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Creative Commons

Creative Commons licenses provide a standard way for content creators to grant someone else permission to use their work. YouTube allows users to mark their videos with a Creative Commons CC BY license. These videos are then accessible to YouTube users for use, even commercially, in their own videos via the YouTube Video Editor.

Attribution is automatic under the CC BY license, meaning that any video you create using Creative Commons content will automatically show the source videos' titles underneath the video player. You retain your copyright and other users get to reuse your work subject to the terms of the license.

Creative Commons on YouTube

The ability to mark uploaded videos with a Creative Commons license is available to all users.

The standard YouTube license remains the default setting for all uploads. To review the terms of the standard YouTube license, please refer to our Terms of Service.

Because Creative Commons licenses are for your original content, you cannot mark your video with the Creative Commons license if there is a Content ID claim on it.

By marking your original video with a Creative Commons license, you are granting the entire YouTube community the right to reuse and edit that video.

What's eligible for a Creative Commons license

Please understand that you may only mark your uploaded video with a Creative Commons license if it consists entirely of content licensable by you under the CC BY license. Some examples of such licensable content are:

  • Your originally created content
  • Other videos marked with a CC BY license
  • Videos in the public domain
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