The option of presenting authors with the opportunity to assign a Creative Commons License (CCL) to a dissertation or thesis is now available. Authors will be able to select one of the six CCL codes using the ProQuest ETD Administrator.

The CCL assignment applies to the version of the manuscript deposited in an institutional repository or library server. Authors can assign and revise their CCL selection prior to submission to the university. ProQuest will deliver the author’s CCL license selection in the metadata (xml files) that is delivered to the university.

Please note that the Creative Commons License selection does not apply to ProQuest’s use of the student’s dissertation or thesis. ProQuest’s use of a student’s work is governed by the ProQuest Publishing Agreement that the student accepts during the submission process.

For information regarding Creative Commons licensing, please see the Creative Commons web page at: creativecommons.org/share-your-work.

ProQuest License Options

No Creative Commons License
Attribution: Allows others to distribute, remix, tweak and build upon your work, even commercially as long as they credit you for original creation. This is the most accommodating of the licenses offered. Recommended for maximum dissipation and use of licensed materials.
Attribution-NoDerivs: This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to you.
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareALike: Allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under identical terms.
Attribution-ShareALike: Allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under identical terms. This license is often compared to “copyleft” free and open-source software licenses. All new works based on yours will carry the same license, so all derivatives will also allow commercial use. This is the license used by Wikipedia and is recommended for materials that would benefit from incorporating content from Wikipedia and similarly licensed projects.
Attribution-Noncommercial: Allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs: This license is the most restrictive of our six main licenses, only allowing others to download your works and share them with others if they credit you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.

Copyright and Creative Commons