Creative Commons Attribution Generator

How to Use the Creative Commons Attribution Generator

1. 1. Copy the details from the work's page. The title, the author's name, the address of the page where the work is published, and the licence it carries. Check that the page really names a Creative Commons licence before you rely on it.
2. 2. Choose the licence and its version. Use the version the author chose: CC BY 4.0 and CC BY 3.0 are different licences with different addresses.
3. 3. Say if you changed the work. A crop or a translation needs a short note, and a new work built on the original needs its own title and your name.
4. 4. Copy the form you need. Linked text for a web page or slide, HTML for a site, plain text with full URLs for print, or a short caption.

What TASL Means

Creative Commons asks for attribution that is reasonable for the medium and recommends four elements, remembered as TASL: the title, the author, the source and the licence. There is no single correct format, but a credit missing one of the four is a poor one.

Creative Commons Licences and Versions

Six licences share the BY condition and add others: SA (ShareAlike: share your changes under the same licence), NC (NonCommercial) and ND (NoDerivatives: no adaptations). Each exists in versions 1.0, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 4.0 at creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ and its siblings; the 1.0 NoDerivatives NonCommercial licence is filed as by-nd-nc. The 4.0 versions are the ones Creative Commons recommends, and the older ones stay valid for work already licensed under them. CC0 is a public domain dedication and the Public Domain Mark labels a work already free of copyright. Neither requires credit.

Creative Commons Attribution Examples

A photograph by Timothy Vollmer, the example in Creative Commons' own guidance, under CC BY 4.0. Every element is present and linked:

If you changed the work slightly, say so. A crop that keeps the original message is a modification you note; a creative change is an adaptation.

If you made a new work from the original, name the original, state that yours is adapted, and give your own title, licence and name:

A book chapter, with the author's copyright notice kept as given. The print form spells out the URLs because a printed link cannot be clicked:

A work in the public domain needs no credit by law, but naming the source and the institution that holds it is good practice, and in academic work it is expected:

Changing a Creative Commons Work

Every licence except CC0 asks you to indicate that you changed the work. A purely mechanical change — a simple crop or an excerpt that keeps the original message undistorted — is noted, as above. A creative change is an adaptation, and ND licences do not allow it: CC BY-ND and CC BY-NC-ND leave you free to share the work unchanged but not to remix, translate or add it to a video as background music without the author's permission. The 4.0 licences allow the technical changes needed to use a work in another format. If you share an adaptation of a SA work, licence it under the same licence or a compatible one, and a NC work may be used only for non-commercial purposes.

Common Mistakes

• Writing “Photo: Creative Commons”. Creative Commons is neither the author nor a licence.
• Crediting the website. “Image from Wikimedia Commons” does not name the author.
• Leaving out the version. CC BY 3.0 and CC BY 4.0 are different licences; link the deed for the one the author chose.
• Putting the credit only in alt text or metadata. Most readers never see either, and licence text in alt text gets in the way of screen readers.
• Linking a shortened URL. Use the address of the page where the work was first shared.
• Assuming a crop is always harmless. If it changes what the work says, it is an adaptation, and an ND licence does not allow it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you attribute a Creative Commons image?

Give the title, the author, the source and the licence, with the title, author and licence linked: “Title” by Author is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Put it next to the image or in a credits section, and mention any changes you made. If the image appears in print, write the URLs out.

What is TASL in Creative Commons?

TASL stands for title, author, source and licence, the four pieces of information Creative Commons recommends for every attribution. The title is required by licence versions 3.0 and earlier and optional in 4.0, but it is still good practice to include it.

Do I have to give attribution for CC0 or public domain work?

No. CC0 and the Public Domain Mark do not require attribution by law. Creative Commons still recommends naming the source and the institution that holds the work, because it helps readers find it and is expected in academic writing.

How do you credit a Creative Commons image you edited?

Credit the original with TASL and add a short note of what you changed, such as “used under CC BY 4.0 / Cropped from original”. If your changes are creative enough to make a new work, say that it is adapted from the original and give your own title, licence and name. You cannot do this with an ND licence.

Can I use a Creative Commons image commercially?

Yes, unless the licence includes NC (NonCommercial). CC BY, CC BY-SA and CC BY-ND allow commercial use with attribution. CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-SA and CC BY-NC-ND do not allow use that is primarily for commercial advantage or monetary compensation.

Which version of the Creative Commons licence should I cite?

The one the author applied to the work, shown on the work's page: CC BY 4.0, CC BY 3.0 and so on. Creative Commons recommends 4.0 for your own work, but older versions remain valid for work already licensed under them, and each has its own deed address.

How do you attribute a Creative Commons image in a printed document?

Write the title, author and licence URLs out in full, because a reader cannot click them: “Title” (source URL) by Author (author URL) is licensed under CC BY 4.0 (licence URL). Keep the author's copyright notice if they gave one.