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Posted on Friday February 6, 2015

Updated on Thursday September 28, 2023

Legal standards Cultural Heritage Institutions Rights-statements Rightsstatements-org Copyright

Understanding the rights statements used by Europeana

Rights statements express the copyright status of a digital object and provide information about how someone can  re-use the object. This page outlines and offers training on the rights statements you can apply to the data you share with Europeana. It is the second of three blocks of training, and is followed by Training on how to select an accurate rights statement. We encourage you to read the page Training on how to identify and clear copyright in collection items before going through this one.

Learning Goals

By reading through this page and testing your knowledge through the quizzes linked below, you will:

  • Understand why standardised rights information is important

  • Have an overview of the various options of rights statements that Europeana works with

  • Understand the differences between Creative Commons licences, Creative Commons tools and Rights Statements by the Rights Statements Consortium

  • Understand the various features of Creative Commons licences, Creative Commons tools and Rights Statements by the Rights Statements Consortium

Take the quizzes after reading through the relevant information. The answers are treated anonymously.

Section 1 - Introduction to rights statements

Europeana receives data from thousands of institutions in various countries. They all share rights-related information about the data they share in different ways. If we want to ensure that users who visit Europeana reuse the material in research, education, or other, we have to make it simple for them to understand the reuse possibilities.

That is why we use rights statements (meaning Creative Commons Licences, Creative Commons Tools, and Rights Statements by the Rights Statements Consortium). Rights statements express the copyright status of a digital object and provide information about if and under which conditions it can be reused. They give information about rights in clear and simple language and are machine readable.  As mandated in our Data Exchange Agreement, every digital object must be published with a rights statement identified by our partners. 

Europeana uses 14 standardised rights statements. The standardised rights statements that you can choose from when providing content to Europeana are either Creative Commons licences and tools or Statements from the Rights Statements consortium, more specifically:

Europeana encourages the use of Creative Commons Licences and Tools as much as possible to facilitate the reuse of digital cultural heritage. When they are not suitable, for example because the providing institution cannot legally apply them, Rights Statements by the Rights Statements Consortium should be used. 

We strongly recommend 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.

Below you can see our list of the 14 available rights statements for Europeana. After you have looked at all of the options, you can read our guidance on Selecting a Rights Statement.

For a complete overview of the rights statement URIs accepted by Europeana partners should consult this list.

Test your knowledge and take a quiz

Section 2 - Creative Commons Public Domain Tools

Creative Commons tools should be used on works that are in the public domain or that want to be dedicated to the public domain.

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 and the Digital Object are waived, and theys can be used by anyone without any restrictions.

The Public Domain Mark (PDM)

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

  • How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is: <edm:rights rdf:resource=">

Section 3 - Creative Commons Licenses

Creative Commons Licences should be applied to works that are in copyright and for which the rightsholder wants to authorise some reuse. A cultural heritage institution can only apply a CC licence if it holds all of the rights. 

Europeana accepts old Creative Commons licence versions 1.0, 2.0, 2.1, 2.5, 3.0 with or without localised ports, and the most recent 4.0 version, which is the recommended choice for our partners.

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 creator as described in the licence. CC BY is recommended to enable access, discovery and use of licensed works.

  • How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is: <edm:rights rdf:resource=""/>

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 creator as described in the licence, and licence their adaptations 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=""/>

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

The CC BY-ND licence lets others redistribute the work, and to make commercial and non-commercial use of the work as long as no alteration is made to the work and the creator 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=""/>

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 creator 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=""/>

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 creator of the work under the terms specified in the licence, and licence new creations under identical terms.

  • How do I apply this statement in my metadata? The URI to use in your metadata is: <edm:rights rdf:resource=""/>

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 creator as specified in the licence, but users cannot change the work in any way or use it commercially.

Section 4 - Rights Statements by the Rights Statements Consortium

Rights statements are standards that can be used by any cultural heritage institution to acknowledge and inform of a specific copyright situation on digital objects that they make available online. Rights Statements are not licences. They are not a tool that only those who have the rights can apply. 

Rights Statements were created by the Rights Statements Consortium to respond to a need from cultural heritage institutions who did not have sufficient standardised tools to express rights information online. They were designed to complement Creative Commons Licences and Tools: so that only when these are not suitable for a specific situation, Rights Statements are used. 

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

The NoC-NC statement is applied to public domain works 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 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/vo... "/> 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 works 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 the 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=""/>

In Copyright (InC)

The InC statement is for use with in-copyright works 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 for which you do want or you are not authorised to allow re-use.

  • 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=""/>

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted (InC-EDU)

The InC-EDU statement is for use with in-copyright works for which 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=""/>

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

The InC-OW-EU statement is for use with works that have been identified as an Orphan Work in line with the requirements of the national law implementing the Orphan Works Directive.

  • What else do I need to know? This rights statement can only be used for works for which a diligent search has been undertaken and if it has been registered with the 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=""/>

Copyright Not Evaluated (CNE)

The CNE statement is for use with works where the copyright status has not been evaluated. The use of this rights statement in the context of Europeana is discouraged. We encourage you to undertake a copyright evaluation before making works available online.

  • What else do I need to know? Before applying this statement please consult with the Europeana 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=""/>
Test your knowledge and take a quiz
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