This text was rescued from the old Creative Commons wiki where it was licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license. Full author details can be found in the copy of the XML export. Excluding spam and spam reversion, the authors were Jonathan Mitchell, Mattburrows, and Evan Prodromou. The primary author was Evan Prodromou in this mailing list post. The new wiki has a page by this title with different content.

I think it might be useful to get some response from Mia or others at CC about some common "commercial" uses. Here's some possible uses to compare against the NonCommercial licenses, and consider whether they comply or not. I've put my ideas about compliance in square brackets afterwards.

Reminder: the concept of 'commercial' in the generic v.2 licence is "primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or private monetary compensation"; but there is an exception for "exchange for other copyrighted work" if there is no "payment of any monetary compensation". The phrase "directed towards" is probably a synonym for "intended for". The phrase "private monetary compensation" is legalese for "payment".

In practical terms, there are thus two questions: (1) Is the use primarily intended for commercial advantage? (2) Is the use primarily intended for payment? The intent examined is that of the user. It is only straightforward exchange for other copyright work (but not exchange for anything else) that is explicitly excluded, but it it is hard to see non-wholesale exchanges for other items without money changing hands generating a 'yes' to either question.

(Assume that the parties are otherwise compliant -- say, by giving attribution and license notification.)

• A publishing company downloads a by-nc 2.0 book from the Internet, makes a print run of 100,000 copies, and sells it in bookstores across the country. [no]

• An individual downloads a by-nc 2.0 book on her computer and reads it. [yes]

• An individual downloads a by-nc 2.0 book on her computer, prints it on her printer, and reads the printed version. [yes]

• An individual downloads a by-nc 2.0 book on her computer and emails the file to a friend. [yes]

• ...and shares it with the world on her Web site. [yes - but might be "no" if website is a commercial site - eg, it run ads or has usage fee; this would depend on whether the 'use' (the sharing) was 'primarily intended for or directed towards commercial advantage'; but if payment was demanded for access to the book, this is certainly commercial ]

• ...and shares it with the world through a P2P network. [yes]

• An individual downloads a by-nc 2.0 book on her computer, prints it on her printer, and gives it to a friend. [yes]

• ...and lets the friend use her printer and computer to print it himself. [yes]

• ...and sells the printed copy to a friend for the cost of materials (paper, toner, electricity, ...). [yes]

• ...and sells the printed copy to a friend for the cost of materials, plus her time in finding and printing the book. [no]

• ...and sells the printed copy to a friend for the cost of materials, plus her time in finding and printing the book, plus a 10% profit. [no]

• ...and trades the copy with a friend for another printed book. [yes ]

• ...and trades the copy with a friend for a blender. [yes, because this is obviously not 'primarily intended for commercial advantage' and there is no payment (disagreeing with previous 'no')]

• An individual downloads a by-nc 2.0 book on her computer and prints it on her printer. She takes it to her local photocopy shop and makes a copy herself, which she gives to a friend. [yes]

• ...and pays the staff of the photocopy shop to make a copy for her, which she gives to her friend. [yes for her, it might be said to be "no" vis a vis the photocopy shop as they have commercial intent and receive payment; but are they users under the License?]

• ...and pays the staff of the photocopy shop to make 100 copies for her, which she gives to all her friends and family. [yes - but see above]

• A photocopy shop has a computer by the front desk. You can browse by-nc 2.0 books you like on the computer, and then pay the photocopy staff to make a printed copy of one or more for you. [no - due to commercial intent of photocopy shop]

• A photocopy shop has a Web site. You can browse books you like on the Web site, and then fill out an online form for the book you want. The shop then FedExes you a copy. [no - see above]

• A photocopy shop downloads a by-nc 2.0 book and makes 100 copies, which they put in a display by the front door. You can buy a copy from them at the counter. [no]

• ...which they put in a display by the front door. You can take as many as you want. [unclear: are they doing this because they 'intend commercial advantage? If for example they do this simply because as citizens they agree with the politics of the book and wish to see it more widely read at their own expense, then yes ( disagreeing with previous no - see comments above.]

