Information about what copyright licences are and how to choose the right licence for your output.

What is a copyright licence? 

Copyright law enables the owner to decide how and if others can use the work. To reproduce or make a work publicly available, a party may need to obtain permission from the work’s owner if no statutory limitation applies. Such permission from the owner is called a ‘licence’. The disclaimer "all rights reserved" serves to make clear that no permission is given in advance for reproduction and publication.

A licence may be subject to terms. For example, the licence may be limited to a field of use, territory, royalty obligation or lump-sum payment. In addition, the licence may or may not be exclusive, transferable, sublicensable, or limited in duration. In commercial relationships, payment of a fee or royalty is often part of the licensing terms. Standard terms are sometimes used to grant a licence, of which Creative Commons is a well-known example.

An exclusive licence can be provided only by a written contract or deed. Even after exclusive licensing, the original author still holds the moral rights as well as several rights pursuant to Copyright Contract Law (e.g., to make the work available under the Taverne amendment). 

What does ‘All rights reserved’ mean?

“All rights reserved” means that the copyright of a creation belongs to the creator (the copyright holder). Since a creation automatically has copyright protection, including “all rights reserved” serves as a formality only, and is a reminder that permission is required before using the work.

What is a Creative Commons licence? 

A Creative Commons licence is a licence that consists of a set of standardised conditions. With a CC licence, the owner of a work’s copyright grants general permission to reproduce the work and make it publicly available, provided the conditions stated in the licence are met.
 
A work without a CC licence may still be made publicly available under open access. 
 
The author of a work can choose from 6 different Creative Commons Licences: CC BY, CC BY-SA, CC BY-ND, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-SA and CC BY-NC-ND. The letter pairs indicate the applicable licence terms. The figure below gives an overview of what each licence allows. For more information about the licences, visit the website Creative Commons, or check the Guide to Creative Commons for scholarly publications and education resources. 
 
Note that only the copyright owner has the right to put a CC licence on the work. Learn how to license materials in Marking your work with a CC licence. 

Creative Commons licenses by Foter (CC-BY-SA)

Why choose a CC licence? 

Many public funding agencies demand or recommend making research output available under a CC licence. A CC licence not only makes the work freely available but also allows others to redistribute the material under the licence terms. A CC licence may be useful for teachers who want to share teaching materials such as videos or assignments. Please note that only the copyright owner is allowed to put a CC licence on the work. 

What CC licence should I choose for educational materials?

If you would like to make your education materials available under a CC licence, WUR’s Open Educational Resources policy recommends using the CC BY-NC licence. With this licence, others are allowed to use your publication as they see fit, provided that they correctly cite and reference your publication and use it non-commercially.

If you have valid reasons, you may choose another CC licence. When choosing a CC licence, keep the aim of the publication in mind. Please do not put the CC-0 on your work, because this means you would waive your copyright!

Note: WUR owns the copyright on educational materials created by its employees. Read the knowledge article about ownership for more information. As a teacher, you are allowed to place a CC licence on a work for WUR.

What CC licence should I choose for research articles? 

If you are required or if you would like to make your research article available under a CC licence, we recommend checking the project’s contract or funding policies. These documents will indicate which licence is needed. The licence choice usually depends on ownership, access rights and publication. 

If the CC licence is not stipulated in the contract, you can ask others in your group what they do, ask the project leader or Science Group Director, or contact the legal department of your science group. 
 
If you may choose a CC licence, keep the aim of your publication in mind. All CC licences require the user to correctly cite and reference.

• If you want others to be allowed to do what they want with your publication, choose the CC-BY licence. 
• If you want others to be allowed to do what they want with your publication but NOT for commercial purposes, choose the CC-BY-NC licence. 
• If you want others to be allowed to do what they want with your publication as a whole (no derivatives) and NOT for commercial purposes, choose the CC-BY-NC-ND licence. 
• Please do not put the CC-0 on your work, because this means you would waive your copyright! 

Is Open Access publishing equal to using a CC licence on your article?

No, publishing an article Open Access is not necessarily the same as using a Creative Commons (CC) licence on a scientific article. Open Access refers to the article being freely available to read online without financial or subscription barriers. A CC licence, however, defines the specific permissions granted to others regarding the reuse, distribution, or modification of the content. While many Open Access publications adopt CC licences to clarify usage rights, their use is not mandatory. Always check the copyright statement of an Open Access published article to know what you can do with the article.

