpur (Tel: 03 – 20313003 / Email: council@malaysianbar.org.my ) for details of qualified legal practitioners who may be able to assist you with the enforcement of your Creative Commons licenses. You may also direct your queries to the Intellectual Property Committee of the Bar Council.
21. Who has the right to enforce Creative Commons licenses?
    You do, as the licensor, based on the license which has been breached. As a general rule, the copyright owner has the right to enforce copyright against any person who has infringed his/her copyright. This right of the copyright owner is not dependent on the existence of any license agreement.
22. Are Creative Commons licenses enforceable in a court of law?
    The Creative Commons Legal Code has been drafted with the intention that it will be enforceable in a court of law. The Malaysian Creative Commons licenses are drafted based on Malaysian laws and they are also specified to be governed by the laws of Malaysia.
    All Creative Commons licenses have a “severability clause”. This means that if a particular provision is found by the court to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable, that provision and only that provision is excluded from the license, leaving the rest of the license and provisions intact.
23. Will the Creative Commons licenses give me proper legal protection?
    The Creative Commons licenses have not been tested in a court of law as yet. However, each license has been drafted with a legal advisory team to be in compliance with the applicable law.
24. Should I adopt the standard Creative Commons licenses or the Malaysian Creative Commons license?
    While the terms and conditions of the standard licenses and the Malaysian Creative Commons licenses are largely the same, the Malaysian licenses have, however, been modified to take into account applicable Malaysian laws and to be more recognizable by the Malaysian courts in terms of language and usage of terms. Another point is that Malaysian licenses are expressed to be governed by Malaysian laws and the courts of Malaysia are provided to have exclusive jurisdiction. This means that you have specified through the licenses that in the event of dispute, the terms and provisions in the licenses are to be construed and interpreted in accordance with Malaysian laws and the dispute is to be heard by the courts of Malaysia .
    In the standard licenses, there are references to provisions in the US copyright legislation, so it is possible that the licenses will have to be interpreted and construed in accordance with US laws. If so, you will need assistance of US legal practitioners to assess the case and advise you based on US laws. This may be inconvenient and costly. The standard licenses are also silent as to the courts of which country will have jurisdiction to hear the case in the event of dispute. Thus, the law governing the license and the court having jurisdiction to hear the matter can themselves be in contention in addition to the quarrel on the licensing matter.
    Therefore, if you are resident or based in Malaysia , it may be more convenient for you to use the Malaysian Creative Commons licenses.
25. Should I also adopt the Creative Commons licenses of other countries so that I can enforce my rights worldwide?
    It is not necessary to license under multiple licenses. Once you license under a Creative Commons license, users in others countries will be subject to all the terms and conditions of that license. If you want to take any action, it will also be under that license.

Using Creative Commons Licensed Works

1. What are the key terms of the core suite of Creative Commons licenses?
   They are: Attribution , Non-commercial , No Derivative Works and Share Alike .
   Attribution : You permit others to copy, distribute, communicate to the public, perform, show or play to the public your creative work only if they give you credit.
   Non-commercial : You permit others to copy, distribute, communicate to the public, perform, show or play to the public your creative work only for non-commercial purposes.
   No Derivative Works : You permit others to copy, distribute, communicate to the public, perform, show or play to the public only verbatim copies of your creative work but not make derivative works based on it.
   Share-Alike : You permit others to make derivative work based upon your creative work but only if the derivative work is licensed to others on identical terms.
2. What is a derivative work?
   A derivative work is a work that is based on another work but is not a verbatim copy. Under the Malaysian Copyright Act 1987, derivative works include the following: translations, adaptations, arrangements and other transformations of works eligible for copyright and collections of works or collections of mere data (whether in machine readable or other form). Under the Creative Commons core licenses, synching music in timed-relation with a moving image is also considered to be a derivative work. A collective work, which is the licensed work assembled as a whole in unmodified form along with other works, is not regarded as a derivative work.
3. What does the Creative Commons “Some Rights Reserved” button mean?
   It means that you can use the work without having to seek out the individual licensor to ask for permission as long as you use the work in the manner permitted by the Creative Commons license.
4. What does a Creative Commons license do?
   A Creative Commons license lets you and others who may be interested in using the work attached to the license know what you can and cannot do with the work. You do not have to seek out the licensor to get clearance to use the work as long as you use it in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons license. If you would like to use the work in a way which is not covered by the permission given by the license, then, you will need to get in touch with the licensor for permission for that use.
5. What if I use the work in a way which is outside the permission given by the Creative Commons license?
   The Creative Commons license between you and the licensor will be terminated automatically by any use by you contrary to the terms of the license. After such termination, you will no longer have rights to use the work. If you continue to use the work after such termination, you can be sued for infringement of copyright in the work.
