Copyright, Fair Use, Public Domain, and Creative Commons

Though we will mostly be focusing on Creative Commons licenses, it is good to know a bit about copyright as it will crop up in this course. 

Copyright

Copyright law is extremely nuanced and complex. However, what you need to know for this course is that copyright grants the creator or owner of copyright control over the use of a work. The exclusive rights copyright grants means that a copyrighted work cannot be freely used by others without the owner's permission. This is where we run into trouble when we want to use a work for a course. We either need to ask for permission to use and copy the work freely or we need to pay to use the work. As we have learned, paying for a work can cost a lot of money, and this expense is passed on to our students. 

Public Domain

Works in the public domain are not subject to copyright. They can be freely used to create new materials. Works enter the public domain when copyright expires, copyright is not formally maintained, the work was never entitled to protection, or the creator dedicates their work to the public domain before copyright expiration. 

Fair Use

Certain exceptions and limitations to copyright exist, including "fair use." You can criticize, parody, or make accessible works without infringing copyright. Fair use in the United States considers the following: 1. the purpose and character of use, 2. the nature of the copyrighted work, 3. the amount and substantiality of portion taken, 4. the effect and use upon potential market.

Whether or not something falls under fair use is decided by the courts on a case by case basis. There are no strict rules for fair use, only loose guidelines. When using something for an educational purpose, fair use tends to be interpreted broadly. However, you really need to understand how fair use works in order to determine if your use applies. 

The Harper College Copyright Tutorial Links to an external site. has an excellent step-by-step guide to determining if you can use something in class.

Here are a few more fair use resources:

Creative Commons

Want to avoid the hassle of figuring out copyright, fair use, and other legal concerns? Use a work that is openly licensed. We will learn more about Creative Commons in the next section. 

Optional ASCCC OERI Webinars

Copyright and Fair Use Mythbusters Links to an external site.. You found a great resource for your class and shared it with students. Did you check the copyright? What is copyright? Why does it matter? Participants in this webinar will discover the inner workings of copyright, what it means, and why it matters. We will look at common copyright myths and ways to use various resources according to their permissions. 

Summary Infographic

Download 6 things to know about copyright.pdf

Text version of infographic. Links to an external site.