What Are Creative Commons Licenses?

Any creative work you do is covered by copyright. This means that if you write something, take a photo, record a song, paint a picture, or do anything that creates intellectual property, you get certain legal protections. The biggest protection is that other people aren’t able just to take your work and use it how they please. This is why services like Facebook have such complicated (and scary) Terms of Service.
by Harry Guinness via How-To Geek