Overview of CC BY 4.0 International
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) is one of the most widely implemented open licenses in the world.
It permits licensees to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) for any purpose, including commercial endeavors. The single primary obligation imposed upon users is Attribution: giving appropriate credit, providing a link to the license, and indicating if changes were made.
Permission Summary by Use Case
| Use Case | Status | Practical Rule & Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial Use | Allowed | Advertising campaigns, digital publishing, video production, and commercial apps |
| Logo & Brand Mark | Allowed | Permitted in logos, with credit typically accommodated in corporate colophons or credits |
| Web Embedding | Allowed | Deploying as web fonts with attribution preserved in CSS comments or site acknowledgments |
| App Embedding | Allowed | Bundling font assets within client software, listing credits in legal notice screens |
| Modification & Derivatives | Allowed | Generating subsets or custom glyph variants, provided alterations are documented |
| Redistribution | Conditional | Permitted as long as creator attribution and license links remain intact |
| Standalone Sale | Allowed | Permitted under the terms of CC BY 4.0 |
The Four Requirements of Proper Attribution
To fulfill CC BY 4.0 requirements, include the following four elements in your product acknowledgments or documentation:
- Creator / Author Name: The named copyright holder or pseudonym
- Title of the Font: The formal family name of the typeface
- License Identifier & Link: "CC BY 4.0" linking to the official deed
- Indication of Modifications: Stating whether glyph data or file structures were altered
Official Source Text & Citations
- Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 Official Deed: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- CC BY 4.0 Full Legal Code: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
