About Creative Commons | The future is open

<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title>About Creative Commons | The future is open</title> <meta charset="utf-8" />  <meta property="og:title" content="About Creative Commons" /> <meta property="og:url" content="http://teamopen.cc/thefuture/about/" /> <meta property="og:image" content="http://teamopen.cc/images/ar-fbog-10.png"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="The future is open" /> <meta property="og:description" content="The internet makes it easy for people to use and share each other’s work. But sometimes the law makes it hard. Creative Commons licenses let you control your copyright." />  <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@creativecommons"> <meta name="twitter:title" content="About Creative Commons"> <meta name="twitter:description" content="Sharing on the internet should be easy."> <meta name="twitter:image:src" content="http://teamopen.cc/images/ar-tc-10.png"> <meta name="twitter:domain" content="teamopen.cc"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/style.css" /> <link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Roboto+Slab' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'> <script> (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-2010376-27', 'teamopen.cc'); ga('send', 'pageview'); </script>  </head> <body> <a href="/thefuture/"><h1 class="annualreport" style="background-color: #5fc48c; ">The future is open</h1></a> <div id="navbar" style="width: 750px;"> <a href="/thefuture/letter/"><div class="navface" style="background-image: url(/images/nav-cc.png); background-color: #BB4F4F;">A letter from Paul Brest</div></a> <a href="/thefuture/version4/"><div class="navface" style="background-image: url(/images/nav-40.png); background-color: #D7D1AF;">A new license for a new era</div></a> <a href="/thefuture/global/"><div class="navface" style="background-image: url(/images/nav-global.png); background-color: #7AA8DF;">Global license, global movement</div></a> <a href="/thefuture/reform/"><div class="navface" style="background-image: url(/images/nav-creform.png); background-color: #E52727;">Open by default</div></a> <a href="/thefuture/better/"><div class="navface" style="background-image: url(/images/nav-link.png); background-color: #bd9a18;">Building a better internet</div></a> <a href="/thefuture/you/"><div class="navface" style="background-image: url(/images/nav-you.png); background-color: #5c0095;">What you did with CC</div></a> <a href="/thefuture/change/"><div class="navface" style="background-image: url(/images/nav-question.png); background-color: #000000;">Change worth fighting for</div></a> <a href="/thefuture/participate/"><div class="navface" style="background-image: url(/images/nav-help.png); background-color: #2b2a65;">What you can do</div></a> <a href="/thefuture/finance/"><div class="navface" style="background-image: url(/images/nav-money.png); background-color: #C0436C;">Where the money goes</div></a> <div class="navface" style="background-image: url(/images/by-clear.png); background-color: #5fc48c; background-position: -75px 0px; ">About Creative Commons</div> </div> <div style="clear: both; "></div> <div style="max-width: 700px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; color: #5fc48c; "> <form style="margin: 0 auto; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; text-align: center; " id="Edit" action="https://donate.creativecommons.org/civicrm/profile/create?gid=29&reset=1" method="post" name="Edit"> <div><label for="email-Primary-top">Get Creative Commons updates</label> <input id="email-Primary-top" class="form-control input-lg" maxlength="64" name="email-Primary" size="30" placeholder="mattl@example.com" type="email"> <input class="btn btn-success" id="_qf_Edit_next" accesskey="S" name="_qf_Edit_next" type="submit" value="Subscribe"><input name="postURL" type="hidden" value="https://creativecommons.org/thank-you"><input name="cancelURL" type="hidden" value="https://creativecommons.org/newsletter"><input name="group[121]" type="hidden" value="1"><input name="_qf_default" type="hidden" value="Edit:cancel"></div> </form> </div> <div id="middle" style="background-color: #626C72; "> <div id="topspace"></div> <div class="arbanner" style="background: url('/images/ar-banner-10.png'); "> <a href="/thefuture/finance/"> <div class="arrow" style="background-image: url('/images/leftarrow.png'); " ></div> </a> <div style="width: 800px; float:left; "> </div> <a href="/thefuture/letter/"> <div class="arrow" style="background-image: url('/images/rightarrownocc.png'); " ></div> </a> </div> <br style="clear: both; " /> <div id="profile"> <h2>About Creative Commons</h2> <p>The internet makes it easy for people to use and share each other’s work. But sometimes the law makes it hard. When you make any creative work, that work is automatically copyrighted with “all rights reserved” — whether that’s what you want or not.</p> <p>But people have been adapting and building upon each other’s work for centuries. Musicians sample beats from each other’s music. Artists create collages from other people’s images. Teachers borrow each other’s activities and lesson plans. Scientists build off of one another’s results to make new discoveries. When all of the great content in the world is locked under All Rights Reserved, what’s left for us to play with? When everyone can use a work, everyone benefits from it.