CC-BY-2.0 is the 2004 attribution license for content, not code. Credit the author. Commercial use is allowed. Prefer CC-BY-4.0 for new work.
On this page
What it does
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic lets you copy, adapt and commercially use a work if you give attribution in the way version 2 describes. It is not a software license. You will still meet it on Flickr-era photos, older Wikimedia files and datasets that never moved to 4.0. Keep the credit visible. Do not treat it as MIT for program code.
Pros
- Easy to drop into a closed, paid product. Procurement has seen this family many times.
- No copyleft on your own files. You keep your source private.
Cons
- The notice duty is easy to miss in a desktop, mobile, or container build. A web page is not a substitute for notices inside the artifact.
- Transitive copies in the lockfile count. Listing only direct dependencies leaves notices out.
What it allows and requires
Choose a category to see the full grant in one scannable list. Permissions show what the license allows, limits show what it withholds, and obligations show the conditions your release process must satisfy.
Permissions
Commercial use
Commercial use is allowed. CC-BY and OFL do not ban selling a product that includes the work.
Modify
You may adapt the work, within the license's share-alike or non-commercial limits if those apply.
Distribute
You may share copies of the original and, where allowed, of your adaptations.
Limits
Hold liable
The authors disclaim warranty. Recipients cannot hold them liable for damages arising from the software, except where law forbids that disclaimer.
Use trademark
The license is not a trademark license. Names, logos and product marks stay with their owners unless a separate grant says otherwise.
Obligations
Give credit
Give the credit the license asks for, in a reasonable manner, without implying endorsement.
What CC-BY-2.0 requires when you ship
When a copy that includes CC-BY-2.0 code leaves your company, the grant is broad and the paperwork is easy to miss. Distribution here means an installer, a mobile binary, a container image, or an SDK another team embeds. Work this list against the artifact you actually hand over, not against a README. A hosted service that never gives out a copy still belongs on the record, but the notice duty does not fire until a copy exists.
You meet the notice condition when each CC-BY-2.0 component's copyright line and license text appear in the material the recipient actually gets.
You are done for a hosted service that never hands out a copy. Running the software for users over a network does not, by itself, trigger a notice duty.
You are covered for a desktop, mobile or on-premise build when the notices sit inside the artifact. An about screen or a bundled licenses file both work.
The duties named in CC-BY-2.0
The license text itself is short. These are the named conditions. They follow the code, including files you vendor into your own repository and transitive packages in the lockfile.
Give credit
Give the credit the license asks for, in a reasonable manner, without implying endorsement.
Things to be aware of
- Reading CC-BY-2.0 as no obligations at all and shipping a binary with no notices in it. Put the notices in the artifact you hand over.
- Deleting the license header when you copy one or two files into your own repository. The condition follows the code, not the package it came in.
What the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 does not do
Search results often flatten Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 into a slogan. These are the usual misreads. CC-BY-2.0 is a grant with conditions, not a permission to skip the paperwork below.
- CC-BY-2.0 does not mean no obligations. The copyright line and the license text still have to travel with copies you distribute.
- CC-BY-2.0 does not force you to open your own source. There is no copyleft here unless a later clause in this text says otherwise.
How CC-BY-2.0 differs from nearby licenses
These licenses are often confused with CC-BY-2.0, but their release duties differ. Each row summarizes what the license requires when you ship. Open the linked page for the full checklist.
- CC-BY-2.0
- CC-BY-2.0 is the 2004 attribution license for content, not code. Credit the author. Commercial use is allowed. Prefer CC-BY-4.0 for new work.
- CC-BY-3.0
- The older Creative Commons Attribution license. The same deal as 4.0, with a stricter credit form and national ported versions.
- CC-BY-4.0
- Credit the creator and you may use the work commercially. The credit may sit anywhere a user can reasonably find it.
- CC-BY-SA-4.0
- Use it commercially, but anything you build on it stays under the same license. This is where Stack Overflow snippets bite.
Common questions about Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
Answers to common questions about what Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 requires, when its duties apply, and what evidence belongs with a release.
What is the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0?
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic lets you copy, adapt and commercially use a work if you give attribution in the way version 2 describes. It is not a software license. You will still meet it on Flickr-era photos, older Wikimedia files and datasets that never moved to 4.0. Keep the credit visible. Do not treat it as MIT for program code.
What does CC-BY-2.0 require when you ship a product?
You meet the notice condition when each CC-BY-2.0 component's copyright line and license text appear in the material the recipient actually gets. You are done for a hosted service that never hands out a copy. Running the software for users over a network does not, by itself, trigger a notice duty. You are covered for a desktop, mobile or on-premise build when the notices sit inside the artifact. An about screen or a bundled licenses file both work.
Does CC-BY-2.0 require me to open my own source?
CC-BY-2.0 does not force you to open your own source. There is no copyleft here unless a later clause in this text says otherwise.
How do I attribute CC-BY-2.0 in a product I ship?
Attribution for CC-BY-2.0 means the copyright line and the license text travel with every copy a recipient actually gets. That can be an about screen, a licenses file inside the installer, or a notice in the container image. A public page helps a buyer audit the inventory. It does not replace notices inside the artifact. If you copied files into your own repository, the header on those files still has to stay.
Is a website notice enough for CC-BY-2.0?
No. CC-BY-2.0 talks about copies. A public attestation page is the honest list for procurement. The condition is met when the notices sit in the material you hand over. Put them in the installer, the about screen, or a licenses file inside the binary, then keep the same texts on the page.
Do transitive CC-BY-2.0 dependencies count?
Yes. The condition follows the code, not the package you chose by name. If the lockfile pulled in CC-BY-2.0 transitively and you distribute that tree, those notices travel too. Listing only direct dependencies is how teams miss the duty.
How is CC-BY-2.0 different from Creative Commons Attribution 3.0?
CC-BY-2.0 asks this: CC-BY-2.0 is the 2004 attribution license for content, not code. Credit the author. Commercial use is allowed. Prefer CC-BY-4.0 for new work. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 asks this: The older Creative Commons Attribution license. The same deal as 4.0, with a stricter credit form and national ported versions. Open the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 page for what that license requires when you ship. Do not treat the SPDX ids as interchangeable because the short names look similar.
Where do I record CC-BY-2.0 for a buyer?
CC-BY-2.0 is a notice license in the catalog, so a component under it needs license text attached before it counts as live on your published page. SourceTrust fetches the published artifact, extracts the license file, and compares that text against the declared SPDX id. A match fills the text in. Every other outcome waits for a person. The stored text is what your page and each export file carry.
Where do I record CC-BY-2.0 for a buyer?
CC-BY-2.0 is a notice license in the catalog, so a component under it needs license text attached before it counts as live on your published page. SourceTrust fetches the published artifact, extracts the license file, and compares that text against the declared SPDX id.
A match fills the text in. Every other outcome waits for a person.
The stored text is what your page and each export file carry. Read /docs/auto-fetch-license for how the fetch works.
See also
The hub is the pillar for this cluster. Sibling licenses are the other spokes. Product FAQ links explain how SourceTrust records the duty, not the license text itself.
Practical guidance for procurement review, not legal advice. Confirm high-stakes use with counsel.