Licenses #
A license specifies the conditions under which other people may reuse published observation data and photos. The creator retains copyright unless CC0 is selected. Observation and photo licenses are independent: changing one does not change the other.
Why is a license needed if a record is private? #
A private record remains private. Choosing a license does not publish the record, change its visibility, or give anyone access. Privacy determines who may see the record, while the license determines what may be done with the data or photo after the creator deliberately shares it.
A license becomes useful, for example, when:
- a record or photo is published to iNaturalist; the selected license defines further reuse, and compatible observation-data licenses allow data to be shared with scientific partners such as GBIF;
- in the future, a user publishes their own records and photos on a personal website;
- several creators work on one project or shared database and authorship and reuse rules need to be clear;
- the creator provides data for a report, scientific publication, export, or another system — the license can travel with the data and reduces the need to agree on terms separately each time;
- the creator wants to require attribution or limit commercial use or adaptations in advance.
ENTOMONE defaults #
- Observation license — Default (CC BY): observation data may be copied, shared, and adapted, including commercially, with attribution.
- Photo license — Default (CC BY-NC): photos may be copied and adapted with attribution, but only for noncommercial purposes.
The selected value is saved as a profile setting. When observation data are published, ENTOMONE sends the observation license to iNaturalist. iNaturalist assigns the license of a newly uploaded photo from the connected account's default photo setting; the standard iNaturalist default is CC BY-NC. Keep the iNaturalist account setting aligned with your choice. A settings change does not automatically modify licenses of material already published.
Abbreviations #
- BY — Attribution: credit must be given to the creator.
- NC — NonCommercial: commercial use requires separate permission.
- SA — ShareAlike: adaptations must be shared under the same license.
- ND — NoDerivatives: only the unadapted version may be shared.
Available choices #
| License | What other people may do |
|---|---|
| CC BY | Copy, share, and adapt, including commercially, with attribution. |
| CC BY-NC | Copy, share, and adapt noncommercially, with attribution. |
| CC BY-SA | Copy, share, and adapt, including commercially, with attribution; adaptations must use the same license. |
| CC BY-NC-SA | The same, but for noncommercial uses only. |
| CC BY-ND | Copy and share the unadapted work, including commercially, with attribution. |
| CC BY-NC-ND | Copy and share the unadapted work noncommercially, with attribution. |
| CC0 | Reuse without conditions to the fullest extent allowed by law; the creator waives rights as fully as possible. |
| (c) All rights reserved | No general reuse permission; separate permission is required except where the law provides an exception. |
Do not apply a Creative Commons license to material you do not have the right to license. A license cannot be withdrawn from someone who already reused the material in compliance with its terms. This is practical information, not legal advice.
More information #
- Official Creative Commons license overview
- Official CC0 overview
- Licenses on iNaturalist
- How iNaturalist observations are shared with GBIF