CC0; Creative Commons Zero

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“No Rights Reserved”

CC0 enables scientists, educators, artists and other creators and owners of copyright- or database-protected content to waive those interests in their works and thereby place them as completely as possible in the public domain, so that others may freely build upon, enhance and reuse the works for any purposes without restriction under copyright or database law.

In contrast to CC’s licenses that allow copyright holders to choose from a range of permissions while retaining their copyright, CC0 empowers yet another choice altogether – the choice to opt out of copyright and database protection, and the exclusive rights automatically granted to creators – the “no rights reserved” alternative to CC licenses.

The Laws

Dedicating works to the public domain is difficult if not impossible for those wanting to contribute their works for public use before applicable copyright or database protection terms expire. Few if any jurisdictions have a process for doing so easily and reliably. Laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction as to what rights are automatically granted and how and when they expire or may be voluntarily relinquished. More challenging yet, many legal systems effectively prohibit any attempt by these owners to surrender rights automatically conferred by law, particularly moral rights, even when the author wishing to do so is well informed and resolute about doing so and contributing their work to the public domain.

A International Instrument

CC0 helps solve this problem by giving creators a way to waive all their copyright and related rights in their works to the fullest extent allowed by law. CC0 is a universal instrument that is not adapted to the laws of any particular legal jurisdiction, similar to many open source software licenses. And while no tool, not even CC0, can guarantee a complete relinquishment of all copyright and database rights in every jurisdiction, the creative commons organization believe it provides the best and most complete alternative for contributing a work to the public domain given the many complex and diverse copyright and database systems around the world.

Using CC0

Unlike the Public Domain Mark, CC0 should not be used to mark works already free of known copyright and database restrictions and in the public domain throughout the world. However, it can be used to waive copyright and database rights to the extent you may have these rights in your work under the laws of at least one jurisdiction, even if your work is free of restrictions in others. Doing so clarifies the status of your work unambiguously worldwide and facilitates reuse.

You should only apply CC0 to your own work, unless you have the necessary rights to apply CC0 to another person’s work.

Examples

Europeana — Europe’s digital library — releases its metadata into the public domain using CC0. This massive dataset consists of descriptive information from a huge trove of digitized cultural and artistic works. By removing all restrictions on the use of the metadata that describes these cultural works, Europeana creates opportunities for developers, designers, and other digital innovators to create applications, games for mobile devices, and websites that visualize and represent the diverse collection of artistic works in Europeana. See Europeana releases 20 million records into the public domain using CC0.
figshare allows researchers to publish all of their research outputs in an easily citable, searchable, shareable manner. Figshare has adopted CC0 as the default tool for researchers to share their datasets. In many cases, it can be difficult to ascertain whether a database is subject to copyright law, as many types of data aren’t copyrightable in many jurisdictions. Putting a database or dataset in the public domain under CC0 is a way to remove any legal doubt about whether researchers can use the data in their projects. Hundreds of organizations use CC0 to dedicate their work to the public domain. Although CC0 doesn’t legally require users of the data to cite the source, it does not affect the ethical norms for attribution in scientific and research communities.
Open Goldberg Variations: Before the Open Goldberg Variations, public domain recordings of Bach’s Goldberg Variations were hard to find, even though the scores themselves were in the public domain. Open Goldberg Variations wanted to change that, so it teamed up with professional musician Kimiko Ishizaka and started a Kickstarter project to create studio-quality recordings, promising to release them into the public domain using the CC0 public domain dedication tool. According to the project founders, “Musicians are usually not willing to withdraw their copyrights and their control over usage, but we feel that they thus miss opportunities to contribute to the greater good and benefit from wider distribution of their works. If this project succeeds, we hope that the recording will be available to everyone forevermore, and that it will be a truly widely known and enjoyed artistic work.” Sure enough, the project was funded at nearly double its original funding goal, and as a result all 30 variations performed by Kimiko Ishizaka are now available for free download via CC0.
Metropolitan Museum of Art: All public domain images in its collection are shared under CC0, which expanded their digital collection by over 375,000 images as well as provided data on over 420,000 museum objects spanning more than 5,000 years. Through the power of the commons, billions of people are now able to enjoy the beauty of the Met’s collections as well as participate in the continued growth of the commons, utilizing the infrastructure that makes greater collaboration possible.

