Define “Non-Commercial” Use License Terms In Simple English

Many creative commons licensing terms can be quite overwhelming but let us understand each such term in simple English language and then understand the most misunderstood term, which is free for non-commercial use.

Looking at the above image, we see six license terms as defined by CreativeCommons. However, they are composed of a few icons.

So first, Let us Understand each of those Icons. They are termed as BY, NC, ND, and SA.

BY

The most basic of the creative common icon is the icon of the author. It is present in every creative commons license, which means you must attribute the content to the original author.

The human-understandable creative commons license for BY is here but in even further straightforward terms:

You are free to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. However, one should provide a link to the license and indicate if any changes were made on your side. Moreover, you are free to use the material for any commercial benefits as well.

In a creative commons license, for only BY license the icon used is.

It is the most accommodative licensing terms under the creative commons and the BY icon is part of every other licensing terms under creative commons.

NC – No Commercial Use

The NC Symbol under the creative commons license means you shouldn’t use it for any commercial purpose. NC is no commercial use.

The human-understandable creative commons license for noncommercial usage is here but in even further straightforward terms:

• Commercial use is – There is the direct or indirect financial benefit for the use of an item.
• Non-commercial use – Anything other than commercial use is a non-commercial use.

Let us take an example of a copyrighted image (I usually use images from these sites) to understand the commercial/non-commercial use.

• If you are using an image for advertising your business, it is commercial use.
• If you use an image as a decorative item on the office wall, it may still be termed commercial use because you do business in the office. There may be an indirect benefit out of decorating your office using that image.
• If you are using an image as a decorative item in your house, it is a non-commercial use.

Commercial use is confined to profit being made directly with the product like reselling it or bundling it with other products and selling it and indirect benefits.

In creative commons license, if you see an NC.

It means you can only use it non-commercially.

ND – NoDerivatives

ND stands for No Derivatives.

The human-understandable creative commons license for noncommercial usage is here but in even further straightforward terms:

One is free to use the material as is. However, you build upon the material; you may not distribute the modified material.

So if you want to use an image under ND license terms, you have to use the image as-is and cannot write something on it and then use it.

In a creative commons license, for No Derivatives, the icon used is.

It means you can’t edit the material you are using.

SA – ShareAlike

SA Stands for ShareAlike.

The human-understandable creative commons license for noncommercial usage is here but in even further straightforward terms:

It means you are free to remix, adapt, and build upon the work, as long as you release the same under identical terms.

So you also have to allow others to share under the creative commons licensing terms. Note because ND means one has to use as is the material and so SA and ND can’t be a licensing term on the same material.

In a creative commons license, for Sharealike, the icon used is.

And it means if you are using the material, you have to share it under the creative commons licensing terms.

Further License Terms

Using the above license terms, one can derive two more license terms of combining non-commercial use to no-derivatives and ShareAlike terms.

BY-NC-ND

The human-understandable creative commons license for noncommercial usage is here but in even further straightforward terms:

You are free to use the material for non-commercial purposes only, but you can’t modify the material and distribute it.

BY-NC-SA

The human-understandable creative commons license for noncommercial usage is here but in even further straightforward terms:

You are free to use the material for non-commercial purposes only. However, you are free to modify the material but have to distribute it under the same licensing terms.