Licensing a Collection
What is a collection?
A collection is a work comprised of separate creative works to make a whole. Each of the individual pieces in the collection is its own distinct work. Only the new creative aspects of the collection are copyrightable (arrangement or annotation of the works, for example). Examples of collections include a book of essays on a single topic, a book of essays by an individual author, a collection of poems, and an encyclopedia.
What kinds of works can I include?
The chart below shows what kinds of CC-licensed works can be included in a collection that allows commercial use, and in a collection that does not allow commercial use.
Collections licensing table by Creative Commons is licensed CC BY 4.0.
What else do I need to consider?
Consider these points when creating a collection:
- You CAN create, license, and share a collection that includes part of an unaltered work (a chapter, essay, or poem, for example) that has a No Derivatives license
- The terms of the license on the new work you create does NOT supersede the terms of the license applied to the original works
Applying a license to your work
Now you can visit the CC Chooser to select a license.
The CC Chooser will create plain text, rich text, and HTML versions of the license information for you to mark your work.
Attributing your sources
Every CC license requires attribution, and it is a best practice to attribute sources in the public domain (whether marked CC0 or not). Provide attribution for every source in your collection, and include as much information as you can to make finding and reusing source material easy.
Use the TASL method.
T = Title
A = Author (name or user name, include link to author's profile page if applicable)
S = Source (include a link to/URL for the original work)
L = License (include a link to the license deed)
Also include the title of the new work you created, your name, and the new license with a link to the deed.
Attribution
This page, "Licensing a Collection" by Jill Hallam-Miller is licensed CC BY 4.0, and is an adaptation of the following works:
"Frequently Asked Questions" by Creative Commons, licensed CC BY 4.0.
September 2019 Creative Commons Certificate Course by Creative Commons, Unit 4: Reusing CC Licenses and CC-Licensed Works, Section 4.4: Remixing CC-Licensed Work, licensed CC BY 4.0.
"Sharing Your Work with Creative Commons Licenses Part II: Collections and Adaptations" by Jill Hallam-Miller (2020), licensed CC BY 4.0.
Return to Module 2: Licensing Considerations
Return to Module 3 Main Page
Go to Module 4: Creating a CC-Licensed Work