Copyright protects digital items just as it does physical ones. However, in the digital environment it can be very difficult to see what copyright or license applies and even more difficult to track down a creator to ask for permission. So what can you do?
This includes Creative Commons and Public Domain; these works will be clearly labeled so that you understand what you need to do to edit or reuse them.
If you are using these materials in the classroom, as a student or instructor, your work may be subject to different guidelines. Remember, you will still need to provide citation information to give proper credit to your sources.
Thanks to technology, creating your own images and media is easier than ever before.
There are many sites where you can pay to be able to use images, videos, etc. We recommend pursuing the other three options first!
WHEN SEARCHING, TWO THINGS TO NOTE:
FINDING A FLICKR IMAGE LICENSE:
Key information underneath the photo tells you who its creator is, how many times the photo has been viewed, and any provided details about the type of photograph or camera used. On the far right, you will see three icons. The second icon (arrow pointing right) allows you to share the photo and gives a direct url back to the image. The third icon (arrow pointing down) allows you to select a size and download the photo.
Under these icons, you'll see the date the photo was taken. Directly underneath is the photo's license. You can click on the hyperlink to see the actual Creative Commons license and specific details about requirements for reuse.
FINDING A WIKIMEDIA IMAGE:
FINDING A LICENSE FOR A WIKIMEDIA IMAGE:
If you can get to the Image File page, you'll be set. You may have to click on "More Details about this File" to get to this page.
Public Domain: Works that you can use in any way you want to. Most works enter the public domain once intellectual property laws expire, but some enter because creators wish for their work to be available without copyright law restrictions.
The Copyright Act gives the owner of a copyright the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute their work. One exception to this exclusive right is called the fair use exception: The fair use exception permits the reproduction of a portion of a copyrighted work without the copyright owner's permission, under certain circumstances. This is a vitally important exception for education, as it enables students, scholars, and critics to use and reference copyrighted works in their own scholarship, teaching, and critiques.
Four factors are considered in all fair use evaluations. They are:
Resources below can help you understand these factors and determine if your situation qualifies under Fair Use.
See the resources below for guidelines about specific formats or educational situations.
There is a Creative Commons filter option that will limit your search results to videos with stated licenses. Check out the other helpful filter options as well (date, length, etc).
To see the license for a YouTube Video, click on the Show More option on the About tab. The section will expand the the license should be located near the bottom. If it is a Creative Commons license, it will be a hyperlink that you can click for more information.
There is an option to limit search results to only show items with Creative Commons licenses. On the main search results page, look for the Advanced Filters option on the right. This expands into a menu of filter options, including date uploaded and length. At the bottom of this menu, you will see a drop-down option for license. You must select a particular Creative Commons license; it will not search all CC videos at once.
Vimeo videos show license information directly under the video, next to the title and creator name. You can click on the icons to see the full license from the Creative Commons website.
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