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Creative Commons Licenses

Information on Creative Commons licenses and Copyright

Fundamentals to Know About Copyright

There are some fundamentals to understand about copyright:

  1. Copyright grants a set of exclusive rights to the copyright owners.
  2. Copyright grants rights to literary and artistic works that are original.
  3. Copyright does not protect facts or ideas, only the expression of facts and ideas.
  4. In general, copyright is automatic the moment a work is created.
  5. Copyright lasts a long time.
  6. Copyright balances protection against other interests.

                                                                                                                                                                "Copyright Symbols" by MikeBlogs is licensed under CC BY 2.0

 

 

2.1 Copyright Basics | Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM. https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-1-copyright-basics/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.

 

Purpose of Copyright

There are two rationales for copyright law.

Utilitarian

In the utilitarian rationale, copyright is designed to provide an incentive to creators to encourage the creation and publication of new works for social benefits.  This is linked to the Common Law Tradition.

 

Author's Rights

In the author's rights rationale, copyright serves to recognize and protect the deep connection authors have with their creative works.  This rationale is founded on moral rights and ensures the attribution and integrity of the work.  This is linked to the Civil Law Tradition.

 

2.1 Copyright Basics | Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM. https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-1-copyright-basics/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.

What is Copyrightable?

Original work of the following are copyrightable:

  • Literary works
  • Musical works
  • Artistic works or works of visual art
  • Dramatic works
  • Cinematographic works (including audio visual works)
  • Translations, Adaptations, Arrangements of literary and artistic works
  • Collections of literary and artistic works
  • Databases
  • Computer software

2.1 Copyright Basics | Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM. https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-1-copyright-basics/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.

Intellectual Property

Intellectual property is defined as "rights – established by law – that empower creators to restrict others from using their creative works."  Copyright is one type of intellectual property.  Explore the tabs for definitions of additional types of intellectual property.

 

2.1 Copyright Basics | Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM. https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-1-copyright-basics/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.

Trademark law protects the public from confusion about the source of goods and services and helps the producers of goods and services to protect their reputation.  An example of  a trademark is the brand name Coca-Cola.

 

 

2.1 Copyright Basics | Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM. https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-1-copyright-basics/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.

Patent law deals with inventions.  It gives inventors "the exclusive right to make, have made, use, have used, offer for sale, sell, have sold, or import patentable inventions."

 

 

2.1 Copyright Basics | Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM. https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-1-copyright-basics/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.

The following definition is used by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to define trade secrets.

"Trade secrets are intellectual property (IP) rights on confidential information which may be sold or licensed.

In general, to qualify as a trade secret, the information must be:

  • commercially valuable because it is secret,
  • be known only to a limited group of persons, and
  • be subject to reasonable steps taken by the rightful holder of the information to keep it secret, including the use of confidentiality agreements for business partners and employees.

The unauthorized acquisition, use or disclosure of such secret information in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices by others is regarded as an unfair practice and a violation of the trade secret protection."

 

 

Trade Secrets. https://www.wipo.int/tradesecrets/en/index.html. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.

Publicity Rights are defined by the Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School as the following:

"The right of publicity prevents the unauthorized commercial use of an individual's name, likeness, or other recognizable aspects of one's persona. It gives an individual the exclusive right to license the use of their identity for commercial promotion."

 

 

Publicity | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/publicity. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.

 

Exceptions and Limitations to Copyright

There are exceptions and limits written into copyright law so that the public may use creative works in particular situations. There are two main ways that exceptions and limitations are written into copyright law.

  1. By listing of specific activities that are excluded from the reach of copyright.
  2. By including more flexible guidelines about what is allowed.

 

The other two tabs in this section will give you a brief look at other exceptions and limitations to copyright.  However, for a more in depth look at copyright exceptions and limitations, look at KCU's Libguide on Copyright and Fair Use under the "library" subject tab under tutorials or use this direct link (https://kcu.libguides.com/copyrightandfairuse)

 

 

2.4 Exceptions and Limitations to Copyright | Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM. https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-4-exceptions-and-limitations-to-copyright/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2021.

