Europeana uses 14 standardised rights statements which communicate to users how they can access and use the content you share. As mandated in our Data Exchange Agreement, every digital object must be published with a rights statement identified by our partners. 

The statements give users information about rights and permissions in clear and simple language. If you’ve decided to share your content openly, for example, you’ll want to communicate it clearly and effectively to users.

The standardised rights statements that you can choose from when providing content to Europeana are either Creative Commons licenses and tools or Statements from the Rights Statements consortium.

Before you get started

Before you apply rights statements, you should know:

• The list of available rights statements will be updated from time to time. See the change log for pro.europeana.eu /available-rights-statements
• All Creative Commons licences and legal tools can only be applied by, or with the permission, from the rights holder.
• It is strongly recommended that you refer to the Creative Commons website to understand the full definitions and legal code. This will help you decide if a Creative Commons licence is the most suitable rights statement for your object.

The rights statements

The list of 14 available rights statements for Europeana.

The Public Domain Mark (PDM)

The Public Domain Mark (PDM) is applied to Digital Objects which are no longer protected by copyright. Objects that are labelled as being in the public domain can be used by anyone without any restrictions.

• What else do I need to know?
  • The Europeana Public Domain Charter asserts that all content that is in the public domain must be labelled accordingly by applying the PDM.
  • When displaying the PDM, Europeana will also link to Europeana Usage Guidelines for public domain works.
• When I use this statement, what information does the user see? The user will be directed to: http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
• How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is: <edm:rights rdf:resource="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"/>

No Copyright - non commercial re-use only (NoC-NC)

The NoC-NC statement is applied to public domain Digital Objects which have been digitised as an outcome of a public-private partnership, where the terms of the contractual agreement limit commercial use for a certain period of time.

• What else do I need to know?
  • This rights statement may only be used for digital representations of objects where such contractual agreements exist.
  • In addition, data providers should, where publicly available, publish the first calendar year in which the Digital Object can be used by third parties without restrictions on commercial use, as noted in the contractual agreement.
• When I use this statement, what information does the user see? The user will be directed to: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/
• How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is <edm:rights rdf:resource=http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ "/> Please contact the ingestion team to get advice on how to supply expiration dates

No Copyright - Other Known Legal Restriction (NoC-OKLR)

The NoC-OKLR statement is for use with public domain Digital Objects that are subject to known legal restrictions other than copyright which prevent their free re-use.

• What else do I need to know?
  • This rights statement may only be used where legal restrictions in the country of origin of the data provider apply.
  • In addition, data providers must provide a link to a page detailing the legal restrictions that limit re-use of the object.
• When I use this statement, what information does the user see? The user will be directed to http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-OKLR/1.0/
• How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is: <edm:rights rdf:resource="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-OKLR/1.0/"/>

The Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication (CC0)

CC0 is used to waive all the rights in a Digital Object. By applying this waiver, all possible existing rights in the content are waived, and the objects can be used by anyone without any restrictions.

• When I use this statement, what information does the user see?  The user will be directed to: http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
• How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is: <edm:rights rdf:resource="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"/>

Creative Commons - Attribution (BY)

The CC BY licence lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed work, even commercially, as long as they attribute the rights holder as described in the licence. CC BY is recommended to enable access, discovery and use of licensed works.

• When I use this statement, what information does the user see?  The user will be directed to: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is: <edm:rights rdf:resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"/>

Creative Commons - Attribution, ShareAlike (BY-SA)

The CC BY-SA licence lets others remix, tweak and build upon the licensed work, even for commercial purposes, as long as they attribute the rights holder as described in the licence, and license their adaptions of the work under the same terms. All new works based on the original licensed work will carry the same licence, so any derivatives will also allow commercial use. .

• When I use this statement, what information does the user see?  The user will be directed to: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is: <edm:rights rdf:resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"/>

Creative Commons - Attribution, No Derivatives (BY-ND)

The CC BY-ND licence allows for redistribution, including commercial and non-commercial use of the work as long as no alteration is made to the work and the rights holder is attributed according to the specifications of the licence.

• When I use this statement, what information does the user see?  The user will be directed to: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
• How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is: <edm:rights rdf:resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/"/>

Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

The CC BY-NC licence lets others remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed work for non-commercial use. Any new works created and based on your work must be attributed to the rights holder as specified in the licence, and may be available for non-commercial use only.

• When I use this statement, what information does the user see?  The user will be directed to: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
• How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is:<edm:rights rdf:resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"/>

Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, ShareAlike (BY-NC-SA)

The CC BY-NC-SA licence lets others remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed work for non-commercial use as long as they attribute the rights holder of the work under the terms specified in the licence, and license new creations under identical terms.

• When I use this statement, what information does the user see?  The user will be directed to:http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
• How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is: <edm:rights rdf:resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/"/>

Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (BY-NC-ND)

The CC BY-NC-ND licence is the most restrictive of the six Creative Commons licences, only allowing others to download the licensed works and share them with others as long as they attribute the rights holder as specified in the licence, but users cannot change the work in any way or use them commercially.

• When I use this statement, what information does the user see?  The user will be directed to: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is: <edm:rights rdf:resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"/>

In Copyright (InC)

The InC statement is for use with in copyright Digital Objects which are freely available online and where re-use requires additional permission from the rights holder(s).

• What else do I need to know? This rights statement should be used for objects where any re-use is subject to additional permission from the rights holder(s), or you do want or you are not authorised to allow re-use of the Digital Object.
• When I use this statement, what information does the user see?  The user will be directed to http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
• How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is: <edm:rights rdf:resource="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"/>

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted (InC-EDU)

The InC-EDU statement is for use with in copyright Digital Objects which are freely available online and where the rights holder(s) have allowed re-use for educational purposes only.

• What else do I need to know? This rights statement should be used where the rights holder has authorised the use of the object for educational purposes.
• When I use this statement, what information does the user see?  The user will be directed to: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
• How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is: <edm:rights rdf:resource="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/"/>

In Copyright - EU Orphan Work (InC-EU-OW)

The InC-EU-OW statement is for use with Digital Objects that have been identified as an Orphan Work in the country of first publication and in line with the requirements of the national law implementing Directive 2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan works.

• What else do I need to know? Can only be used for works for which a diligent search has been undertaken and if it has been registered with the National competent authority.
• When I use this statement, what information does the user see?  The user will be directed to: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-OW-EU/1.0/
• How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is: <edm:rights rdf:resource="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-OW-EU/1.0/"/>

Copyright Not Evaluated (CNE)

The CNE statement is for use with Digital Objects where the copyright status has not been evaluated.

• What else do I need to know? Before applying this statement please consult with the ingestion team.
• When I use this statement, what information does the user see?  The user will be directed to: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/
• How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is: <edm:rights rdf:resource="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/"/>