Copyright for Educators: Copyright Links

Find images, music, and educational materials with Creative Commons licenses.

From the DIRC website: "(I)ntended to assist
the user in assessing the intellectual property status of a specific image documenting a work of art, a designed object, or a portion of the built environment."

Under certain conditions, educators can use materials without charge. Find out if your use is covered.

Is it OK to show that video in the classroom? Work your way down the flowchart.

An online form that helps you identify if your use is Fair Use or not. Consider keeping a copy for your files.

Use this tool to make your case for fair use of material. Then keep the resulting document in your files, in case you are ever asked to prove your use was fair.

There are some materials that aren't covered by copyright. This offers information on determining whether a work is covered by copyright.

American Library Association tool for determining if an item is covered by copyright.

Books written between 1923-1963 were required to re-register to renew their copyright protection. Some copyright holders did renew, some didn't. The ones who did, had to file a notice which was then published by the US Copyright Office. This is a searchable database of those renewal notices. If you don't find a title here (and it was written between 1923-1963) then copyright likely was not renewed, and it is now in the public domain.

A very short introduction to copyright for educators by RTC librarians. 2 1/2 minutes. Video 1 of 3.

You've realized you need to use an item more than is covered by Fair Use. What do you do then? By RTC librarians. 4 1/2 minutes. Video 2 of 3.

Using materials that aren't covered by copyright, or are copyright-relaxed. 3 1/2 minutes. By RTC librarians. Video 3 of 3.

An excellent article on widespread copyright myths, including "if I don't charge for it, it's not infringement."

A tutorial for teachers and students on copyright. Take the quiz and see how much you know about copyright.

Copyright law as it is currently interpreted. Brochure by the US Copyright Office.

A good page with links to information on many copyright topics, including the text of the laws that apply, copyright forms, other universities copyright policies, and recent court cases.

An open-enrollment, ongoing, self-paced course that will earn you a Canvas badge.

Excellent infographic on copyright.

When using an image made by someone else, it is important to get permission from the creator and to tell others where you found the image. Sometimes the image is in the public domain which means it is legal to use the image without anyone's permission. Even with public domain images, you still need to tell people where you found it so they won't think that you made it when you didn't.
Sometimes the person who made the image uses a Creative Commons License to give everyone permission to use the image.