The idea underlying Creative Commons is that some people may not want to exercise all of the intellectual property rights the law affords them.

We believe there is an unmet demand for an easy yet reliable way to tell the world “Some rights reserved” or even “No rights reserved.” Many creators have long since concluded that all-out copyright doesn't help them gain the exposure and widespread distribution they want. Plenty of entrepreneurs and artists prefer to rely on innovative business models rather than full-fledged copyright to secure a return on their creative investment. Still others get fulfillment from contributing to and participating in an intellectual commons.

For whatever reasons, it is clear that many citizens of the Internet want to share their work — and the power to reuse, modify, and distribute their work — with others on generous terms. Creative Commons intends to help people express this preference for sharing by offering the world a set of licenses on our website, at no charge.

Learn more about Creative Commons here!

If you want to apply a Creative Commons license to your video, simply go to your video page and click Settings below the player. Click over to the Advanced tab, and scroll down to the “Creative Commons License” section, then select the license you want.

You can apply a license to all of your videos at once from your Global Video Settings.

Select your preferred license and click the Save as default button. Check "Also, apply to existing videos" to do just that.

No, you don't have to add Creative Commons licensing to your videos, but it is a great way to share and collaborate with others. Some Vimeans want to share their work — and the power to reuse, modify, and distribute their work — with others on generous terms. Creative Commons intends to help people express this preference for sharing by offering the world a set of licenses.

• Attribution – You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work — and derivative works based upon it — but only if they give credit the way you request.
• Share Alike – You allow others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs your work.
• Non-Commercial – You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your work — and derivative works based upon it — but for non-commercial purposes only.
• No Derivative Works – You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of your work, not derivative works based upon it.
• Public Domain Dedication – You let others copy, modify, distribute and perform your work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

You can also choose different combinations of these licenses. For more in-depth information including license deeds and legal codes, please visit the Creative Commons about page.

Yes! Enter your search term in the search bar on the top right of any page. From your search results, click the Show Advanced Filters button. Select a Creative Commons license under the License drop down menu, and your search results will automatically update.

This will help you easily find videos that you can use for projects and collaborations!

We give users the option to apply Creative Commons licenses to their own videos. While our Terms of Service prohibits users from uploading infringing content, we cannot guarantee that every user who uploads a video and applies a Creative Commons to it has all of the rights necessary to do so.

If the user does not possess all of the necessary rights in a video (or any content within the video), then the Creative Commons license will not be effective in regard to that content. Therefore, we suggest you exercise caution in using Creative Commons-licensed materials. You may want to send a private message to a member who has uploaded Creative Commons-licensed materials to learn more about the licensed content.

If you have reason to believe that a user has uploaded infringing content (e.g., a popular TV show or film), we encourage you to flag the video so a Vimeo moderator can review it.

Yes, it's always a good idea to contact the video maker if you want to use a video. Our members retain copyright of their works, and it's up to them what type of use they choose to allow.