Copyright and Creative Commons Licenses in Scholarly Publishing

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering copyright fundamentals, Creative Commons license types, proper attribution rules, and the distinctions between copyright violation and plagiarism in scholarly publishing.

Copyright

A legal concept that protects the ownership of research publications and grants the creator exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works.

License

A legal agreement that acts as a bridge between the copyright holder and the user, granting permission to use a copyrighted work under specific terms and conditions.

Creative Commons (CC)

A non-profit organization that developed a standardized licensing system allowing creators to share their work with specific permissions while maintaining proper attribution.

CC0

A public domain dedication under which a work is free to use, modify, and share without attribution, with both commercial use and derivative works permitted.

CC BY

The most permissive Creative Commons license, which allows users to freely use, modify, and share work for any purpose (including commercially) as long as appropriate credit is given.

CC BY-SA

The Attribution-ShareAlike license that allows users to use, modify, and distribute work (including commercially) provided credit is given and new creations are shared under the identical license.

CC BY-ND

The Attribution-NoDerivatives license that allows users to use and share work (including commercially) with attribution, but prohibits any remixing, alteration, or creation of derivative works.

CC BY-NC

The Attribution-NonCommercial license that allows users to freely use, modify, and share work with attribution, but forbids commercial use.

CC BY-NC-SA

The Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license that allows users to remix, transform, and build upon a work non-commercially with attribution, provided new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

CC BY-NC-ND

The most restrictive Creative Commons license, allowing users only to download and share the work with credit, while prohibiting both commercial use and any modifications.

PubMed Central (PMC)

A free, full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences literature maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine that supports open access and displays article copyright information.

Four Components of Ideal Attribution

The essential elements required when attributing reused Creative Commons material: title, author, source, and license.

Copyright Clearance Center

An external online platform where researchers can apply for permission and check applicable reuse fees to reproduce non-CC licensed journal materials when direct journal links are unavailable.

Research Data Repository

An online platform (such as Figshare, Zenodo, or Open Science Framework) where researchers store, preserve, and share datasets without financial barriers to promote open science.

Copyright Violation

A legal issue related to intellectual property rights involving the unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or use of copyrighted material without permission or legal justification.

Plagiarism

An ethical issue related to academic or professional integrity that involves presenting someone else's work, ideas, or words as one's own without proper citation and attribution.

Fair Use

A legal doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes such as criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.

One Nation One Subscription

A nationwide initiative in India under which $13030$ journals are subscribed to provide country-wide academic access.