• ...which they put in a display by the front door. The cover says, "Courtesy of the Fakename Copy Shop." [again unclear, or no - see above]

• ...which they put in a display by the front door. You can take one free with any purchase of $10 or more. [no]

• ...which they donate to a local children's literacy program. [yes - but "no" if they take a tax deduction for this]

• ...which they donate anonymously to a local children's literacy program. [yes - but see above re tax deduction]

• An individual downloads a by-nc 2.0 book on her computer and and shares it with the world on her Web site. Every download costs $0.99. [no]

• ...and shares it with the world on her Web site. People have to pay $5.95 a month to get a membership to the "downloads" section of her Web site. [no]

• ...and shares it with the world on her Web site. Payments aren't required, but she has banner ads on every page. [unclear; is this 'primarily intended for commercial advantage'? If she has no commercial interest in this, it wasn't; even if she does, what is her 'primary intent?]

• ...and shares it with the world on her Web site. Payments aren't mandatory, but she has a "Support this site!" Paypal donation link on the every page. [again unclear; is it her 'primary intent' to maximise her donations? (disagreeing with previous no)]

• An elementary school teacher downloads a by-nc 2.0 play from the Internet. Her drama class performs the play for the rest of her school during an assembly. [yes - but could be "no" if its a private school trying to offer more services at reduced price - via cost avoidance]

• Her drama class performs the play for parents, charging $7 per ticket. [no]

• A local theater company performs a by-nc 2.0 play, charging $3 per ticket. [no]

• A local theater company performs a by-nc 2.0 play for free to the schoolchildren at an assembly. [yes]

• A local theater company performs a by-nc 2.0 play for free to the schoolchildren at their theater. [yes - but might be "no" if they charge for concessions, parking, etc. But it seems unlikely that their 'primary intent' in performing the play is payment if this is simply to recoup costs]

• A costume company downloads and prints a number of scripts for by-nc 2.0 plays. They rent the printed scripts to teachers. [no]

• A costume company downloads and prints a number of scripts for by-nc 2.0 plays. If elementary school teachers rent costumes for the play, they get to use the scripts for free. [no]

• A photocopy shop downloads a by-nc 2.0 image of a bee from the Internet. They put it in advertisements in the local paper, saying, "Bee Smart! Use Fakename Copy Shops!" [no]

• A Girl Scout troop downloads a by-nc 2.0 image of a bee from the Internet. They put up flyers in their neighborhood: "Bee nice! Don't litter!" [yes]

• ... "Bee nice! Buy Girl Scout Cookies!" [no, if anyone is courageous enough to suggest that their 'primary intent' is 'commercial advantage or payment! Otherwise yes]

• ..."Bee nice! Don't litter! (Brought to you by Girl Scout Troop 45, who make those delicious cookies)" [as previous]

• ..."Bee nice! Donate money to the Girl Scouts!" [no]

• ..."Bee nice! Donate your time to the Girl Scouts!" [yes; time is not 'monetary compensation'; it is 'non-monetary compensation' (disagreeing with previous 'no - due to cost avoidance')]

• An individual downloads "Eastern Standard Tribe" (a by-nd-nc 2.0 book) on her computer. She pays a vanity press to make 100 bound copies, at her expense, which she then distributes to friends and family as gifts. [yes - but could be "no" if cost avoidance intended (note; unclear how could be no)]

• An individual downloads "Eastern Standard Tribe" (a by-nd-nc 2.0 book) on her computer. She has a personal vendetta against Cory Doctorow dating to a cocktail party in 1997. So she painstakingly makes 100,000 bound copies by hand, which she then distributes freely, glutting the market. Doctorow is bankrupted. [yes; but likely to be no if she did so not because of personal vendetta but from business rivalry]

• An individual downloads "Eastern Standard Tribe" (a by-nd-nc 2.0 book) on her computer. She has a personal vendetta against Cory Doctorow dating to a cocktail party in 1997. So she pays a vanity press to make 100,000 bound copies, at her expense, which she then distributes freely, glutting the market. Doctorow is bankrupted. [yes - but see comments above. Also, would be "no" vis a vis printer and they print with commercial intent (see examples above)]

• Fakename Publishers download "Eastern Standard Tribe" (a by-nd-nc 2.0 book), printed by their arch-rival. They make 100,000 bound copies which they distribute freely, glutting the market. Doctorow and his publisher are bankrupted. [probably no; if their primary intent is to obtain commercial advantage by putting a competitor out of business, then clearly no; if it is advertising themselves, the same]

