Tag Archives: Creative Commons

Aug 27 2012

Copyright Resources

So what now?

Included in this post are helpful Copyright resources provided by Dr. Serena Carpenter.

Public Domain Resources
Some organizations offer content classified as public domain, which means property rights are held by the public:

Stock Image Resources
Students can also use stock photos for free or for a price. Here is a list of sites that offer free stock photos:

Creative Commons
People have access to creative commons content because authors/creators give permission through Creative Commons licenses. Authors can choose from a variety of licensing options. A person must read the author’s restrictions related to the use of their content before posting the author’s content. Authors often times allow people to use their work as a way of promoting themselves, and thus, they want credit for their work. Creative Commons (CC) “is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making it easier to share and build upon the works of others consistent with copyright. We provide free licenses to enable sharing,” according to Vice Chair of Creative Commons Esther Wojcicki.

This screencast shows you how to navigate creative common search engines. Here are some sites that host or grant access to free creative commons content and other sites:

Licensing Your Site
Students can copyright their blog or site as well, however it is costly. Law student Ruth Carter said at a PodCamp AZ conference that it costs $65 every three months to copyright a blog. You do not have to register your site/content to receive copyright protection, however @rbcarter said the advantage is you are able to sue for more money if someone steals your stuff. If someone steals your content, you can also sue for statutory damages ($200 – $150,000 per infringement) and attorneys fees, not just real damage.

Jan 30 2012

The Web is Not Free

There is a lot of confusion surrounding the use of material found on the Web.  When in doubt there is a good rule of thumb you can use.  If you don’t own the item, document, file, track, pic etc. or have written permission to use it you can’t.

If you don’t own it, don’t use it.

That sounds pretty harsh and things aren’t always “black and white.”  There is this whole thing called Creative Commons.  Essentially defines several types of licenses and rights that an individual can provide to others without surrendering their own copyright protection and ownership.

Within the Creative Commons community are a number of people and sites that publish material that is available for use in creative work.  Attached is an in depth description from Professor Trish Anderton at the Cronkite school that will help you in your quest to honor intellectual property.CreativeCommons

Another good resource is “A picture’s Worth 1,000 Links.”  This post by Amanda Milligan provides a good guide to finding and citing images.