A previous post described Creative Commons licensing, and gave suggestions on how to find photos on the Creative Commons area of Flickr, with one brief example of how to attribute the work back to its creator. Here’s more information on how to fully attribute a work you use under a Creative Commons license. The examples shown are for photographs, but the same format and spirit can be used for other works.
Note: In some cases, the creator of the work will provide exact instructions about how they want their work attributed. If so, you’ll see this on the the source page of their work. Use the format or text the creator of the work asks you to use if it’s provided.
Points to remember when attributing a work back to its creator
The following points are best practices and considerate, and in some cases, noted in the fine print of the license, the source page, or the creator’s page.
- Maintain and mention the license type and any copyright notice the creator uses
- If the creator uses a license with the Share Alike attribute, make certain you use the same license type for your creation incorporating the Creative Commons-licensed work you’re using
- If the work contains copyright notices placed by the copyright holder, the copyright notice must remain intact, or be depicted in a manner appropriate to how the work is being used
- Credit the creator of the work
- Give their name, online identity, or handle
- Credit the source in which you found the work (this could be Flickr, another website, journal, etc.)
- Give the name or website address
- Maintain the title of the work, if the work is titled and appropriate
- If the photo is named something like 438750_92.jpg, you can title it something else for attribution purposes
- Provide a link to the URL of the work
- This helps others who may want to view or use the work, or search for similar work find the creator
- Provide a link to the source of the work
- As above: This helps others find the work and similar work, as well as the provider
- Provide notice if your work is a derivative of the licensed work
- Don’t alter work licensed with a No Derivatives attribute
- Provide a link to the URL of the Creative Commons license used for the work
- This helps others know exactly how they can use the work
- Remember to say thanks to the creator of the work you’re using
- Leave a comment on the creator’s Flickr page, blog, or site
- Post a thank you on Twitter, naming the creator and linking to the image (and your use, if applicable)
Creative Commons posts more detailed information about attributions here, in a section entitled How do I properly attribute a Creative Commons licensed work?
Attribution examples you can copy, paste, and alter
The first example is also shown in the previous post. The other examples are variations. The last example is one you can use if you are not comfortable using and altering the HTML code for embedded links, or if you’re using the work in offline media.
Example one:
This can be used on webpages, HTML newsletters, and HTML emails:
The attribution looks like this to viewers (with minor changes depending on browser, browser settings, and website on which used):
Photo by John Kratz, via Flickr • CC BY-SA 2.0
The exact HTML code for the above attribution is:
<em>Photo by <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/kratz/” target=”_blank”>John Kratz</a>, via <a rel=”cc:attributionURL” href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/kratz/4115380286/”>Flickr </a> • <a rel=”license” href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/”>CC BY-SA 2.0</a></em>
The HTML code you can copy, paste, and change is:
<em>Photo by <a href=”URL OF FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM OR CREATOR’S WEBSITE” target=”_blank”>CREATOR’S NAME</a>, via <a rel=”cc:attributionURL” href=”URL OF PHOTO“>SOURCE NAME </a> • <a rel=”license” href=”URL OF CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE TYPE INFO“>CC BY-LICENSE TYPE</a></em>
The items in red uppercase are the items you can change.
Example two:
This can be used on webpages, HTML newsletters, and HTML emails:
The attribution looks like this to viewers (with minor changes depending on browser, browser settings, and website on which used):
Thanks to John Kratz for his photo, available under a Creative Commons SA-2.0 License via Flickr
The exact HTML code for the above attribution is:
<em>Thanks to <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/kratz/” target=”_blank”>John Kratz</a> for his <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/kratz/4115380286/” target=”_blank”>photo</a>, available under a <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/” target=”_blank”>Creative Commons SA-2.0 License</a> via <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/kratz/” target=”_blank”>Flickr</a>
</em>
The HTML code you can copy, paste, and change is:
<em>Thanks to <a href=”URL OF FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM OR CREATOR’S WEBSITE” target=”_blank”>CREATOR’S NAME</a> for HIS OR HER <a href=”URL OF PHOTO” target=”_blank”>photo</a>, available under a <a href=”URL OF CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE TYPE INFO” target=”_blank”>Creative Commons LICENSE TYPE</a> via <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/kratz/” target=”_blank”>SOURCE NAME</a>
</em>
The items in red uppercase are the items you can change.
Example three:
This can be used for text and non-web based items.
The attribution looks like this to viewers:
Thanks to John Kratz for his photo, found on Flickr.com and available under a Share Alike 2.0 License from CreativeCommons.org
As this is a text attribution, there is no HTML code.
The format you can copy, paste, and change is:
Thanks to CREATOR’S NAME for the photo, found on SOURCE WEBSITE.COM and available under a LICENSE TYPE License from CreativeCommons.org
The items in red uppercase are the items you can change.
Adding an attribution to the hover on the photo
If you would like viewers to see an attribution when they hover on the photo, paste a text attribution in as the title of the photograph when you insert the photo into your webpage.
Paste a text attribution here (this example uses WordPress; other applications will have a similar interface for adding hover text):
Suggestions of Tweets to thank and refer the creator
- Thanks to CREATOR’S NAME for their CC-Licensed photo – it’s great: URL OF PHOTO
- I like CREATOR NAME’S photo URL OF PHOTO. Glad S/HE uses a CC license, as I used the photo on URL OF SITE WHERE YOU USED PHOTO
- Some great photos on CREATOR NAME’S Flickr stream: URL OF FLICKR STREAM. Grateful they use a CC license so I could use their work!
As before, the items in red uppercase are the items you can change, but be creative, and use these only as examples. Write and send your own tweets of gratitude for those who provide and share their work!
One last thing
Especially if you’re using Creative Commons-licensed work commercially, check to see if the creator has a donate button on their home website (you won’t find this on Flickr) and show your gratitude with a contribution via PayPal.
UPDATE: You might be interested in reading Creative Commons, Copyrights, and Courtesy, a post added to Pointing to the Moon
