Creative Commons Licenses

The default. Nobody can use your poem without asking first.

This is the standard copyright that applies to all creative work automatically. If someone wants to publish, perform, or share your poem, they need to submit a permission request through Power Poetry. You approve or deny each request individually.

Best for: Poets who want full control over every use of their work.

Anyone can use your poem if they credit you by name.

This is the most open Creative Commons license. Anyone can share, copy, perform, remix, or even use your poem commercially — as long as they give you credit as the original author. They don’t need to ask permission first.

Best for: Poets who want their work to spread as widely as possible.

Same as CC BY, plus anyone who remixes your work must share under the same license.

Like CC BY, but with one extra rule: if someone creates something new based on your poem (a remix, a song, an adaptation), they have to release their version under the same CC BY-SA license. This keeps the sharing going.

Best for: Poets who believe in open creative collaboration.

Free for non-commercial use with credit. Commercial use needs your permission.

Teachers can use your poem in class. Someone can read it at an open mic. A student can include it in a school project. All without asking. But if a publisher wants to put it in a book they’re selling, or a company wants to use it in an ad, they need to request permission through Power Poetry first.

Best for: Poets who want to share freely but protect against commercial exploitation. This is the most popular CC license for creative work.

Non-commercial use with credit, and remixes must use the same license.

Combines the non-commercial restriction with the share-alike requirement. Free for educational use, readings, and non-commercial sharing. Any remixes or adaptations must also be non-commercial and use the same license.

Best for: Poets who want non-commercial sharing with a strong copyleft requirement.

Anyone can share your poem with credit, but they can’t change it.

People can copy and share your poem freely (even commercially) as long as they credit you and share the whole poem without changes. No remixing, no cutting stanzas, no adaptations. Your words stay exactly as you wrote them.

Best for: Poets who want their work shared but not altered.

You give up all rights. Anyone can do anything with your poem.

CC0 is the most permissive option. You’re saying: this poem belongs to everyone. No credit required, no restrictions. Anyone can use it for any purpose. This is irreversible for the poems you’ve already shared under CC0.

Best for: Poets who see their work as a gift to the world. Think of it like releasing a poem into the wild.