This guide is meant to give employees at MVCC an overview of copyright law and Creative Commons licenses for the purpose of building digital media for the library's social media and for creating digital educational materials for the library.
Copyright Law
Copyright is a law that provides protections for creators over their works. The owner of a copyright is typically the creator, however these rights can be transferred to others, such as corporations and employers. In some situations, such as employment, the creator may not be the copyright holder, and it is likely that the employer is the actual copyright holder. Only the copyright holder can grant permissions to use the work.
- Copyright grants excusive rights to the creator, which prevents others from doing anything other than viewing or reading the work without permission.
- Copyright protects all works that are original, regardless of format. However the work must be the work of the creator as opposed to copied from another work.
- Copyright protects the expression of facts or ideas, not the facts or ideas themselves.
- Copyright is automatically applied once the work is created. In the U.S. copyright only applies once the work is fixed in a tangible form.
- Copyright lasts past the life of the creator.
- Copyright laws are balanced against other interests, such as freedom of expression, rights to information, and the needs of the disabled.
Rights granted to copyright holders consist of economic and moral rights. Economic rights provides the copyright holder the exclusive rights to copy, reproduce, perform, communicate, adapt, and translate their works. Moral rights include the right to be recognized as the work's creator and the right to protect the integrity of the work. In some countries, similar and related rights grant rights to someone adjacent to the work that is not the creator, such as someone involved in communicating the work.
Copyright laws vary in different countries and jurisdictions. When using copyrighted or public domain works, it is best to follow the laws of the country in which the determination is being made. It's also important to note that works that are in the public domain in one country may not be in the public domain in others.
Copyright Policies at MVCC
Exceptions to Copyright Law
Exceptions and limitations to copyright law exist in most countries and provide a way for members of the public to use works in certain ways without violating the rights of the creator or requiring special permission.
Two notable exceptions to copyright that affect the work at MVCC Library are Fair Use and the TEACH Act
Fair Use
Fair Use allows for limited use of copyrighted materials without obtaining permission from the copyright holder. Examples include "include commentary, search engines, criticism, parody, news reporting, research, and scholarship" (Fair Use, 2023). When determining if the use of a work is considered Fair Use, four factors must be considered.
- The purpose of the use
- The nature of the copyrighted work
- The amount of work used compared to the whole
- The effect of the use on the potential market or value of the copyrighted work (Fair Use, 2023)
TEACH Act
TEACH stands for Technology Education and Copyright Harmonization Act. According to Wikipedia, "This Act permits teachers and students of accredited, nonprofit educational institutions to transmit performances and displays of copyrighted works as part of a course if certain conditions are met. If these conditions are not or cannot be met, in order to be lawful, a use would arguably have to qualify under another exception, such as fair use or the de minimis rule, or be permitted by the copyright holder" (Teach Act, 2023).
The Public Domain
Works that are not subject to copyright laws are considered to be in the public domain. Works enter the public domain in a number of ways.
- The copyright has expired. In the Unites States, this typically occurs 70 years after the death of the author. How long a work is subject to copyright before entering the public domain varies depending on the country or territory.
- The work was never entitled to copyright protection. This is common for government documents.
- The creator dedicated the work to the public domain before the copyright expired.
- The creator or copyright holder failed to comply with requirements to obtain or maintain their copyright. While this was an issue in the past, currently there are not formal requirements to obtain copyright. Copyright is applied automatically.
Members of the public can do almost anything with works in the public domain, depending on restrictions. For example, a work in the public domain in one country may still be under copyright in another, and so the work may not be used freely in all areas.
Considerations for using works in the public domain must be made. In some cases, works may not be under copyright, but they might also be inappropriate for use. Cultural works, privacy violations, depictions of violence or human remains, and morally or ethically sensitive subjects may not be appropriate for use regardless of copyright.
Find Works in the Public Domain
- Project Gutenberg
- Digital Public Library of America
- Wikimedia Commons
- Internet Archive
- Library of Congress
What are Creative Commons Licenses?
