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All content on this site is licensed under the Creative Archive licence.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Licence FAQs
What is the Creative Archive Licence?
Why don't you use a Creative Commons Licence?
What is attribution and how do I do it?
What about teaching?
What if I come up with a good commercial idea?
Why is it restricted to the UK?
What is the Creative Archive Licence?
The Creative Archive Licence contains the legal rules that you must comply with in order to use the materials in the Creative Archive. You can find much more information on the licence here.
Why don't you use a Creative Commons Licence?
The Creative Archive Licence is heavily inspired by the Creative Commons Licences. However, public service organisations within the UK have additional requirements that need to be reflected in the terms under which they licence material. The two most obvious of these are the UK only requirement and the No Endorsement requirement.
What is attribution and how do I do it?
Attribution is another way of saying "giving credit". The Creative Archive Licence requires that you attribute or credit the sources of material you have used in your work.
How you credit your sources depends on what it is that you make and how you present it. For example, if you make an audio mashup and put it on your website for download, then you might want to add a short introduction or conclusion that tells people that you made it and names the source material. If you put it into a presentation then you might want to add a slide that names your sources.
If you are making a video you will probably have a credit section and you can simply add the sources into your credits.
Remember you shouldn't forget yourself in all this - you are part of the creative process as well! To make it easier for the next person, who might want to credit you, include yourself in the attribution section wherever you have added your own materials.
What about teaching?
Teachers in the educational establishments listed in the Annexe to the licence are welcome to use resources from the Creative Archive for teaching purposes. We would love to see examples of any learning packages you create. But don't forget that neither you nor your school or college can sell it onwards. If you think you have created a potentially commercial product, then the licensors and/or authors may be interested in discussing a commercial licence with you.
What if I come up with a good commercial idea?
A great creative idea can sometimes lead to a great commercial idea. If you want to use the material from the Creative Archive for a commercial project then you need to get in contact with the content sources (this is where the attribution section is really useful!) You'll need to ask permission and probably negotiate an agreement to use the material for commercial purposes. Remember that the Creative Archive Licence only allows you to use the material for non-commercial purposes - you must ask permission to use the material in any other way.
Why is it restricted to the UK?
The delivery of content in the Creative Archive is paid for by the organisations who supply it. They are funded with public money to serve the UK population, and therefore they are restricted from subsidising services to overseas audiences.