It depends. The type of user itself doesn't matter, at least according to Creative Commons. It is how you use it that matters. From their FAQ:
Does my use violate the NonCommercial clause of the licenses?
CC's NonCommercial (NC) licenses prohibit uses that are "primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or monetary compensation." This is intended to capture the intention of the NC-using community without placing detailed restrictions that are either too broad or too narrow. Please note that CC's definition does not turn on the type of user: if you are a nonprofit or charitable organization, your use of an NC-licensed work could still run afoul of the NC restriction, and if you are a for-profit entity, your use of an NC-licensed work does not necessarily mean you have violated the term. Whether a use is commercial will depend on the specifics of the situation and the intentions of the user.
Their definition of "NonCommercial" can still be pretty fuzzy. This is a big weakness in Creative Commons Non Commercial licenses (and perhaps non-commercial licenses in general). CC have not clearly defined what "non-commercial" means, leaving it up to individual courts to decide.
How ambiguous can it be? Try this out: would you consider the following non-commercial?
- Used by a public/government, not-for-profit entity
- On a website for free
- Without advertising or sponsorship
But a German court interpreted this as "commercial use". Apparently they drew on German law's definition of "non-commercial", which is something more like "private use".
Therefore if you must use CC's non commercial licenses, it's a good idea to explicitly define what you mean by "non-commercial", with the aid of a copyright lawyer. This looks like what Highcharts is doing in their FAQ. If you want to use something that's under a non-commercial license, you have to be very careful, and preferably seek permission from the author directly.
