If you have ever created documents using Microsoft Office which you would like to distribute to via the Internet (Excel/Word templates, legal documents, presentations, etc.) it is a good idea to add a terms of use license to it. One of the more popular licensing verbiage tools (for lack of a better description) for these types of work is Creative Commons which offers several licenses.

So to easily apply these licenses to your Microsoft Office 2007 creations, check out the Creative Commons Add-In.

This add-in enables you to embed a Creative Commons license into a document that you create using Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Office PowerPoint, or Microsoft Office Excel. With a Creative Commons license, authors can express their intentions regarding how their works may be used by others.

The add-in downloads the Creative Commons license you designate from the Creative Commons Web site and inserts it directly into your creative work.

While you may not think licensing your work is a big deal, don’t shortchange yourself. You put work into producing something which others can use, so it is important that it be used in a manner you intended. After all, you don’t want someone ripping off your work and calling it their own.