Rights types available in eHive

About rights

Copyright laws exist to protect content creators’ rights to control how their original works are used, copied, adapted and disseminated. You are the copyright owner of original content in the records you create and upload to your eHive account. You can clearly state how eHive visitors may use this content by assigning a rights type to these records.

Before assigning rights types to your records it is important to establish whether the collection items your records describe are themselves subject to copyright restrictions. If this is the case, you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holder to publish an image of the item online and assign a rights type to the record that the copyright holder agrees with.

Copyright legislation differs by country or jurisdiction. For more information about your rights and responsibilities, please refer to the administrative body or legislation applicable to your region.

Standard rights types available in eHive

Listed below are the 11 standard rights types that you can assign to object records in eHive. They are listed from least restrictive to most restrictive. These include Creative Commons licences, which are only able to be assigned to works that you hold the rights to.

1. Public domain

Licence code: PD

This rights type covers items which are no longer restricted by copyright.

2. No rights reserved

Licence code: CC0

If you are a holder of copyright or database rights, you can use this public domain tool to waive all your interests in your work worldwide to the maximum extent permitted by law.

3. Copyright status unknown

Licence code: Unknown

The copyright holder for the content is unknown. Others may contact the eHive account holder (the organisation or individual who catalogued the content on eHive) if they know more information. The account holder is always displayed at the top of the record's detail page.

4. Orphaned work

Licence code: Orphaned

The account holder (the organisation or individual who catalogued the content on eHive) has conducted diligent research, but has been unable to identify or contact the rightsholder. Others may contact the eHive account holder if they know more information. The account holder is always displayed at the top of the record's detail page.

5. Creative Commons – Attribution

Licence code: CC-BY

This licence lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation.

6. Creative Commons – Attribution – Share Alike

Licence code: CC-BY-SA

This licence lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit you and licence their new creations under the identical terms. This licence is often compared to open source software licences. All new works based on yours will carry the same licence, so any derivatives will also allow commercial use.

7. Creative Commons – Attribution – No Derivatives

Licence code: CC-BY-ND

This licence allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to you.

8. Creative Commons – Attribution – Non-commercial

Licence code: CC-BY-NC

This licence lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to licence their derivative works on the same terms.

9. Creative Commons – Attribution – Non-commercial – Share Alike

Licence code: CC-BY-NC-SA

This licence lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and licence their new creations under the identical terms.

10. Creative Commons – Attribution – Non-commercial – No Derivatives

Licence code: CC-BY-NC-ND

This licence is the most restrictive of the six main Creative Commons licences, only allowing others to download your works and share them with others as long as they credit you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.

Under this licence the copyright holder reserves all the rights provided by copyright law, such as distribution, performance, and creation of derivative works. Others may not copy, re-use or modify the content without the permission of the copyright holder.