Creative Commons 4.0 Licence Templates

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What are Creative Commons licences?

Creative Commons (CC) licences are standard public copyright licences that allow rights holders to define, in advance, how others may use, share and, depending on the licence selected, adapt their material.

They provide a simple and internationally recognised way to make material available for reuse without requiring individual permission for each use, while allowing the rights holder to retain copyright and choose among a set of predefined licensing conditions.

Creative Commons licences are commonly used for materials such as documentation, reports, publications, images, educational resources, datasets and other copyright-protected content.

They are generally not recommended for licensing software or source code, for which dedicated open-source software licences should normally be used.

Before applying a CC licence, it should be confirmed that INESC TEC holds, or is otherwise authorised to license, the relevant rights in the material, and that any third-party content is appropriately identified and handled.

Note: Creative Commons licences are irrevocable once granted. The material may later cease to be distributed under the licence, but rights already granted under the licence cannot be withdrawn.


=============================================================================================
How to read the licence names

The Creative Commons 4.0 licences combine the following elements:

-> BY – Attribution: appropriate credit must be given to the creator(s).
-> NC – NonCommercial: use is permitted only for non-commercial purposes.
-> ND – NoDerivatives: adapted versions may not be shared.
-> SA – ShareAlike: shared adaptations must be distributed under the same licence, or a compatible licence where applicable.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Available licence templates

| Licence | What it allows | When to use it | Example uses |


| CC BY 4.0 | Sharing and adaptation, including for commercial purposes, provided attribution is given. | When the aim is to allow the broadest possible reuse while preserving attribution. | An openly reusable report, research dataset or educational material that others may reproduce, translate or adapt. |


| CC BY-SA 4.0 | Sharing and adaptation, including for commercial purposes, with attribution; shared adaptations must use the same licence or a compatible licence where applicable. | When broad reuse is intended, but adaptations should remain available under the same open licensing conditions. | An open handbook, training resource or collaborative knowledge material whose adaptations should remain openly licensed. |


| CC BY-NC 4.0 | Sharing and adaptation for non-commercial purposes only, with attribution. | When reuse and modification should be allowed, but commercial uses should require separate permission. | Educational or research material that universities and researchers may adapt, while commercial exploitation requires separate authorisation. |


| CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 | Sharing and adaptation for non-commercial purposes only, with attribution; shared adaptations must use the same licence or a compatible licence where applicable. | When use should be limited to non-commercial purposes and shared adaptations should remain under the same licensing conditions. | Training or educational resources that may be adapted for non-commercial use, provided resulting versions remain under the same licence. |


| CC BY-ND 4.0 | Redistribution, including for commercial purposes, with attribution, but adapted versions may not be shared. | When the original material may circulate freely, but modified versions should not be redistributed. | An official report, policy document or institutional publication that may be redistributed but should remain unchanged. |


| CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 | Non-commercial redistribution, with attribution, without allowing adapted versions to be shared. | When the material should be made available under more restrictive conditions, excluding commercial use and redistribution of modified versions. | An institutional report, reference document or publication intended for non-commercial circulation in its original form only. |

=======================================================================================
Important notes

- NonCommercial (NC): refers to the purpose of the use, not simply to whether the user is a for-profit or non-profit organisation.

- NoDerivatives (ND): does not prevent modifications for private use; it prevents the sharing of adapted material.

- Creative Commons 4.0 licences do not grant patent or trademark rights.

- Before publication, complete the template fields relating to the year, name/description of the material and authors/creators, and confirm that the selected licence is appropriate for the material concerned.

========================================================================================

If there is any uncertainty regarding ownership, third-party materials, the appropriate licence, or the intended exploitation of the material, please contact the Technology Transfer Office before publication. 

tech-transfer@inesctec.pt