What does the Creative Commons CC symbol indicate?

• A. It means the work is in the public domain.
• B. It indicates the work is copyrighted and cannot be used.
• C. A license arrangement that allows others to use the creator's work under specified conditions.
• D. It marks a trademarked logo.

Answer: (C)

The CC symbol signals that the creator has granted permission to others to use the work under a license with specific conditions. It isn’t saying the work is in the public domain, and it doesn’t mean you can’t use it; it actually tells you you can use it, as long as you follow the rules of the particular Creative Commons license attached to it. Those rules can require things like giving attribution, not using it for commercial purposes, or allowing or disallowing changes or adaptations. Different licenses set different permissions, so you must check the exact license to know what you’re allowed to do. The symbol is a quick cue that a license is in place, guiding allowed uses under specified terms, rather than indicating full freedom or rule-out use.