Can I use CC BY-NC content in a commercial product?

Short answer: Use in a commercial product: No. Non-commercial adaptation and sharing: Yes.

CC BY-NC 4.0 allows sharing and adapting only for purposes not primarily intended for commercial advantage.

Use in a commercial product: No

License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC-BY-NC-4.0, curated)

• CC BY-NC 4.0 prohibits commercial_use.

Duties: attribution, license_notice, state_changes, no_additional_restrictions

Non-commercial adaptation and sharing: Yes

License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC-BY-NC-4.0, curated)

• Every use you described is granted by CC BY-NC 4.0, and nothing you described is prohibited.

Duties: attribution, license_notice, state_changes, no_additional_restrictions

Context

• For commercial use you need a separate license from the rights holder; the NC license itself cannot grant it.

Sources

• CC BY-NC 4.0 legal code

Check it yourself (free, no key)

{
  "tool": "check_license",
  "arguments": {
    "license": "CC-BY-NC-4.0",
    "intended_use": {
      "commercial_use": true
    }
  }
}

Computed from Rightshold's license profiles; not legal advice. Updated 2026-10-23. JSON · Markdown