How does choosing a CC BY-NC or CC BY-NC-ND impact my ownership?

When publishing a scientific article open access, authors generally retain copyright over their work and apply an open licence that states the conditions for reuse by others. This is usually a Creative Commons (CC) licence. 

In some cases, authors unknowingly transfer the right to manage the licence to their publisher. This happens if they select a CC BY-NC or CC BY-NC-ND licence for an article and sign the “License to Publish” agreement before publication. In this agreement, authors give up the right to commercially reuse or adapt their work. This is not always clearly communicated by publishers that issue this kind of licence. Before signing a License to Publish, be sure that you understand what you are signing. When in doubt, ask the Copyright Information Point for help. Read more about this issue in the Guide to Creative Commons for Scholarly Publications and Educational Resources. 

What are good alternatives if I don’t want to transfer the right to manage my article to the publisher? 

1. Publish your scientific article with another CC licence, such as CC BY. If you do this, you can manage the licence, and anyone can freely use the article provided that they give credit to you as the author. 
2. If you want to protect data (or a model, an image, etc.) in a publication, you can choose to deposit it in an independent data repository, such as Zenodo, 4TU ResearchData or DANS. Apply a CC BY-NC, CC BY-ND, or CC BY-NC-ND licence to the work, depending on your needs. Then publish the article under a CC BY licence and reference the object previously deposited in the repository in the article.

If you have questions about selecting an appropriate licence or about a publisher’s contract, contact the Copyright Information Point.

Can I put a Creative Commons licence on my initially closed article if I open it through the Taverne Amendment?

No, this is not possible. The Taverne Amendment allows you to share your short scientific work, but does not entitle you to grant a CC licence to others. 
 
However, if you own the copyright on the article and you did not provide an exclusive licence to a publisher, you are allowed to put a CC licence on your work. 

Which CC licence should I choose for a WUR report? 

WUR has developed guidelines for copyright licences for WUR Reports. The recommended choice is CC BY–NC-ND. If otherwise agreed, other copyright choices are also allowed. There is a flowchart available to guide you to the correct copyright choice for your WUR report. 

Which CC licence should I choose for research data?

Information about choosing a CC licence for research data can be found in the knowledge article Licences for research data.

Can I prevent the reuse of my work under a CC licence? 

The answer depends on the situation: 

1. If your work, such as a scientific article (or other research output) that you have published under a CC licence, is re-used and all licence terms have been respected, there is nothing you can do from a copyright perspective. In some exceptional cases, the nature of the publisher or the context and use of the article may be unlawful and cause reputation damage. If you need advice on potential reputation damages, please contact your science group's legal advisors. 
2. If your work, such as a scientific article (or other research output) that you have published under a CC licence, is re-used and one or more licence terms are violated, please contact the CIP. We will advise you how to proceed and will assist you in contacting the person/organisation violating the licence terms. 

What should I include about copyright when publishing?

If you are allowed to publish and share your research output publicly, please: 

1. Determine who owns the copyright. In most cases, this is not the researcher. More information can be found in the knowledge article about ownership of works.
2. Determine if you are allowed to publish and share the publication in a repository. Check the project contract, funding policies, or ask the project leader, the legal department of your science group or the science group director.
3. Decide what information to include in the publication's disclaimer. If you are allowed to publish and share the publication, you have the following three options for a disclaimer:
   • Provide no copyright information: the publication is still copyright protected, and people may not copy or publish your publication without permission. There are, however, several exceptions. For instance, citing is allowed as well as private use of your note, or the use of parts of the note in education. 
   • State “all rights reserved”, who owns the copyright and the year of publication: the publication is copyright-protected, and people may not copy or publish your publication without permission. There are, however, several exceptions. For instance, citing is allowed, as well as private use of your note, or the use of parts of the note in education.
   • State who owns the copyright, year of publication and include a general licence that allows for reproduction and (re)publication of your work by third parties. This can be done through a CC licence or by writing your own licence.

Questions & support

Do you have questions about copyright, or would you like personal support? Feel free to contact us. You can send an email to the Copyright Information Point.