Creative Commons Assets in Client Deliverables: License Types and Attribution

Creative Commons images, icons and illustrations can be useful when you build client-branded workbooks, slide decks and social graphics from white-label materials. But “Creative Commons” is not a single license. Each CC license has its own conditions, and some of them do not fit commercial client work at all. Before you add a CC-licensed asset to a deliverable, check which license applies and how to credit it.

This is general information to help you ask the right questions, not legal advice.

The Six CC Licenses at a Glance

Creative Commons publishes six licenses. All of them include the BY element, which means credit to the creator is required. The other elements change what you can do:

CC BY: commercial use and adaptations allowed.
CC BY-SA: commercial use and adaptations allowed, but adaptations must be shared under the same or a compatible license.
CC BY-ND: commercial use allowed, but no adaptations.
CC BY-NC: adaptations allowed, but no commercial use.
CC BY-NC-SA: no commercial use, and adaptations must use the same or a compatible license.
CC BY-NC-ND: no commercial use and no adaptations.

Creative Commons defines noncommercial as not primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or monetary compensation. Paid client work and products for sale will usually fall outside that definition, so assets with NC terms are generally a poor fit for agency deliverables.

Points That Matter for Client Work

ShareAlike Can Affect the Whole Deliverable

If you adapt a BY-SA asset, your adaptation must carry the same or a compatible license. That may not suit a client who expects to control how their materials are shared. Using SA assets only in unmodified form, or avoiding them, is often simpler.

No Derivatives Means No Editing

ND licenses do not allow adaptations. Cropping or recoloring an ND image to match a client’s palette may count as an adaptation, so check before you edit.

Public Domain Tools Are Different

CC0 and the Public Domain Mark are not licenses with conditions in the same way. Creative Commons’ attribution guidance notes that attribution is not a legal obligation for CC0 or Public Domain Mark works, though it still recommends crediting the source where reasonable.

How to Credit CC Assets

Creative Commons recommends including four elements, often remembered as TASL:

Title of the work, if one is provided.
Author, using the name the creator asks for.
Source, ideally a link to the original page.
License, named specifically and linked to the license deed.

It also advises against writing only “Photo: Creative Commons,” since Creative Commons is not the author, and against hiding credits only in file metadata or alt text. For printed materials, include full URLs. If you adapted the work, say so and credit the original.

A Quick Checklist

Record the exact license for every CC asset you use.
Avoid NC assets in paid client work and products for sale.
Do not edit ND assets.
Think carefully before adapting SA assets.
Add TASL credits on a credits page and keep a copy in the project files.

If a client has specific questions about a license, they should check with a qualified attorney.