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Building tools for shared knowledge

"Nine Inch Nails Corona Capital Mexico" by PraxMx, 2018, is marked CC0 1.0.

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Creative Commons is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and nurturing a commons of shared knowledge and culture that powers human creativity, equity, and innovation.

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The CC licenses and public domain tools give everyone, from individuals to large institutions, a standardized way to grant the public permission to use their work under copyright law.

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Four cropped photos, a toucan air balloon, a Tibetan painting of Chakrasamvara, a photo of a starry sky, and a photo of a party from the 50's are all layered with two electric-green — Top left: Photo by 1ffischer, here edited and cropped, is in the public domain. Bottom left: "Chakrasamvara with His Consort Vajravarahi," here cropped, is in the public domain. Top right: "Swinging Towards the Stars and the Sea" by Liza Chan, here cropped, is marked with CC0. Bottom right: Photo by Agnes Happen, here cropped, is marked with CC0.

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If we want ethical and equitable AI, we must protect and nourish the commons it relies on. Learn how we’re adapting to address sharing in the age of AI, from developing new frameworks like CC Signals, strengthening licensing guidance, and advocating for policies that keep access to knowledge open and equitable.

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"Anemone coronaria" by Zeynel Cebeci is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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A photo of the Crab Nebula taken by NASA — "Most Detailed Image of the Crab Nebula" taken by NASA is in the public domain.

Recently from the blog

Attribution

"Open Heritage Roundtable" by Dee Harris, 2026, is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
"Archiving the Present workshop" by Subhashish, 2026, is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Photo by Anna Tumadóttir, 2026, is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
"Moonlight in the Sahara" by Sergey Pesterev is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

From Reflection to Action: 8 Hot Takes from CC’s Open Heritage Roundtable
by Brigitte Vézina, Dee Harris Open Culture

"Open Heritage Roundtable" by Dee Harris, 2026, is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Five months after Creative Commons hosted an Exploratory Dialogue at UNESCO House that brought the international community together to consider the promise of equitable access to heritage, we returned to Paris with a smaller group of UNESCO Member State representatives and open heritage champions. This time, the conversation had a different purpose: moving from exploring why open heritage matters to underscoring the urgency of taking action to establish international standards.
What We Heard From the Creative Commons Community
by Jocelyn Miyara Community

"Archiving the Present workshop" by Subhashish, 2026, is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Openness & Digital Sovereignty: Who Sustains the Commons?
by Anna Tumadóttir Events, Open Knowledge, Technology

Photo by Anna Tumadóttir, 2026, is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
A Principled Approach as the Sands Shift
by Anna Tumadóttir Licenses & Tools

"Moonlight in the Sahara" by Sergey Pesterev is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.