noderivatives

NoDerivatives refers to a restriction used in certain Creative Commons licenses that prohibits others from distributing modified or derivative forms of the licensed work. When a work is licensed with a NoDerivatives condition (often shown as ND), it may be shared in its exact, unaltered form, but it may not be altered, transformed, or adapted in any way.

In practice, NoDerivatives is one of the four main conditions used in Creative Commons licenses. It can be applied alone or in combination with other conditions such as Attribution (BY), Non-Commercial (NC), or ShareAlike (SA). A work licensed with NoDerivatives may still be redistributed in its original state across different media or platforms, as long as proper attribution is provided and the terms of the license are followed.

What counts as a derivative depends on interpretation, but typically includes translations, remixes, adaptations, abridgments, or any modification that creates a new work based on the original. Reformatting or packaging without changing the content may still be allowed if the content remains unchanged, but any transformation that alters meaning, structure, or presentation would generally be considered a derivative.

NoDerivatives licenses are considered restrictive compared to permissions that allow modifications. They balance creator control with wide sharing by preventing modifications while permitting broad redistribution. Critics argue that ND can limit accessibility improvements, localization, and creative engagement, whereas proponents view it as a clear way to maintain the integrity of the original work while enabling broad exposure.