CC0 FAQ

1. What is CC0?
Copyright and other laws throughout the world automatically extend copyright protection to works of authorship and databases, whether the author or creator wants those rights or not. CC0 gives those who want to give up those rights a way to do so, to the fullest extent allowed by law. Once the creator or a subsequent owner of a work applies CC0 to a work, the work is no longer his or hers in any meaningful sense under copyright law. Anyone can then use the work in any way and for any purpose, including commercial purposes, subject to other laws and the rights others may have in the work or how the work is used. Think of CC0 as the “no rights reserved” option.

CC0 is a useful tool for clarifying that you do not claim copyright in a work anywhere in the world. Because copyright laws differ by jurisdiction, you might be granted an automatic copyright in jurisdictions that you may not be aware of. By using CC0, you signal to the public that you relinquish any such rights.

2. How does it work?
A person using CC0 (called the “affirmer” in the legal code) dedicates a work to the public domain by waiving all of his or her copyright and neighboring and related rights, if any, in a work, to the fullest extent permitted by law. If the waiver isn’t effective for any reason, then CC0 acts as a license from the affirmer granting the public an unconditional, irrevocable, non exclusive, royalty free license to use the work for any purpose.

3. What is the difference between CC0 and the Public Domain Mark (“PDM”)
CC0 and PDM differ in important respects and have distinct purposes. CC0 is intended for use only by authors or holders of copyright and related or neighboring rights (including sui generis database rights), in connection with works that are still subject to those rights in one or more jurisdictions. PDM, on the other hand, can be used by anyone, and is intended for use with works that are already free of known copyright restrictions throughout the world. The tools also differ in terms of their effect when applied to a work. CC0 is legally operative in the sense that when it is applied, it changes the copyright status of the work, effectively relinquishing all copyright and related or neighboring rights worldwide. PDM is not legally operative in any respect – it is intended to function as a label, marking a work that is already free of known copyright restrictions.

4. Who can use CC0?
Anyone who owns or could possibly hold copyright and neighboring and related rights (such as database rights) in a work anywhere in the world can use CC0 to give up those rights. But please be careful. CC0 is a one-way street. Once you apply CC0 to your work you can’t change your mind later and re-assert copyright or database rights over the work. In some cases, it’s hard to decide if something qualifies for copyright protection (for example, a database of mostly factual data). Even then, CC0 can be a useful way to assure others that you have committed to surrendering any possible copyright protection you may have.

Even though are you not making any warranties of copyright ownership under CC0, keep in mind that you are still responsible to any third parties who may have existing rights in your work when you distribute the work. For example, if your work contains another person’s work made available under a CC Attribution license, you will need to identify that work separately, attribute the author and provide the license. Likewise, for any other license(s), you will need to ensure that you are in compliance before distributing the work. Of course, if you do not have permission to distribute a work belonging to someone else, you will need to seek appropriate permission from the copyright owner before you use CC0.

5. May I apply CC0 to computer software? If so, is there a recommended implementation?
Yes, CC0 is suitable for dedicating your copyright and related rights in computer software to the public domain, to the fullest extent possible under law. Unlike CC licenses, which should not be used for software, CC0 is compatible with many software licenses, including the GPL. However, CC0 has not been approved by the Open Source Initiative and does not license or otherwise affect any patent rights you may have. You may want to consider using an approved OSI license that does so instead of CC0, such as GPL 3.0 or Apache 2.0

6. Does CC0 require others who use my work to give me attribution?
No, and that’s a big difference between CC0 and Creative Commons licenses. Unlike CC licenses, there are no conditions contained in CC0. Just like anything in the public domain, it will be possible for others to use or adapt it however they wish without attribution. However, this does not mean that you cannot request attribution in accordance with community or professional norms and standards.

