The two public domain CC tools and how they are different from CC licenses

The Public Domain Tools

In addition to the CC license suite, CC also has two public domain tools represented by the icons below. These public domain tools are not equivalent to licenses:

CC0 enables creators to dedicate their works to the worldwide public domain to the greatest extent possible. While some jurisdictions do not allow creators to dedicate their works to the public domain, CC0 has other legal mechanisms included to allow distribution with few or no conditions. You might also see this tool being used by museums, libraries or archives. This doesn’t mean they are claiming copyright over those works, but rather they are waiving all possible rights they might have in other jurisdictions to the reproductions of those works.^[1]

The Public Domain Mark is a label used to mark works known to be free of all copyright restrictions. Unlike CC0, the Public Domain Mark has no legal effect when applied to a work. It serves only as a label to inform the public about the public domain status of a work and is often used by museums, libraries, and archives working with very old works. Unlike CC licenses and CC0, which require the license holder to apply the license or legal tool, anyone can apply the Public Domain Mark to a work known to be in the public domain.^[2]

How these tools differ from CC licenses:

CC licenses (like CC BY, CC BY-SA, etc.) allow creators to retain certain rights while giving others permission to use their work under specific conditions (such as attribution, non-commercial use, etc.).
In contrast, CC0 and the public domain dedication tools remove all rights and place the work in the public domain, giving users complete freedom to use, adapt, or distribute the work without any limitations or requirements (such as attribution).
These public domain tools are therefore a more permissive alternative compared to CC licenses, as they don’t impose any conditions on the use of the work.^[3]

Key points:

• CC materials do not reside in the public domain; the creator still retains legal ownership of the work (unless applying CC0 which enables creators to give up their copyright).
• When a work enters the public domain, it is no longer protected by copyright. This means anyone can use, copy, modify, or distribute the work without needing permission or paying royalties.
• A work typically enters the public domain when its copyright term expires (e.g., 70 years after the death of the author in many jurisdictions) or if the creator explicitly dedicates it to the public domain, such as through the Creative Commons Zero CC0 license.

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