Creative Commons

All original Nova Scotia Health-created content is automatically protected by copyright. This includes, but is not limited to:

• patient education materials
• standards and guidelines
• education and training resources
• reports 
• policies

We are often approached by other health authorities / external organizations for permission to reuse or adapt the content we have created.

Creative Commons (CC) licences provide a standardized way for us to grant that copyright permission.

Creative Commons licences offer a flexible way for Nova Scotia Health to share and reuse content while retaining copyright. These licences allow organizations to control how their work is used, encourage collaboration and innovation, and avoid the complexities of individual permissions for each use.

Creative Commons licences can:

• Increase Impact: By licensing our work under Creative Commons, we make it easier for others to use and build upon our content, expanding the reach and potential impact of our work. Sharing the groundbreaking work done at Nova Scotia Health can help to improve healthcare nationally and even globally.
• Encourage Collaboration and Innovation: CC licences enable collaboration by providing clear guidelines for reuse and adaptation. This facilitates the development of new projects, research, and creative works based on the original content, fostering innovation and knowledge sharing.
• Streamline Content Management: CC licences simplify content management and distribution by offering a standardized way to grant permissions. They eliminate individual permission requests for every use. 
• Protect Intellectual Property: While allowing for reuse, CC licences also ensure that Nova Scotia Health retains copyright. Licences specify how a work can be used, providing a degree of control over its distribution and adaptation. We recommend using CC BY-NC-SA or CC BY-NC-ND
• Provide Legal Certainty and Clarity: CC licences are legally sound and widely recognized, providing a clear framework for both licensors and licensees. The licences are designed to be enforceable, offering a degree of legal protection for organizations and users alike.
• Improve Cost-Effectiveness: CC licences are free to use, making them a cost-effective way for organizations to manage and share their work. 
• Demonstrate Commitment to Openness: Using CC licences signals our commitment to openness, transparency, and collaboration, which helps build trust and engagement with patients, the public and other healthcare organizations.

References

Creative Commons. (n.d.). Copyright Policy. https://creativecommons.org/about/policy-advocacy-copyright-reform/.

Creative Commons. (n.d.). Statement of Enforcement Principles. https://creativecommons.org/license-enforcement/enforcement-principles/

Lee, S. (2025). Unlocking Creative Commons: A comprehensive guide to Creative Commons in digital cultures. Number Analytics. https://www.numberanalytics.com/blog/ultimate-guide-to-creative-commons

Before deciding to apply a Creative Commons licence to your content, ask yourself:

• Have you consulted with your manager/leadership team and received approval to use a CC licence?
• Is the material an original creation of Nova Scotia Health?
  • Was it adapted in whole or in part from another source? If so, a CC licence might not be appropriate unless the original was also released under a CC licence that allows adaptation.
• Are there any third-party/partner authors or creators? For example, if the resource was created in partnership with the IWK or with the Provincial Government, all parties would have to agree to implement the CC license.
• Does the resource contain any third-party licensed content, including images and graphics? If so, this content must be clearly identified as NOT falling under the CC license.
• Does the resource contain any identifiable patient information? If so, a CC licence is not appropriate.
• Is the resource something other organizations may want to reproduce or adapt? If so, a CC licence will simplify the process.
• Do you understand that assigning a CC licence means that your work can be reproduced by anyone, without asking your permission, providing they comply with the terms of the licence?
• Do you understand that CC licences cannot be revoked? If you assign a CC licence to a version of your work, you can't change your mind later. 
• Do you have a method for tracking which of your resources have been CC-licensed? 
• Do you plan to monetize your work at a later point? If so, you may not want to assign a CC licence. Even though it is technically possible to monetize a different version of the work, the CC-licensed version will always be free to use. Updates or added content are unlikely to make the cost worthwhile to potential buyers.
• Do you have a plan to regularly review and update the content to ensure its accuracy and that it reflects current best practice? Updated version of resources should also be CC-licensed, for consistency and to encourage use of up-to-date information. Note: Resources should be housed in one location only and shared by link. Use the same link when content is replaced and archive outdated content.

Content Creators at Nova Scotia Health, who are comfortable sharing their materials without granting explicit permission each time, and who have the permission of their management team, may choose to share their content under one of two Creative Commons licences:

1. Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike 4.0 (CC BY-NC-SA)
2. Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivatives 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND

Use CC BY-NC-SA:

• when there is no need to limit adaptations
• to provide other jurisdictions permission to remix, adapt and build upon Nova Scotia Health's work for their local needs

Examples: Practice support, education and training resources, standards, guidelines

Use CC BY-NC-ND

• when adapting the information could lead to misinterpretation, confusion or inaccurate information

Examples: Network reports, evaluations, guidelines, standards, presentations about Nova Scotia Health programs or initiatives

See Understanding CC Licences for more information.

Whenever you assign a Creative Commons licence to your Nova Scotia Health content, you must include the applicable licensing statement/disclaimer from the templates provided below.

These statements have been reviewed and approved by Nova Scotia Health Legal Services and provide important information about how the content can be used/adapted by a third party.

Our licensing statements include:

• A suggested citation for Nova Scotia Health (optional for shortened versions)
• A copyright statement (e.g. ©2025 Nova Scotia Health Authority)
• The appropriate CC licence icon
• The licence statement, which outlines the terms under which licensed materials can be used and includes a link to the appropriate licence page on the Creative Commons website
• A disclaimer-of-liability statement

Use the templates below to copy/paste the disclaimers into your content. Please read the following instructions before use.

If you use content created by other organizations or individuals (third-party content) in your Creative Commons licensed publication, you must indicate clearly that this content does not fall under the terms of your licence.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• free-to-use images
• content that is in the Public Domain
• content that you or the organization has paid for or has a licence to use (e.g. Getty Images)
• content that you have received permission to adapt
• other Creative Commons licenced content (even if it uses the same licence, it must be attributed to the original author)

Note: This applies to resources with terms of use that are either more or less restrictive than the CC licence you have chosen.

Examples:

This video is embedded as permitted by YouTube's Terms of Service. It is not licenced CC BY-NC-SA.

View the licensing statement on the Common Symptoms page of the Using Antibiotics Safely guide for examples of how to:

• attribute content that you have adapted from another CC BY-NC-SA publication.
• provide a blanket statement marking 3rd-party content that came from a single source.

Download this customizable spreadsheet to help your department keep track of its Creative Commons licensed publications.

Customize this checklist, developed by the Nova Scotia Health, Primary Health Care & Chronic Disease Management Network, to guide content developers, project teams, and leaders through the process of assigning Creative Commons licences to original Nova Scotia Health content.