Copyright and Fair Use are much more confining than Creative Commons (CC). Although they are different the three do share some of the same ideas. CC, like Copyright and fair use, requires credit to be given to the owner.
Copyright and fair use requires users to have individual permission to use someones work. Creative Commons allows all users to use others work as long as they abide by their owners rules. CC, Copyright, and Fair Use does not allow users to make a profit on owners work unless a given permission, which usually requires a contract.
Creative Commons, Copyright, and Fair use are there to protect the creators. Creative Commons allows the owners and users a little more freedom than Copyright and Fair Use.