One asserts rights; the other grants permissions under rights that are still held.
A single C in a circle asserts copyright. Two C shapes mark a Creative Commons licence — which grants specific permissions while the creator keeps their copyright. A CC badge does not put a work in the public domain, and it does not tell you what you may do on its own: the condition marks beside it carry the terms.
A single C in a circle asserts copyright; two C shapes mark a licence granting permissions under it. A CC badge does not waive copyright.
Drawn from the visual attributes recorded for each symbol. Only traits the two records disagree about are listed.
| Trait | Copyright symbol | Creative Commons logo |
|---|---|---|
| Symmetry | vertical | none |
| Copyright symbol | Creative Commons logo | |
|---|---|---|
| What it asserts | Rights are reserved | A licence grants specific permissions |
| Copyright retained | Yes | Yes — a licence is not a waiver |
| Tells you what you may do | No | Only with its condition marks |
| Public domain | No | No — see CC0 for that |
| Relationship (from Symbolwise's records) | Commonly confused with Creative Commons logo — A single C in a circle asserts copyright; two C shapes mark a licence granting permissions under it. A CC badge does not waive copyright. | Commonly confused with Copyright symbol — A single C in a circle asserts copyright; two C shapes mark a licence that grants permissions under that copyright. The Creative Commons badge does not waive copyright. |
Encyclopaedia Britannica · retrieved 2026-07-26
Universal Copyright Convention (1952)
WIPO Lex · retrieved 2026-07-26
Creative Commons — About the licences
Creative Commons · retrieved 2026-08-01
The issuing body's own published deed. Authoritative for what the licence permits and requires, and for the mark that denotes it. It is not legal advice, and it says nothing about whether a given work is validly licensed — only what the licence means if it is.
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for identity, origin and current use, not for the legal effect of any licence — that is taken from the issuing body's own deed.
© covers creative works and generally applies automatically on creation. ™ and ® both cover brand marks, but ™ asserts an unregistered claim anyone may use, while ® is legally restricted to marks actually registered with a trademark office — using ® without registration is unlawful in many jurisdictions.
The contactless indicator is four nested arcs and marks a payment card or terminal. The N-Mark is a wave-like capital N, is a trademark of the NFC Forum, and marks where to tap a device for near-field communication generally. The underlying radio technology overlaps, which is why the two get used interchangeably even though the marks belong to different bodies.
Both are drawn as arcs radiating from a point, which is why they are confused. The Wi-Fi mark fans upward from a dot at the base and indicates a wireless network. The contactless mark lies on its side, opening to the right, and indicates that a card or terminal supports tap payment. Orientation is the reliable tell.
Between two quantities, two level strokes assert that they are equal. Enclosed in a circle on a licensed work, the same two strokes are the no-derivatives condition: the work may be shared, but modified versions may not be distributed. Adapting it privately is not restricted — the condition is about sharing the result.