{"id":76838,"date":"2025-07-09T18:25:41","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T18:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/?p=76838"},"modified":"2025-08-28T17:29:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T17:29:14","slug":"recommended-licenses-and-tools-for-cultural-heritage-content","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/2025\/07\/09\/recommended-licenses-and-tools-for-cultural-heritage-content\/","title":{"rendered":"Recommended Licenses and Tools for Cultural Heritage Content"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"OceanHavsstrand<\/a> by Maurice Denis<\/a>. Public Domain. Swedish National Museum<\/a><\/figure>\n

Many people can benefit from open access to cultural heritage in a variety of ways and for a variety of purposes \u2014 from creators seeking inspiration to researchers discovering new interpretations, all the way to cultural heritage institutions (CHIs) connecting with more audiences, and the general public making sense of the world we live in. In our report <\/span>What are the Benefits of Open Culture? A new CC Publication<\/em><\/span><\/a>, we show how, by removing any distance between people and heritage, openness gives rise to a multitude of connections with, about, or through cultural heritage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The CC licenses and public domain tools are a simple and effective way for CHIs, such as museums, libraries and archives, to make heritage materials (and associated metadata) <\/span>open <\/span><\/i>so that they can be shared widely for the broadest possible access, use and reuse (including commercial use and modification), free of charge, and with no or few copyright restrictions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Navigating the right license or tool can be tricky, as CHIs may share a wide range of different types of materials. But if you remember only one thing, it\u2019s that <\/span>faithful digital reproductions of public domain materials must stay in the public domain<\/b><\/a> \u2014 no new copyright or related right applies to the digitized version. Public domain materials are materials that are no longer or never were protected by copyright.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a position that Creative Commons (CC) has been championing for years as part of our <\/span>Open Culture Program<\/span><\/a>. In other words, no new copyright (or related right) should arise over the creation of a digitized \u201ctwin.\u201d <\/span>Europeana<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>Communia Association<\/span><\/a>, among many other open culture organizations, share this position. It is also aligns with Article 14 of the 2019 <\/span>EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market<\/span><\/a>, which states that: \u201cwhen the term of protection of a work of visual art has expired, any material resulting from an act of reproduction of that work is not subject to copyright [\u2026]\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also important to remember that <\/span>digital reproductions of public domain works cannot be CC-licensed<\/b>, since CC licenses can only be used with in-copyright content. Instead, we recommend using a CC public domain tool, putting the digital reproductions squarely and unequivocally into the public domain. This not only conveys clear information about the public domain status of the materials, it also contributes to the thriving, blooming commons of knowledge and culture that we need to address the world\u2019s most pressing problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some CHIs might want to get credit for sharing heritage from their collections. It is not good practice to use a license in this case. Instead, there are different ways to encourage users to refer back to CHIs, as we explain in <\/span>Nudging Users To Reference Institutions When Using Public Domain Materials<\/span><\/a><\/em>. The guidelines offer a fresh and innovative approach to prompting users to reference the institution when using public domain materials and present various design ideas to instigate behavioral change. They address key questions, including:<\/span><\/p>\n