• A non-profit children's literacy group downloads a copy of a by-nc 2.0 book. Staff makes 100 copies on the group's copy machine, which they give away to local orphanages. [yes]

• ...which they sell to local orphanages for the price of materials. [yes]

• ...which they sell to local orphanages for the price of materials and labor. [probably yes; it seems highly unlikely that their 'primary intent' in this publication is the payment, when on no view do they profit]

• ...which they sell to local orphanages for the price of materials and labor and a 10% profit. [probably no, but see previous answer]

• ...which they give away to the public to raise awareness of reading. [yes]

• ...which they give away to the public as a gift with every donation of $50 or more. [no]

• ...which they sell to the public for a profit. [no]

• ...which they give away to the public for a "suggested donation". [no]

• A children's literacy group downloads a copy of a by-nc 2.0 book. A photocopy shop donates time and material to make 100 copies of the book, which is given away to the general public to raise awareness of reading. The back cover says, "Labor and material donated by Fakename Copy Shop." [perhaps no - due to commercial intent; but it is arguable that this intent is so secondary that the primary intent is non-commercial]

• A public library has computers and a printer. Printouts and computer usage are free. An individual uses a computer and prints out a by-nc 2.0 novel for herself. [yes]

• An Internet cafe has computers and a printer. Printouts cost 5 cents a page. An individual rents a computer and prints out a by-nc 2.0 novel for herself, and pays for the time and print costs. [yes; it is her intent, not the cafe's, that matters (disagreeing with previous no]

• A public library sells copies of by-nc 2.0 books. [no]

• An individual reads a favorable by-nc 2.0 blog entry about Company X. The individual buys stock in Company X and makes a profit. [yes]

• An executive of Company Y reads a favorable by-nc 2.0 blog entry about Company X. Company Y buys Company X and makes a profit. [yes]

• An engineer at Company Y reads a review of Company Y's new product on a by-nc 2.0 blog entry. Based on the review, the engineer improves the next version of the product, which results in increased sales, and profit, by Company Y. [yes]

• An engineer at Company Y reads a review of a competitor's product on a by-nc 2.0 blog entry. Based on the review, the engineer improves the next version of Company Y's product, which results in increased sales, and profit, by Company Y. [yes]

• A clipping service provides analysis and statistics on Web coverage of Company Y's product (e.g., 214 reviews, 112 favorable, 110 unfavorable, 2 neutral). The clipping service gets a fee for its work. Some or all of the mentions are in by-nc 2.0 Web pages or sources. [yes]

• ...the clipping service provides quotes from by-nc 2.0 Web pages as examples of product mentions solely to its client. [yes]

• ...the clipping service provides full copies of the by-nc 2.0 Web pages solely to its client. [yes?]

• An individual reads a by-nc 2.0 programming language manual and improves his ability to write computer programs, getting better jobs and more money. [yes]

• An engineer at Company Y keeps a copy of a by-nc 2.0 programming language manual on his desk for reference in doing company work. [yes]

• Company Y makes 200 paper copies of a by-nc 2.0 programming language manual and distributes it to all engineers in the company. [no? Is this distribution?]

• Company Y keeps one copy of a by-nc 2.0 programming language manual in its company library. Engineers can use the manual for reference. [yes? Is this distribution?]

• Company Y keeps an electronic copy of a by-nc 2.0 programming language manual on its intranet. Engineers can use the manual for reference. [yes? Is this distribution?]

• An individual reads by-nc 2.0 instructions on how to build a chair. She builds the chair and sells it for a profit. [yes]

• An individual reads a by-nc 2.0 short story. She writes another short story using the same characters, and sells it to a magazine. [no; derivative work]

• A translator uses a by-nc 2.0 Portuguese-Icelandic dictionary to translate one document into another language. They charge the document owner a fee. [yes; not a derivative work]

• ... and the document owner sells the resulting document for a profit. [yes; not a derivative work]

• A restaurant owner plays a by-nc 2.0 song over loudspeakers in her restaurant. [no; public performance for commercial advantage]

• Company X uses a by-nc 2.0 song as "hold music" on its phone system; customers or other callers who are on hold hear the song while waiting. [no? public (?) performance for commercial advantage?]