Creative Commons Licenses

Creative Commons is a globally focused non-profit organization that promotes sharing (the "better sharing" model) that is

contextual, inclusive, just, equitable, reciprocal, and sustainable.

The Creative Commons organization developed around 2002 as a response to increased restrictions on copyright and the rise of technologies that made freely sharing creative works easier than ever before. See the timeline below. 

The Creative Commons organization works to promote better sharing by developing and maintaining a set of tools that allow creators who desire to share their work a simple way to display their intentions to share their works, and the circumstances under which they will share. 

The Open Culture Program from Creative Commons works to support an open culture ecosystem among cultural heritage institutions worldwide and their users resulting in "better sharing" for cultural knowledge and materials.