Most open textbooks will be licensed under a Creative Commons license. These licenses permit varying levels of reuse, adaptation, and distribution rights.
Below is a chart to help you navigate what the licenses mean.
All licenses permit linking to, downloading, copying, and using the book provided you give credit to the original author.
License |
Commercial use ok? |
Can modify and adapt? |
CC BY |
Yes. |
Yes. So long as you provide credit to the author. |
CC BY SA |
Yes. |
Yes. Provided new work is also licensed CC BY SA and you provide credit to the author. |
CC BY NC |
No. |
Yes. So long as you provide credit to the author. |
CC BY ND |
Yes. |
No. |
CC BY NC SA |
No. |
Yes. Provided new work is also licensed CC BY NC SA and
you provide credit to the author.
|
CC BY NC ND |
No. |
No. |
Still unsure about the usage and adaptation rights of a particular book? Contact us.