When you choose CC0, requests for attribution are not binding through legal requirements (i.e., as a condition of a copyright license) but can be based on ethical and professional norms, such as those that apply to scholarship and science. These norms can be well articulated, widely held, and self-policing, as is the case with citation standards in the academic community (which are based on ethics and professional reputation, not legal conditions). However, in some instances, as with new technologies or emerging disciplines, the exact implementation of these norms in a particular context requires further consensus-building and articulation.

7. Does CC0 really eliminate all copyright and related rights, everywhere?
Please don’t take the 0 (zero) in the name “CC0” literally – no legal instrument can ever eliminate all copyright interests in a work in every jurisdiction.

CC0 doesn’t affect two very important categories of copyright and related rights. First, just like CC licenses, CC0 does not affect other persons’ rights in the work or in how it is used, such as publicity or privacy rights. Second, the laws of some jurisdictions don’t allow authors and copyright owners to waive all of their own rights, such as moral rights. When the waiver doesn’t work for any reason CC0 acts as a free public license replicating much of intended effect of the waiver, although sometimes even licensing those rights isn’t effective. It varies jurisdiction by jurisdiction.

While we can’t be certain that all copyright and related rights will indeed be surrendered everywhere, we are confident that CC0 lets you sever the legal ties between you and your work to the greatest extent legally permissible.

8. What kinds of rights am I surrendering when I use CC0?
You are surrendering your copyright and neighboring and related rights in a work, including any database rights you may have. You are also surrendering your own publicity and privacy rights. If your image is captured in the work, for example, you cannot later complain that someone is using it in violation of those rights. In other jurisdictions, you may not be able to waive all of your copyright and neighboring and related rights. Moral rights and unknown rights are two examples of rights that may be difficult to waive in some jurisdictions. When waiver isn’t possible, those rights are licensed under CC0 to the extent allowed by law, although again, sometimes those rights cannot be licensed in advance or at all.

9. What are neighboring rights?
Neighboring rights consist of a hodgepodge of rights granted by statute in addition to traditional copyright. Performing artists, record producers and those involved in radio and television broadcasting are often holders of neighboring rights, which may include distribution, performance and/or exploitation rights. Some jurisdictions extend copyright to protect these rights; other jurisdictions offer those protections by separate statute as neighboring or related rights.

When you surrender your neighboring rights using CC0, you do not impact the copyrights or related rights of others, though. For example, if you apply CC0 to a sound recording to which you hold copyright, you surrender your exclusive right to digitally perform that sound recording. But your use of CC0 would not affect the copyright, if any, retained by the composer of the music. Neighboring rights differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

10. What are database rights?
Databases may contain facts that, in and of themselves, are not protected by copyright law. The copyright laws of some jurisdictions cover database design and structure, however, and some jurisdictions like the European Union have enacted special laws to protect databases when they are not protected under applicable copyright law. CC0 is intended to cover all copyright and database laws, so that however database rights are protected (under copyright or otherwise), those rights are all surrendered.

11. Can I control how my work is being used once I publish it using CC0?
Not really. CC0 is about achieving the effect of placing works in the public domain. Just like anything already in the public domain today, anybody will be able to use your work for any purpose, even in ways you may find distasteful or objectionable. They can also make money off of your work, and they may give you credit or they may not. One aspect you retain control over, however, is the use of the work by others with your trademarks. CC0 does not surrender any trademark rights you have. If others want to associate your trademark with a work you distribute under CC0, they need to ask your permission first as required by trademark law.

If you are worried about how your work will be used, if you want to legally require attribution, or if you don’t want people to make money off of your work, then you should not use CC0 and instead consider using one of CC licenses.

12. What about other IP related rights, such as trademark and patent rights?
CC0 very clearly states that trademark and patent rights of the affirmer are not affected – CC0’s sole reach is copyright and related and neighboring rights, including database rights. Trademarks rights are not affected because creators who use CC0 should be able to protect the quality of products that are associated with their trademark (for example, by preventing a subsequent user of the work from leading others to believe the work in its subsequent use and/or form is associated with or endorsed by the affirmer). So if your primary concern is to ensure the quality and integrity of products associated with your name or your project, then trademark, combined with CC0, may be an option for you.

