Freesound Forums

I was just asked a question of which the answer might be useful to the community and to debate (paraphrasing):

When someone says "CC0" or "it's open to public domain" does it mean I can use and edit the sound in any form? I'm looking for sounds to use in monetized videos.

Yes.

However, you are responsible for using it, so read the description and sound artist's profile. In the worst case, sounds might be taken from games, film or sound libraries and slipped by moderation. If the sound artist describes the creation process of their work, this usually is a sign of original content.

Also use common sense. If you recognize a sound from music, games or film, it might be taken from there. On the other hand, Freesound contributions are known to be used in popular works, for example in music of The Prodigy.

When in doubt, ask the sound artist about it using the private message feature. If you get no response, consider talking to the freesound community about the sounds in question on the forums.

Recommended guidelines:

1. Double-check what license is being used for each sound you use (many users use more than one for different uploads)
2. Don't claim that you created a sound when you use another person's work (plagiarism) and whenever possible
3. Give attribution to the sound artist (even if it's CC0)

To understand the relationship between CC0 and public domain, please see http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode and http://creativecommons.org/about/cc0

This should be a sticky.