As a Ph.D. student, I've learned that understanding copyright licenses is crucial in the world of academic publishing. When it comes to using papers that have been published, the type of license associated with the paper can have a significant impact on what you can and cannot do with the content.

1. Understanding published
papers licensing:
Copyrights and Creative
Commons for Research and
Academic Use
Sarasadat Makian
A Guide for PhD students and Early Career Researchers

2. 1️⃣ Attribution (CC BY)
Allows: Others can distribute, remix,
and build upon your paper, even for
commercial purposes.
Requirement: They must credit you for
the original work.
Ideal for: Maximizing dissemination and
use of your paper.
Sarasadat Makian

3. 2️⃣ Attribution ShareAlike (CC BY-
SA)
Allows: Others can remix and build upon
your paper, even commercially, but they
must credit you and use the same
license for derivatives.
Ideal for: Encouraging collaborative and
open projects.
Sarasadat Makian

4. 3️⃣ Attribution-NoDerivs (CC BY-
ND)
Allows: Reuse for any purpose, including
commercial use, but no adaptations.
Requirement: Credit to you is
mandatory.
Ideal for: Preserving the integrity of
your work.
Sarasadat Makian

5. 4️⃣ Attribution-NonCommercial (CC
BY-NC)
Allows: Non-commercial remixing and
building upon your paper.
Requirement: Credit you, but they can
license derivative works differently.
Ideal for: Protecting your work from
commercial use.
Sarasadat Makian

6. 5️⃣Attribution-NonCommercial-
ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA)
Allows: Non-commercial remixing with
the requirement to share derivative
works under the same terms.
Ideal for: Collaborative non-commercial
projects
Sarasadat Makian

7. 6️⃣Attribution-NonCommercial-
NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)
Allows: Only downloading and sharing
with credit, no changes, and no
commercial use.
Ideal for: Strictly controlling use and
distribution.
Sarasadat Makian

8. Public Domain
If a paper is in the public domain,
it means there are no copyright
restrictions on it, and you can use
it for any purpose without
limitations. However, it's essential
to verify the public domain status,
as this can vary depending on the
country and circumstances.
Sarasadat Makian

9. Open Access
Papers published under open-
access models might have various
licensing options. Some may allow
free use and redistribution, while
others may have specific terms
and conditions.
Sarasadat Makian