CC BY 4.0 vs CC BY-SA 4.0: what is the difference?
Last updated
TL;DR: CC BY 4.0: commercial use, modification, redistribution: Yes. CC BY-SA 4.0: the same uses: Yes. CC BY 4.0: Share and adapt the material for any purpose, including commercially, as long as you give credit, link the license and say if you changed it. CC BY-SA 4.0: Share and adapt for any purpose, including commercially, with credit; adaptations you share must carry the same or a compatible license.
Is cC BY 4.0: commercial use, modification, redistribution allowed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International?
Yes. Every use you described is granted by CC BY 4.0, and nothing you described is prohibited.
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0, curated)
Duties: attribution, license_notice, state_changes, no_additional_restrictions
Is cC BY-SA 4.0: the same uses allowed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International?
Yes. Every use you described is granted by CC BY-SA 4.0, and nothing you described is prohibited.
License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC-BY-SA-4.0, curated)
Duties: attribution, license_notice, state_changes, no_additional_restrictions, share_alike
How do CC-BY-4.0 and CC-BY-SA-4.0 compare?
The table lists each license's duties and notes side by side.
| License | Duties | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CC-BY-4.0 | attribution, license_notice, state_changes, no_additional_restrictions | The grant is non-sublicensable: every recipient receives the license directly from the licensor (section 2(a)(5)). You may not apply legal terms or technical measures that restrict recipients from exercising the licensed rights (section 2(a)(5)(C)). |
| CC-BY-SA-4.0 | attribution, license_notice, state_changes, no_additional_restrictions, share_alike | The grant is non-sublicensable: every recipient receives the license directly from the licensor (section 2(a)(5)). You may not apply legal terms or technical measures that restrict recipients from exercising the licensed rights (section 2(a)(5)(C)). |
Combined in one work: compatible.
What else should I know?
- The duties differ: compare the duties and notes listed for each license below.
What are the sources?
How can I check it myself (free, no key)?
{
"tool": "check_license",
"arguments": {
"license": "CC-BY-4.0",
"intended_use": {
"commercial_use": true,
"modification": true,
"redistribution": true
}
}
}Computed from a2ally's license profiles; not legal advice. JSON · Markdown
Get a free API key in one call
No card and no email needed. 100 free credits; the license and policy checks stay free without a key.
curl -s -X POST https://www.a2ally.com/v1/accounts/signup -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"accept_terms":true}'
export A2ALLY_API_KEY=rs_... # the api_key from the reply (shown once)
curl -s https://www.a2ally.com/v1/licenses/check -H "Authorization: Bearer $A2ALLY_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"license":"MIT","intended_use":{"commercial_use":true}}'
