Be sure to check out our Open Course Resource Center for information on how to reuse and adapt our materials for a variety of uses.
All of our course outlines -- that is, the courses with all the learning materials subtracted -- can be reused by anyone, anywhere, under the CC BY license (see below).
We do not own most of the learning materials that we use in our courses, but we try to use open materials wherever possible.
Below is an explanation of the various licensing you may encounter throughout our courses. Although we strive for accuracy, you should verify copyright and licensing for yourself before reusing any materials.
Creative Commons License Suite Founded in 2001, Creative Commons issued its first set of licenses the following year. These are intended to make it easier for copyright holders to extend specific usage rights to their audience. Six basic licenses are offered:
BY (Attribution)
BY-SA (Attribution – Share Alike)
BY-NC (Attribution – Non-Commercial)
BY-ND (Attribution – No Derivatives)
BY- NC-SA (Attribution – Non-Commercial – Share Alike)
BY-NC-ND (Attribution – Non-Commercial – No Derivatives)
GNU License Suite GNU is an organization sponsored by the Free Software Foundation; GNU has produced a number of licenses relating to software. Some of our materials make use of the following:
GPL GNU’s General Public License is used for many software packages, as well as other items.
GFDL The GNU Free Documentation License is a form of copyleft intended for use on a manual, textbook or other document to assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without modifications, either commercially or non-commercially.
DSL The Design Science License is a form of copyleft intended for use on source data to grant permission to distribute, publish or otherwise present verbatim copies of the entire work, in any medium, provided that full copyright notice and disclaimer of warranty, where applicable, is conspicuously published on all copies, and a copy of the license is distributed along with the work. The DSL license was written by Michael Stutz.
Academic Permission These are materials that can only be reproduced or distributed for academic or teaching purposes. The licensors often intend audience and distribution to be limited to a classroom or a private website.
Non-Commercial Permission These are materials that can only be reproduced or distributed for non-commercial purposes, as specified by the copyright holder.
Standard Permission These are materials that the Saylor Academy has received the right to host through the outreach of our Permissions Initiative. However, please note that these materials are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced or distributed in any capacity without explicit permission from the copyright holder.
All Rights Reserved We do link to materials that we do not own and do not have permission to modify or host.