Creative Commons licenses are legal tools that creators can use to give members of the public various permissions to use their work, while still maintaining their copyright protections. CC licenses do not replace copyright, but work within copyright law to expand rights rather than restrict them.
Creative Commons licenses are legally enforceable tools that allow creators to give standardized permissions for the use of their work for as long as the copyright lasts.
They are built with three layers. First there is a legal code, which are the terms and conditions that are legally enforceable and accessible to lawyers. The second layer, the commons deeds, is the layer that is accessible to most people and contains a summary of the terms that will make sense to non-lawyers. Third, there is a machine readable layer, that is accessible to websites and web services.
This infographic will introduce the parts of the six different Creative Commons licenses.
The Creative Commons Licenses
When a work is chosen to use in library projects, care must be taken that the Creative Commons license allows for the intended use. The infographic below will review the six Creative Commons licenses.
Finding Media and Images Licensed Under Creative Commons
For general resources or a comprehensive list, Wikipedia offers a list of many CC resources.
Images and Video
3D Printing Projects
Open Educational Resources
Applying a Creative Commons License to Your Work
Creative Commons licenses can not be revoked or canceled once applied to a work. In order to apply a license you must be in control of the copyright.
For work made at Moraine Valley, the copyright holder is technically MVCC, however if you'd like to apply a Creative Commons license to your work, talk to your area supervisor about your options.
Once you've determined you are able to apply a Creative Commons to the work, you must choose a license.
You can give credit for a work you are using with the TASL method. When you create something you wish to receive credit for, providing the elements in TASL will allow others to give you credit appropriately.
T= Title (the title of the work)
A= Author (the creator of the work)
S= Source (provide a link to the work)
L= License (provide a link to the Creative Commons license)
If you are adapting or remixing a work, you'll need to pay special attention to the license the work is under.
An adaptation uses a single work and creates something based on it. The new work must be sufficiently different from the original, for example, a film based on a novel. Adaptations can be made from CC licensed works, regardless of license type, however for works with an ND license, adaptations may not be shared publicly.
To choose a license for an adapted work, use the chart below. Green boxes are recommended licenses to choose from based on the original work's license status. Yellow boxes represent licenses that are technically allowed, but are not recommended. Boxes that are grey represent licenses that can not be chosen.
A remix is when multiple works are combined into something new. With remixes, it's difficult to tell where one source ends and other begins. It is still important to provide attribution and licensing information for all sources used in a remix.
To figure out if works have compatible licenses for remixing, check the chart below. If a box has an "X", then those works may not normally be combined. When choosing a license for something made with two or more compatible works, use the more restrictive of the licenses available.
A collection also uses multiple works, but unlike a remix, the sources are distinct from one another. Attribution and licensing information must be provided for each source in a collection.
Where to Find Additional Information
Creative Commons Certificate for Educations, Academic Librarians and GLAM
References
“Choosing and Applying a CC License” (https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/4-1-choosing-and-applying-a-cc-license/) by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
“Creative Commons Today” (https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/1-2-creative-commons-today/) by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
“Copyright Basics” (https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-1-copyright-basics/) by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
Fair use. (2023). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fair_use&oldid=1166819905
“Finding and Reusing CC-Licensed Work” (https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/4-3-finding-and-reusing-cc-licensed-work/) by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
“Global Aspects of Copyright” (https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-2-global-aspects-of-copyright/) by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
“License Design and Terminology” (https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/3-1-license-design-and-terminology/) by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
“License Types" (https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/3-3-license-types/) by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
“Remixing CC-Licensed Work" (https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/4-4-remixing-cc-licensed-work/) by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
Teach act. (2023). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=TEACH_Act&oldid=1150877457
“The Public Domain” (https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-3-the-public-domain/) by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
Copyright and Creative Commons: A Guide for MVCC Library by Jessica Luetger is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.