</p> <p>Creative Commons licenses let you control your copyright: with our free licenses, you can give others permission to use your creations, with “some rights reserved” as long as they follow a few simple rules. We believe that everyone should have access to the world’s knowledge, information, and culture, and we need your help to make it happen. <p>Contact Us: <br />444 Castro Street, Suite 916, Mountain View, CA 94041 <br />(650) 294-4732 <br />Email: info@creativecommons.org <br />Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/creativecommons/">@creativecommons</a></p> </div> <div class="arfeatures"> <div class="armenu"> <div class="armenu-sharebox" style="background-color: #5fc48c; " align="center"> <a href="#license"> <img src="/images/cc0-25-white.png" /> </div> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/42690?utm_campaign=thefuture&utm_medium=web" target="_blank"> <div class="armenu-photo" style="background-image: url(/images/about-ryan.jpg)"></div> <div class="armenu-textbox" style="background-color: #5fc48c;"> <p class="armenu-text">Welcoming our new CEO, Ryan Merkley</p> <div class="armenu-social"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/42690?utm_campaign=thefuture&utm_medium=web" target="_blank"><img src="/images/facebooksmall.png" /></a><a href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?source=webclient&text=Welcoming our new CEO, Ryan Merkley+https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/42690?utm_campaign=thefuture&utm_medium=web&via=creativecommons" target="_blank"><img src="/images/twittersmall.png" /></a></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="armenu"> <div class="armenu-sharebox" style="background-color: #5fc48c; " align="center"> <a href="#license"> <img src="/images/by-25-white.png" /> </div> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/staff?utm_campaign=thefuture&utm_medium=web" target="_blank"> <div class="armenu-photo" style="background-image: url(/images/about-staff.jpg)"></div> <div class="armenu-textbox" style="background-color: #5fc48c;"> <p class="armenu-text">CC Staff</p> <div class="armenu-social"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://creativecommons.org/staff?utm_campaign=thefuture&utm_medium=web" target="_blank"><img src="/images/facebooksmall.png" /></a><a href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?source=webclient&text=CC Staff+https://creativecommons.org/staff?utm_campaign=thefuture&utm_medium=web&via=creativecommons" target="_blank"><img src="/images/twittersmall.png" /></a></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="armenu"> <div class="armenu-sharebox" style="background-color: #5fc48c; " align="center"> <a href="#license"> <img src="/images/by-25-white.png" /> <img src="/images/nc-25-white.png" /> <img src="/images/sa-25-white.png" /> </div> <a href="http://wiki.creativecommons.org/CC_Affiliate_Network?utm_campaign=thefuture&utm_medium=web" target="_blank"> <div class="armenu-photo" style="background-image: url(/images/about-affiliates.jpg)"></div> <div class="armenu-textbox" style="background-color: #5fc48c;"> <p class="armenu-text">CC Affiliates</p> <div class="armenu-social"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http://wiki.creativecommons.org/CC_Affiliate_Network?utm_campaign=thefuture&utm_medium=web" target="_blank"><img src="/images/facebooksmall.png" /></a><a href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?source=webclient&text=CC Affiliates+http://wiki.creativecommons.org/CC_Affiliate_Network?utm_campaign=thefuture&utm_medium=web&via=creativecommons" target="_blank"><img src="/images/twittersmall.png" /></a></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="armenu"> <div class="armenu-sharebox" style="background-color: #5fc48c; " align="center"> <a href="#license"> <img src="/images/by-25-white.png" /> </div> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/41172?utm_campaign=thefuture&utm_medium=web" target="_blank"> <div class="armenu-photo" style="background-image: url(/images/about-board.jpg)"></div> <div class="armenu-textbox" style="background-color: #5fc48c;"> <p class="armenu-text">Board of Directors and Advisory Council Re-Energized</p> <div class="armenu-social"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/41172?utm_campaign=thefuture&utm_medium=web" target="_blank"><img src="/images/facebooksmall.png" /></a><a href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?source=webclient&text=Board of Directors and Advisory Council Re-Energized+https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/41172?utm_campaign=thefuture&utm_medium=web&via=creativecommons" target="_blank"><img src="/images/twittersmall.png" /></a></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear: both; "></div> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/"><img src="/images/cclogo-white-300.png" width="300" height="71" alt="Creative Commons" /></a></p> <div style="display: inline-block; height: 50px; "></div> <a href="#"><div class="uparrow"></div></a> <div style="display: inline-block; height: 50px; "></div> <div id="license" class="ar-licensebox"> <p style="text-align: