Copyright And Open Content (Teacher version)

Copyright and Open Content

How much do you know?

If you have drawn a picture, written a song, or taken a photo, you own the copyright (even if you don’t put a © symbol on it).

True or false?

If you have drawn a picture, written a song, or taken a photo, you own the copyright (even if you don’t put a © symbol on it).

True

What do you have to do legally to use a copyrighted work in something you’re going to post to the Internet?

a. Copy and paste it.

b. Cite the source.

c. Get the creator’s permission.

d. Nothing

What do you have to do legally to use a copyrighted work in something you’re going to post to the Internet?

c. Get the creator’s permission.

How long does copyright last?

a. 10 years

b. 50 years

c. the life of the creator

d. the life of the creator + 70 years

How long does copyright last?

d. the life of the creator + 70 years

You can’t legally use anything copyrighted without contacting the creator and getting permission.

True or false?

You can’t legally use anything copyrighted without contacting the creator and getting permission.

Usually true, but not always…

Fair use

Narrower and less defined than most people think.

Considerations include:

The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

The nature of the copyrighted work;

The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Open-Licensed Works

There is a way for creators to give you permission to share without you having to ask.

Someone who owns a copyrighted work can choose to share by licensing their work under Creative Commons .

Some examples

The Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, and others have licensed music under Creative Commons.

Everyone who adds things to Wikipedia agrees to share it under a “some rights reserved” license.

Some people are writing open licensed textbooks. These could save college students thousands of dollars.

Creative Commons CC BY – You can use however you want; just cite the source. CC BY SA – You can use however you want, but you must cite the source AND license your work under a sharing license. CC BY ND – You can use the work but you can’t change it or put it into a bigger work; also cite the source. CC BY NC – You can use only if it is noncommercial (you can’t charge $); cite the source.

Other Licenses