This book (my first one in English) is an offspurt of a previous book which was published in Italian in October 2008 and which has had some success in Italy. Due to this it seemed useful to have an edition for a larger audience, outside the borders of my country.

However, this English edition is not a mere translation of the Italian text, but it is an adaptation in order to make it more readable for an international audience. After my other publications about the copyleft culture (in the broadest sense), the inspiration for a book that is specifically dedicated to Creative Commons came from several years of my assiduous participation in mailing lists and public debates concerning the use of licenses: in fact, during these discussions a series of misunderstandings, which newbies regularly had, consistently emerged. This is the reason I thought that an operating manual (with no frills and technicalities) could finally resolve the situation.

I hope that my work will serve as an incentive for the use and development of innovative models for the distribution of creative works, such as Creative Commons licenses and all the other related instruments. And now not only in the Italian context, but all over the world I hope you enjoy reading this book.