Creative Commons licences (also referred to as CC licences), like many other open content licences, can facilitate the copying, reuse, distribution, and in some cases, the modification of the original owner’s creative work without needing to get permission each time from the rights holder. Across the UK, CC licences are increasingly used to provide access to cultural heritage, teaching, learning and research outputs. Creative Commons licensed resources are also helpful for organisations who wish to use third party resources which place the least restrictive licensing terms on the user.

This overview of Creative Commons licences includes advice on how to embed Creative Commons licences into your digital content and what to consider before applying such a licence.