center"> <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="//i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />Except where otherwise noted, <em><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">The future is open</span></em> by <a href="https://creativecommons.org/"><span xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" property="cc:attributionName">Creative Commons</span></a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p> <p>Image credits</p> <ul> <li><a href="//thenounproject.com/term/globe/711/">Globe</a> / <a href="//thenounproject.com/edward">Edward Boatman</a> / <a href="//creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/">CC BY 3.0</a></li> <li><a href="//thenounproject.com/term/file-repair/10069/">File Repair</a> (copyright symbol added) / <a href="http://thenounproject.com/iconoci/">iconoci</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/">CC BY 3.0</a></li> <li><a href="//thenounproject.com/term/link/1690/">Link</a> / <a href="http://thenounproject.com/owl4life1867/">Matthew Exton</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/">Public Domain</a></li> <li><a href="//thenounproject.com/term/raised-hand/12043/">Raised Hand</a> / <a href="http://thenounproject.com/niftyacres/">Stephen JB Thomas</a> / <a href="//creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/">CC BY 3.0</a></li> <li><a href="//thenounproject.com/term/money/3723/">Money</a> / <a href="//thenounproject.com/berky93/">Alex Berkowitz</a> / <a href="//creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/">CC BY 3.0</a></li> <li><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ryan_Merkley.jpg">Ryan Merkley</a> / Rannie Turingan / <a href="//creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0</a> </li> <li><a href="https://layervault.com/creative-commons/annual-report-2014/staffcollage-ar--psd">Staff Collage 2014</a> / Meryl Mohan / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0">CC BY 4.0</a> </li> <li><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/meexplore/11002141666">IMG_3242</a> / Bilal Randeree / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0</a> (cropped and color adjusted) </li> <li><a href="https://layervault.com/creative-commons/annual-report-2014/thumbnails--psd/1">board meeting 12/7/13</a> / Meryl Mohan / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0">CC BY 4.0</a> </li> </ul> <p>The banner illustrations were created by <a href="http://www.lukesurl.com/">Luke Surl</a>. To the extent possible under the law, Luke has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights under the <a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0 Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> <p>The “The future is open” logo is set in <a href="//creativecommons.org/about/downloads">Akzidenz Grotesk Bold</a>. This website is set in <a href="http://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Roboto+Slab">Roboto Slab</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://github.com/creativecommons/team-open/">GitHub repository</a> / <a href="https://layervault.com/creative-commons/annual-report-2014">LayerVault project</a></p> </div> <div class="spacer"></div> <div id="circles" style="background-color: #626C72; position: fixed; "> <a href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?source=webclient&text=Creative%20Commons%20licenses%20let%20you%20take%20control%20of%20copyright.+teamopen.cc/thefuture/about/&via=creativecommons" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; "><div class="circle" style="background-image: url(/images/twitter.png);"><div class="circletext">share on twitter</div></div></a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http://teamopen.cc//thefuture/about/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; "><div class="circle" style="background-image: url(/images/facebook.png); "><div class="circletext">share on facebook</div></div></a> <a href="https://donate.creativecommons.org/?utm_campaign=thefuture&utm_source=aboutcreativecommons&utm_medium=web" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none; "><div class="heart"><div class="hearttext">donate</div></div></a> <form style="text-align: center; margin: 0; margin-top: -1em; padding: 0; padding-left: 400px; " action="https://donate.creativecommons.org/civicrm/profile/create?gid=29&reset=1" method="post" name="Edit"> <p><label for="email-Primary">Get Creative Commons updates</label></p><p><small><input id="email-Primary" class="form-control input-lg" maxlength="64" name="email-Primary" size="30" placeholder="mattl@example.com" > <input class="btn btn-success" id="_qf_Edit_next" accesskey="S" name="_qf_Edit_next" type="submit" value="Subscribe"><input name="postURL" type="hidden" value="https://creativecommons.org/thank-you"><input name="cancelURL" type="hidden" value="https://creativecommons.org/newsletter"><input name="group[121]" type="hidden" value="1"><input name="_qf_default" type="hidden" value="Edit:cancel"></small></p> <p> <a href="https://donate.creativecommons.org/?utm_campaign=thefuture&utm_source=aboutcreativecommons&utm_medium=web" target="_blank">Donate to Creative Commons</a></p> </form> </div> </div> </body> </html>

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About Creative Commons | The future is open