6. Does Creative Commons determine what content is released under its licenses?
   Creative Commons does not control how the licenses are used and does not check or verify if a Creative Commons license has been correctly applied to a particular work. Creative Commons does not endorse or certify any use of its licenses or any works licensed under its licenses.
   Instead, Creative Commons provides the licenses as a tool that may be adopted (or not) by members of the creative community. Creative Commons does not determine if the use of the licenses is appropriate for your situation or for a particular work.
7. Do I have to pay to use a Creative Commons licensed work?
   No, as long as you use the work in compliance with the license terms. Works under Creative Commons are available for use royalty-free provided the use is use permitted by the license. If the use is outside the permission of the license, then, depending on negotiations between you and the licensor, payment may be required. In Creative Commons licenses for non-commercial use only, the licensor reserves the right to collect royalties, whether individually or through a licensing body, royalties for any commercial uses of the work.
8. How do I use a Creative Commons licensed work?
   If the work is indicated as a Creative Commons licensed work, you can use the work in accordance with the license terms, without seeking further permission from the creator or licensor. But, you must exercise care and take effort to ensure that your intended use is covered by the permission given in the Creative Commons license. You should know that there are a number of versions of the Creative Commons licenses, so please take some time to go through the license to be sure that your intended use will not be contrary to the license terms.
9. Do I need to give attribution or credit in the manner specified in the Creative Commons license?
   Yes. All Creative Commons licenses require that you attribute the author, creator, licensor and/or any other parties as may be specified by the licensor. To correctly use a Creative Commons licensed work, you must always provide proper attribution. If you do not do so, you will be in breach and the license between you and the licensor will automatically terminate and you will then not be able to make further use of the work. The only exception to the requirement to give attribution is if you use the licensed work in a collective work or make derivative work based on the licensed work and the licensor requests that you remove from the collective work or derivative work, any credit or attribution which is required by the license to be given. If the licensor makes such a request, you must comply with the request.
10. How do I properly attribute a Creative Commons licensed work?
    The required manner of attribution is described in the Creative Commons licenses. If you are using a verbatim copy of the work, you will need to keep intact all copyright notices for the licensed work and provide, reasonable to the medium or means you are utilizing, (1) the name of the original author (or pseudonym, if applicable) and/or the name of such party as may be designated for attribution by the licensor; (2) the title of the work; and (3) the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) associated with the work if so identified or specified by the licensor.
    You will also need to give credit identifying the use of the licensed work in a collective work or a derivative work (by way of example only, “Bahasa Melayu translation of [the licensed work] by [original author]” or “Screenplay based on [licensed work] by [original author]”). Such credit, must, at minimum, appear where any other comparable authorship credit appears and in a manner at least as prominent as such other comparable authorship credit.
    Additionally, you will need to provide the Uniform Resource Locator for the Creative Commons license that applies to the work together with each copy of the work that you make available.
11. Does a work with a Creative Commons “non-commercial” license element mean that a work cannot be used commercially?
    It means that you cannot, under the Creative Commons license, use the work commercially or for a use or purpose “primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or private monetary compensation.” If you wish to use the work for such a purpose, you can always approach the licensor directly for a license, separately from the Creative Commons license, for permission for such use.
12. Does using a Creative Commons-licensed work give me all the rights I need?
    You should be aware that all of the Creative Commons licenses contain a disclaimer of warranties. The licensor offers the work as-is and makes no representations, promises or warranties of any kind concerning the work, whether express, implied or in any way. This means that the licensor does not guarantee anything about the work, including copyright ownership or if uses of third-party content in the licensed work have been cleared. So, there is no assurance that the licensor has the necessary rights to give the license which is being given or to permit re-use of the work. Of course, if the licensor did not have the necessary rights to begin with, this means that you can be sued and held liable for copyright infringement by the lawful owner for re-using the work.
    Therefore, before using a Creative Commons licensed work, you should satisfy yourself as best you can, that the person has the necessary rights to make the work available under a Creative Commons license. If the work contains recognizable third-party content, it would be advisable to independently verify that it has been authorized for re-use under a Creative Commons license.
13. Shouldn’t Creative Commons require the licensor to give some kind of warranty or assurance in respect of the work licensed under a Creative Commons license?
    The original version 1.0 of the Creative Commons licenses contained a warranty but ultimately, Creative Commons came to the conclusion that, as with “open source” licenses, warranties and indemnities are best dealt with separately by private bargain, so that each licensor and licensee can determine the appropriate allocation of risk and reward for their own particular situation.
14. What if the same work is governed by two different Creative Commons licenses?
    You can choose to use the work under either license, depending on which license best suits your needs and will cover your intended use of the work. Generally, a licensor who puts the same work under two different licenses gives the public a choice between them.