Patents are fundamentally more challenging. One of the goals at Creative Commons Organization is to encourage use and dissemination of information in a way that encourages others to build upon it, sometimes in surprising and unexpected ways. They can accomplish that objective through a copyright-only solution, without introducing the complexities associated with patent rights. They also wanted to keep CC0 as simple as possible, consistent with its original design goals. They concluded that any perceived benefits of including a patent waiver were significantly outweighed by the downsides of its inclusion.

13. Does using CC0 affect my ability to disclaim warranties?
No. CC0 explicitly disclaims “representations or warranties of any kind”. This is not affected by CC0’s abandonment of all copyright-related rights to the extent legally possible. Disposing of an asset (whether or not gratis) often involves a statement by the prior owner as to the state of the asset disposed of such that the owner has no responsibility/liability for things that may go wrong once the asset is no longer theirs. As with a quit claim used with real property, with CC0 a copyright holder abandons or quits their interest without any further obligation, including without warranty.

14. Can anyone use a work that is distributed under CC0?
Yes. CC0 doesn’t restrict who can use a CC0’d work. Once applied, anyone can use the work in any way and for any purpose, including commercial purposes, subject to rights others may have in the work or how it’s used, as well as subject to any other laws or restrictions that may apply.

15. Do I have to attribute the person who applied CC0 to their work?
No, there is no legal requirement that you attribute the affirmer, only an expectation that you will voluntarily do so if requested. The CC0 deed provides HTML code that can be copy and pasted into your webpage to easily cite the author and the work, if that information has been provided by the affirmer.

16.Why do some works indicate the jurisdiction from which the work is being published?
The CC0 license chooser gives affirmers the opportunity to indicate the jurisdiction from which the work is being offered. If provided by the affirmer, this information is included in the rendered CC0 text that is placed on the work as well as included in the machine-readable code.

The jurisdiction from which the work is being offered is one fact that helps users know what they can and cannot do with a CC0’d work. There are other important facts that impact what rights the affirmer is surrendering and what rights the user has (another, for example, is where the user is located), but the jurisdiction from which the work is offered is one of the more important pieces of information that helps users usefully take advantage of a CC0’d work.

Be careful, though. The jurisdiction, if selected by the affirmer, is not a choice of law or forum selection clause (there are no choice of law or forum selection clauses in CC0). Nor should it be relied upon as definitive for purposes of determining what rights you, as a user of the CC0’d work, may have. It is just one of many facts (if properly selected by the affirmer) that you should take into account before using a work dedicated to the public domain using CC0. Whether or not the affirmer indicated the jurisdiction from which the work was published, you may wish to contact the affirmer to learn more about the work as well as consult your own legal advisor about your rights.

17. What rights do I need to use a CC0’d work?
That depends. If you want to use the affirmer’s trademark, you need to get permission first since CC0 doesn’t affect trademark rights. You may also need to get permission from other people who have rights in the work, such as privacy or publicity rights of persons whose likeness or image appear in a photograph or in another work.

18. How can I be sure that I have all the rights I need to use the work?
CC0 contains a disclaimer of warranties just like our licenses, so there is no assurance whatsoever that the affirmer (the person who applied CC0 to the work) has all the necessary rights to grant permission to use the CC0’d work. The person applying CC0 to their work is not guaranteeing anything about it, including whether she owns the copyright or has cleared any uses of third-party content that her work may be based on or incorporate. If you are in doubt, then we strongly recommend you not use the work until you have taken all the steps and precautions you feel you need to before doing so, which may include contacting the person who applied CC0 to the work and consulting legal counsel.

Please note: Atma Unum does not provide legal advice. The information provided here is not a substitute for legal advice and is not complete. Please consult your own legal advisor if you have any questions or concerns about the information provided below, about CC0 or about Creative Commons licenses and tools generally.

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