Certain uses are intentionally carved out of copyright.  These are the use of original works for the purpose of criticism, parody and access for the visually impaired.

One example for why these purposes have been carved out is for the use of a critical review of a book.  If a reviewer has to request permission to use direct quotes from the book in his/her review, the creator of the original work may not grant the use of the material if the review is going to be negative.

 

 

2.4 Exceptions and Limitations to Copyright | Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM. https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-4-exceptions-and-limitations-to-copyright/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2021.

Fair Use is an exception/limitation to copyright that falls under the flexible guidelines for use.  In the United States,  Fair use is determined by four factors:

  • Purpose and character of your use

  • The nature of the copyrighted work

  • The amount of sustainability of the portion taken

  • The effect of the use upon the potential market

 

Materials used within courses should be evaluated with these 4 criteria to determine if they can be used under Fair Use permissions. The Fair Use Evaluator from Michael Brewer and the ALA Office is a good tool to use to help you evaluate Fair use in your traditional resources.

 

 

2.4 Exceptions and Limitations to Copyright | Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM. https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-4-exceptions-and-limitations-to-copyright/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2021.

Brewer, Michael. “Fair Use Evaluator.” Https://Www.Ala.Org/Advocacy/Copyright-Tools, 2008, https://librarycopyright.net/resources/fairuse/index.php.

The Public Domain

The public domain consists of material that is not subject to copyright.  This material can be used to build new creative works and new knowledge.  Works can enter into the public domain in one of four ways.

  1. Copyright Expires - In the United States, a work is protected by copyright for the duration of the life of the creator plus 70 years.  At the end of that time, the work then moves into the public domain.
  2. The Work was never entitled to copyright protection - Certain works fall outside of the realm of copyright such as facts and ideas.  Another example of this would be Government documents in the United States.
  3. The creator dedicates the work to the public before copyright expires - In many parts of the world, the creator can decide to make their work available in the public domain once it is created.  Creative Commons has a mark called CC-zero (CC0) that designates these works as in the public domain.
  4. The Copyright holder failed to comply with the formalities to acquire or maintain their copyright - Today, creators in the United States and in many parts of the world, have no need to renew the copyright on their work.  However, this was not always the case.  Some works fell into the public domain when their copyright was not renewed.

 

Orphan works also need to be mentioned here.  Orphan works, according to the US Copyright Office, are defined as works where "a user's ability to seek permission or to negotiate licensing terms is compromised by the fact that, despite his or her diligent efforts, the user cannot identify or locate the copyright owner."  These works are not in the public domain.  

 

 

2.3 The Public Domain | Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM. https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-3-the-public-domain/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2021.

Orphan Works and Mass Digitization: A Report of the Register of Copyrights. June 2015, p. 234, https://www.copyright.gov/orphan/reports/orphan-works2015.pdf.

References

2.1 Copyright Basics | Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM. https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-1-copyright-basics/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.

2.3 The Public Domain | Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM. https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-3-the-public-domain/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2021.

2.4 Exceptions and Limitations to Copyright | Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM. https://certificates.creativecommons.org/cccertedu/chapter/2-4-exceptions-and-limitations-to-copyright/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2021.

Brewer, Michael. “Fair Use Evaluator.” Https://Www.Ala.Org/Advocacy/Copyright-Tools, 2008, https://librarycopyright.net/resources/fairuse/index.php.

Copyright Law of the United States -  https://www.copyright.gov/title17/title17.pdf

How to Obtain Permission by the U.S. Copyright Office - https://www.copyright.gov/circs/m10.pdf

“Log in and Start Using Piktochart’s Templates and Drag-and-Drop Editor to Create Stunning Visuals.” Piktochart, https://create.piktochart.com/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2021.

Orphan Works and Mass Digitization: A Report of the Register of Copyrights. June 2015, p. 234, https://www.copyright.gov/orphan/reports/orphan-works2015.pdf.

Publicity | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/publicity. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.

Trade Secrets. https://www.wipo.int/tradesecrets/en/index.html. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.