> if a product is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0, can i copy it and adapt it to publish it under a new license and can i then choose the license in a way that it is possible to commercialize it?
ChatGPT said:

Under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, you can indeed copy and adapt the product, but there are some important restrictions and considerations.

Here’s the breakdown:
1. Copying and Adapting (Creating Derivatives):

    The CC BY-NC 4.0 license allows you to copy, modify, transform, or build upon the work, which means you can adapt it.

    However, you must still attribute the original creator as specified by the license. You can't remove or obscure their credit.

2. Choosing a New License for the Adapted Work:

    You are allowed to release your adapted version under a different license, but here’s the critical point: you cannot change the original license terms for the original work. This means:

        If you want to publish your adaptation, you must respect the non-commercial clause of the original CC BY-NC 4.0 license in your new work. So, your adaptation cannot be licensed in a way that allows commercial use unless the original license holder explicitly permits this.

    Essentially, you cannot commercialize the adaptation if the original work was licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0, because the "NonCommercial" term still applies to the original content.

3. Commercial Use:

    To commercialize your derivative work, you would need:

        Explicit permission from the original creator (via a separate agreement or licensing) to remove the NonCommercial clause, or

        The original work being licensed under a more permissive license (such as CC BY or CC0), or

        Alternatively, the original creator may offer a commercial license (or another arrangement).

In summary:

    Yes, you can copy and adapt the work, but you cannot commercialize it unless you get explicit permission from the original creator or the work is licensed under a more permissive license that allows commercial use.

    If the original license is CC BY-NC 4.0, your new license must still respect the NonCommercial restriction unless you have permission to override it.

Let me know if you need more clarity on any of these points!
You said:

> i am the creator of the original work myself. i want to grant only myself the right to commercialize the product. however, i do not want to invest too much work to write a new license so i still want to use the cc license chooser. 
ChatGPT said:

Ah, that makes things a bit clearer! Since you are the original creator, you have the flexibility to structure things exactly how you want.

If you want to grant yourself exclusive rights to commercialize the product, while still using the CC license framework, the CC BY-NC 4.0 license itself won't be ideal because it doesn’t allow for that kind of exclusivity directly—it broadly restricts commercial use for everyone.

But here's how you could approach it without needing to write an entirely new license from scratch:
1. Use a Custom License Amendment

    The simplest way to go about this while still using a CC license is to attach a custom amendment to the work. You can still use the CC BY-NC 4.0 license for the work, but in your case, you can add a statement like this in the terms:

        "This work is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0, except that the original creator (myself) retains exclusive rights to use the work for commercial purposes. Commercial use by others is prohibited without explicit permission from the creator."

    This way, you're still using the standard CC BY-NC 4.0 license for most users, but you're providing a clear exemption for yourself to commercialize the work. This lets you maintain the spirit of the Creative Commons framework, while granting yourself special rights.

2. Use the Creative Commons License Chooser (With a Custom Clause)

    You can still use the CC License Chooser to generate the base license and then add the custom clause on top. The CC License Chooser doesn’t let you specify individual rights like "only I can commercialize" directly, but you can customize the license after generating it by adding that exclusive commercial use clause I mentioned above.

3. Make Sure It's Clear

    To avoid any confusion, you should be explicit in the metadata or description of the work (whether it's on a website, in a README, or the licensing section) that while the work is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0, you, as the creator, reserve the right to commercialize it.

    For example:

        "This work is available for use under the terms of the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, but the creator retains the right to commercialize the work."

4. Creating a Commercial License (Optional)

    If you want a more formalized structure for commercializing it, you could also offer a separate commercial license that only applies to others who wish to use the work commercially, but this is optional if you only want to preserve your exclusive rights.

Why This Works

    The CC licenses, by design, are not meant to create complex, highly customized permissions, so the best way to achieve your goal is by combining the standard CC license with your own custom clause. The CC BY-NC 4.0 gives you a solid base, and the amendment makes sure your special rights are clear.

Let me know if you want help drafting a more formal statement or if you need clarification on the process!

> adapt the custom clause to grant me the exclusive right to grant other people the right of commercialization (not only me).
ChatGPT said:

Got it! If you want to grant yourself exclusive rights to commercialize the work, but also have the option to grant others the right to commercialize (i.e., you can grant others permission to use it commercially), you’ll need to slightly adjust the clause.

Here’s a suggested custom amendment to go along with the CC BY-NC 4.0 license:
Custom Clause for Commercialization Rights:

    "This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, except that the original creator (myself) retains the exclusive right to grant permission for commercial use of the work. Commercial use by others is prohibited unless explicitly authorized by the creator, who may grant commercial licenses to others at their discretion."

Key Points:

    You retain exclusive control over the right to authorize commercial use of the work.

    Others cannot commercially use the work without explicit permission from you, but you have the option to grant commercial use rights to others.

This keeps things aligned with your intent: you maintain control over commercialization but also have the flexibility to allow others to use the work commercially if you choose to grant them permission.
Example of How This Works in Practice:

    If someone contacts you and asks for permission to use the work commercially, you can grant them the right to do so through a separate agreement, but commercial use without your permission is prohibited.

Does this setup work for you, or would you like to adjust the language further?