The commons belongs to us all

A picture of Black soul singer Isaac Hayes performing at the International Amphitheater in Chicago, taken by John H. White, is cropped into a rounded shape and layered with abstract green and pink shapes and a ring of black C's as part of Creative Commons' visual brand

"Black soul singer Isaac Hayes performs at the International Amphitheater in Chicago..." by John H. White, here remixed by CC, is in the public domain.

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.

Tools for building the commons

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.

Used by Wikipedia, Flickr, The Met, Khan Academy, and millions more globally!

About CC Licenses
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.

Join us in shaping what’s next

We steward the open infrastructure of sharing and contribute to a thriving creative commons with, and for, community.

Get Involved
A staff sergeant holds a cyber certification training course for youth

Photo by Tech. Sgt. R.J. Biermann, here cropped, is marked with CC0.

Celebrate CC’s 25th Anniversary

This year, Creative Commons marks 25 years of powering the world’s sharing—a quarter century of building the legal, technical, and social infrastructure that enables open knowledge, creativity, and collaboration worldwide. We invite you to celebrate with us—and to help shape the next chapter of the commons.

Join the celebrations
C's of different shapes in green, pink, and black are set in a grid with the CC logo and the number 25

Support CC In Style

Show your love for CC while supporting better sharing and open knowledge. Browse CC’s latest merch drop, with beanies, mugs, stickers, t-shirts, and more!

Shop CC Merch
black short sleeved t-shirt with a stylized CC logo on the upper left area of the shirt

Empowering access to knowledge

Whether through our CC Certificate courses, tailored facilitation, or legal office hours, we support organizations working to expand the global commons. Learn, collaborate, and lead with openness at the center.

Request Training or Consulting

Protecting the Commons in the Age of AI

If we want ethical and equitable AI, we must protect and nourish the commons it relies on. Learn about 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.

Explore AI And The Commons
A photo of a purple-blue sky over a lake surrounded by green trees, cropped into a boxy

"Trees Near Lake Under Blue Sky" via Pixabay, here cropped, is marked with CC0.

Support CC and stay connected

There are many ways to give. You can make a one-time donation or become a recurring donor by joining our Open Infrastructure Circle.

Support CC
A photo of two dancers lit on a dark stage, taken during a performance from the Spectrum Dance Theater in Dhaka

"Spectrum Dance Theater in Dhaka" from the U.S. Embassy Dhaka, here cropped, is in the public domain.

Recently from the blog

Attribution
  • A photo at the UNESCO House in Paris, France, during the Open Heritage Statement Exploratory Dialogue event in 2026.
    Photo by Anna Tumadóttir is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  • The words
  • The cover of the report Licensing Best Practices for Sharing Scientific Data with a dark-blue blog and stars made of C's as part of CC's visual brand.
  • A group of people standing in a room during a CC event.
    Photo by Sebastiaan ter Burg, licensed with CC BY 2.0.

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