    The terms of the separate licenses remain separate and are not to be read together. For example, if the licensor puts out the same work under a “non-commercial” license and a separate “no-derivative” license, you can still make derivative work if your choose the former license and you can use the work for commercial purposes if you choose the latter license. If the licensor does not want to allow commercial use and derivative work to be made, then, the licensor must choose a single license with both the “non-commercial” and “no-derivative” elements.
15. If I use a Creative Commons licensed work with other works, will I have to Creative Commons license everything else as well?
    No, unless the Creative Commons licensed work has the “Share Alike” element. If the “Share Alike” element is present, then, any work resulting from use of the licensed work will need to be licensed under the same license terms unless the resulting work is a collective work (that is, the licensed work, in unmodified form, assembled with other works). In relation to a collective work which includes a Creative Commons licensed work, you will only need to continue to apply the Creative Commons license to that work (even if it has a “Share Alike” element) and not to the entire collection. Other than that, Creative Commons licenses have been designed so that they do not operate to turn all other works they are combined with into Creative Commons licensed works.
16. Can I combine two different Creative Commons licensed works or a Creative Commons licensed work with a non-Creative Commons licensed work?
    Yes, except that you cannot combine a work licensed under the Attribution Share-Alike license with a work licensed under the Attribution, Non-commercial, Share-Alike license. The Share-Alike element in both the licenses require any derivative work (that is, the result of two or more combined works) to be licensed under the same terms as the licensed work. It will not be possible to meet this obligation if both the licensed works have this Share-Alike requirement but different license terms.
    A Creative Commons licensed work can be combined with a non-Creative Commons work although if the Share-Alike element is present, then, you need to be sure that you are able to and will be happy to license any resulting work arising from the combination under the same terms as the Creative Commons licensed work.
17. I may want to use Creative Commons works from licensors all over the world. Do the Creative Commons licenses vary from country to country and does it mean that I will have to study all these licenses before using the works?
    Effort is taken when Creative Commons licenses are prepared for each country, to ensure that they are consistent with that country’s laws. So, there will be some variations in Creative Commons licenses of different countries. However, the license elements do not change between the countries. The same license elements apply to Creative Commons licenses all over the world and they are easily recognizable by the same symbols used for all Creative Commons licenses throughout the world. This makes it easy to identify the terms of Creative Commons licensed works which the user will be interested in. For example, if you are only interested in using works for commercial purposes, you can select only works without the “non-commercial” element.
    However, before using the work, it is recommended that you spend some time going through the license to be sure that your intended use is permitted by the license and also, that you will be able to comply with the terms of the Creative Commons license.
18. How do I trace Creative Commons works on the internet?
    Yahoo has capabilities dedicated to searching and tracing Creative Commons works on the internet. Please visit http://search.yahoo.com/cc.
    For Malaysian works, the Malaysian web portal will feature a central depository for Malaysian works licensed under Creative Commons and users will be able to search for works there. Please visit “ My Storage ”.

Technical Questions

1. I want to give users of my site the option of choosing Creative Commons licensing. How can I do that?
   You can directly integrate the Creative Commons license selection engine into your site. This is useful if you have an application or site that allows others to contribute content and you would like to give them the option of applying for a Creative Commons license. There is a step-by-step guide on how to integrate the license selection engine into your website. Creative Commons also has a web service API for integration with any application.
2. Why did Creative Commons choose the RDF format for its metadata?
   Creative Commons looked for the best way to express the intent behind the licenses in machine-readable form. Creative Commons feel that our system provides the best of all possible worlds: RDF, XML, and even plain text-based tools can easily process our metadata files because we provide them with a structured format. But just as XML make it easier to process the information than text based ones, RDF makes it even easier – so we encourage all our developers to use RDF tools where possible. We are also working with the community to provide CC sample code, in many different languages, that shows how easy it is to take advantage of the RDF information. We are also open to providing converters from RDF to other formats. If you have such a tool or would like one, please send information about it to our metadata list.
3. How can I use Creative Commons metadata in our program?
   You can use it in a variety of ways. A painting, writing or drawing program could let its users know their rights granted by the licensor of the file. File sharing software could highlight files with Creative Commons licenses and encourage users to download them. In fact, Creative Commons sees peer-to-peer file sharing software as an excellent distribution mechanism for Creative Commons works, especially large music, picture or movie files that the author might not have the bandwidth or tools necessary to distribute themselves. Search systems could allow users the choice of only searching for files with licenses that permit certain uses (such as searching for pictures of cats that you can include in your non-commercial collage). There are many ways to take advantage of this information and we hope the developer will surprise us by coming up with others.
4. I’d prefer to use a PNG image instead of a GIF image or vice versa. What should I do?
   Creative Commons provides license buttons in both formats. You can change, e.g. somerights20.gif to somerights20.png or vice versa.
   More information about Creative Commons Worldwide, its history and mission, the people, supporters and opportunities is available on the Main Creative Commons website. http://www.creativecommons.org