Copyright Advisory

Creative Commons

Creative Commons is a

1. non-profit organization,
2. a suite of licenses developed to help creators share their works online, and
3. a movement of collaboration and sharing.

The suite of Creative Commons licenses, first released in 2002, allow creators to communicate directly to their users about the kind of uses are allowed without asking permissions. The licenses range from least open, restricting commercial use and derivatives, to most open, requiring only attribution:

The six main licenses work with copyright law.  Creators who issue work with a CC license retain full copyright of the material.  Another option CC0 provides creators with an easy way to dedicate their own work to the public domain by forfeiting their copyright altogether. 

More than 1.6 billion works are CC licensed by their creators across multiple online platforms like YouTube and Flickr (Creative Commons, 2020).  Some of these resources are Open Educational Resources or OERs. OERs can be used as an alternative to traditional, restricted access, textbooks to provide affordable and accessible course content to students.

Open Educational Resources

To be an OER, the material must "either (1) in the public domain or (2) licensed in a manner that provides everyone with free and perpetual permission to engage in the 5R activities" (Wiley, n.d.).

1. Retain:  make, own, and control a copy of the resource (e.g. download and keep your own copy)
2. Revise:  edit, adapt, and modify your copy of the resource (e.g., translate into another language)
3. Remix:  combine your original or revised copy of the resource with other existing material to create something new (e.g. make a mashup)
4. Reuse:  use your original, revised, or remixed copy of the resource publicly (e.g. on a website, in a presentation, in a class)
5. Redistribute:  share copies of your original, revised, or remixed copy of the resource with others (e.g. post a copy online or give one to a friend)

Using Creative Commons Content

OERs and other materials released with a Creative Commons license can be used in any way allowed by the CC license.  If your use does not fit the license, you can always request permissions from the creator.  For example:  you found material issued with a CC-BY-ND license, i.e. a Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives license.  You want to create a translation of the material so it can be accessed in other languages.  Translations would be considered derivatives, and the CC-BY-ND license does not allow this.  You would still be able to contact the creator for permissions to make the translation.

When using material that has been issued with a CC license, you must provide full attribution.  Ideal attribution includes the:

• Title
• Creator
• Source
• License

Creative Commons Resources

• Best Practices for Attribution of CC Licensed Materials

  Learn the best way to cite CC licensed content.

• Creative Commons

  Learn more about Creative Commons and choose a license for your work.

• Creative Commons CC-O

  CC-0 gives creators an easy way to release their work to the public domain.

• Creative Commons Search

  Search for images that are in the public domain OR have been granted creative commons status.

• Creative Commons (2020) "What is Creative Commons." Creative Commons for Educators and Librarians. ALA Editions: Chicago. licensed CC BY 4.0

  Text exploring the history and legal underpinnings of Creative Commons licenses.

• Digital Learning Objects & Tools to Supplement Instruction

  A curated list of high-quality digital learning objects suitable for inclusion in courses.

• Using Creative Commons Licenses

  Instructions for applying Creative Commons licenses to your own works.

• Wiley, David (n.d.) Defining the "Open" in Open Content and Open Educational Resources.

  David Wiley's definition of Open Educational Resources.

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Creative Commons is an international non-profit organisation that provides free licences and tools that copyright owners can use to allow others to share, reuse and remix their material, legally

Search here for free images, text, music, or audio-visual resources to use in your own work

(logo and text from https://creativecommons.org/about/)