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Creative Commons

An introduction to creative commons, basic copyright, and considerations for open licenses.

CC Licenses & Copyright

Creative Commons licenses do not replace copyright. They are built to work with it.
Creative Commons licenses and public domain tools depend on copyright law in order to work.
The default of "all rights reserved" copyright is that all rights to copy and adapt a work are reserved by the author or creator (with some important exceptions). Creative Commons licenses adopt a "some rights reserved" approach, enabling an author or creator to free up their works for reuse by the public under certain conditions. See Creative Commons Licenses. [1]

Copyright Law

Copyright law serves to establish the basic terms of use that apply to content with original authorship.
There are two primary purposes for copyright law.

  1. Utilitarian: this is the rationale that copyright protection is to incentivize creators by means of the social benefits that come from their content creation, including commercial gains.
  2. Author's rights: This is the rationale that copyright protection serves to recognize and protect the deep connection authors have with their creative content. This is founded on moral rights, which ensure attribution for authors and preserve the integrity of creative works. [2]

Who owns a copyright? Generally the first owner of a copyright is the person who created the content. It is important to note that exclusive rights granted by copyright can be transferred to others (e.g. corporations, publishers, universities) and the author/creator of a work may not be the copyright holder. For more visit additional resources. [2]

What is copyrightable? Copyright exists for the categories of content that fall into "literary and artistic works." The term 'literary and artistic works' actually covers a variety of creative expression formats (written, visual, audio, and their combinations). Content such as textbooks, videos of lectures and student essays are copyrightable. [2]

What is not protected by copyright? Copyright does not protect facts or ideas themselves, only the expression of those facts or ideas. [2] For more on what is not protected see United States Copyright Office Circular #33, "What is not protected by copyright."

What are exceptions and limitations to copyright? There are some uses of copyrighted works that do not require permission. The limitations and exceptions build into copyright were designed to ensure that the rights of the public were not unduly restricted by copyright. Certain uses are explicitly carved out from copyright including uses for the purposes of criticism, parody, access for the visually impaired, and more.

How do you determine fair use? Fair use is determined using a four-factor test, where a federal court judge considers: 1) the purpose and character of your use, 2) the nature of the copyrighted work, 3) the amount and substantiality of the portion taken, and 4) the effect of the use upon the potential market. For more visit additional resources. [3]

For more on copyright basics see United States Copyright Office Circular #1, "Copyright Basics."

For more on Fair Use, especially in the application of open educational resources (OER), see Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources.

A short history of copyright and its relation to creativity and sharing.

[1] "Copyright Law" by Creative Commons. CC-BY.

[2] "Copyright Basics" by Creative Commons. CC-BY.

[3] "Exceptions and Limitations to Copyright" by Creative Commons. CC-BY.

Let's Talk Copyright

Let's Talk Copyright Law

Let's Talk Copyright Law