Subject Guides: OER and Textbook Alternatives: Copyright and Creative Commons

What is Copyright?

Copyright is a legal right, grounded in the United States Constitution, that gives the owner of copyright in a work the exclusive right to:

Reproduce (make copies of ) the work; and
Modify or prepare derivative works based on the work. (Examples of derivative works include translations, transforming printed works into musicals or films, rearrangements of scores, and any other recast, transformation or adaptation of a work); and
Distribute the work in any format by sale, publication, license, rental, or for free; and
Publicly perform or display the work; and
Authorize others to exercise some or all of those rights

What is Protected by Copyright?

Original works, whether or not published, that exist in a tangible medium that can be touched, seen, heard, read and fall into one of the following categories are protected by copyright.

Copyright applies to a wide variety of works including, but not limited to:

Literary works
Musical works, lyrics, and sound recordings
Dramatic works
Pantomimes and choreographic works
Visual works (photographs, paintings, sculptures, maps, logos, etc.)
Multimedia works, movies, and other audio-visual works
Software code
Architectural works, etc.

These works are protected from the moment they are in a fixed format regardless of whether they contain a copyright notice or copyright has been registered.

Items not protected include, but are not limited to:

Titles, names, slogans
Ideas, procedures, methods, principles, concepts, systems
Works lacking originality (calendars, tape measures, rulers, etc.)
Works created by employees of the U.S. Government in the course of their employment
Works comprised entirely of public domain information

Fair Use

Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources
The webinar and pdf linked on this site guide you through the best practices for using OER in your course in regards to Fair Use.
Fair Use Evaluator
A tool designed to test whether you are following fair use guidelines correctly.

Understanding Creative Commons

Creative Commons - Choose your License
This is a handy guide when creating or understanding a copyrighted work under Creative Commons.
Creative Commons
Go to Creative Commons site to find out more information on the legal details of the licensing and Creative Commons content.

Creative Commons is the most, if not the only, copyright license used for open educational resources. It allows the user to share their work while still protecting their rights as a creator, but also allowing their work to be used and shared primarily without compensation. Use the image searcher below to find images using Creative Commons licensing.