You want to copy something on this site and reuse it elsewhere. Maybe you want to make changes to it. You could even want to sell it, in its original form or after changing it. Can you do so?
Check the work you want to use under 'Copyright Details'. It will either identify its licence, in which case you should click through to that licence's entry to find out what sort of common content it is, or it will identify what sort of common content it is directly.
Common content on this site is split into 'Libre' and 'Proprietary'. Libre is split into 'Public Domain', 'Permissive' and 'Copyleft'. Proprietary is split into 'Noncommercial' and 'Verbatim'.
What follows are general suggestions about using works with those statuses. This is not legal advice and each licence is different. Read the licence.
Libre
These works can be shared and adapted in any way, shape or form, and even sold if you so desire. However, they may have conditions attached to that sharing and adapting:
- You may have to credit the original creator.
- You may be forbidden from crediting the original creator.
- You may have to include the text of the licence or a link to the licence in the work.
- You may have to release the work under the same or similar licence as the original work (see copyleft below).
Public domain
Public domain works can typically be used without any restrictions.
Permissive
Permissive works have few restrictions, typically just that the original creator needs to be credited and that a link to the original licence needs to be included.
Copyleft
Copyleft works have the particular requirement that if you share or adapt the work, that copy or adaptation must fall under the same licence as the original work. So if you do a spoken-word version of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike book, that recording must be CC Attribution-ShareAlike as well.
Like permissive licences, they usually also require that the original author be credited and that a link to the original licence be included.
Proprietary
Proprietary works either cannot be shared commercially or they cannot be adapted, or both. To qualify as common content, however, they must be able to be shared verbatim noncommercially at the very minimum.
Noncommercial (previously known as Semi-Libre)
Noncommercial proprietary works can be copied and adapted, but not for commercial purposes.
Exactly what qualifies as 'commercial' has not been well defined.
Verbatim (previously known as Pseudo-Libre)
Verbatim proprietary works can be copied, but not adapted. They may or may not be adapted for commercial purposes, depending on the licence.