Image credit:"aupoman-cartoon-drawing-handsome-boy-smile" by www.art-de.net is licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/
"Excuse me! Ms. Mauder, why did I get an Incomplete on my assignment?"
"You did not credit all of your sources, Emile. This is particularly important if you are going to submit it for publication."
"What! I credited every journal article and book!"
"But you didn't credit your images. Did you get permission from the creator to use them?"
Copyright Law
Copyright Law protects the creator's right of ownership in the same way that the title of your car protects your ownership of it. Both let everyone know that only you, or the creator, can make changes to it, sell it, or use it in a variety of other ways.
But what happens if the creator wants others to be able to use it?
Copyright law made it difficult to openly share the ability to use, alter, or incorporate a creation into a larger product. Some laws, such as The Teach Act allowed some educators to use materials in their courses if they met specific needs, but for an artist to use or alter the piece was not permitted.
For More Information on the basics of copyright, visit the NPC Copyright Guide.
Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act
This Act extended the copyright on the work of a creator for 70 years after their death (20 years than the previous law). This kept art, images, films, and other resources out of the Public Domain. This changed the 1976 Copyright Law already in place.
Eldred v. Ashcroft
This solidified this Act. Eldred (and Lessig, see below) argued that this Act was unconstitutional. But the courts sided with Reno and Ashcroft in extending the 1976 Copyright Law an additional 20 years.
Public Domain is any work that was never or is no longer protected by Copyright.
Insert: Lawrence Lessig
"Lawrence Lessig" by Joi is licensed under CC BY 2.0
"Who's Lawrence Lessig?"
"He is a Harvard professor that created Creative Commons to give ways for all people to share their creative work, free from the restraints of copyright."
"What's Creative Commons? Is it like a place?"
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that gives creators the ability to share their creations with others in ways that allow other creators to manipulate the original works into their own creations.
Creative Commons also provides a way for users to search for over 500 million material that they can use.
Find ways to join the movement below.
Types of Creative Commons Licenses
Creative Commons Licenses give the creator a variety of options to share their work.
When searching for works that you can use or adapt, be sure to pay attention to the type of Creative Commons license, and therefore the ways in which you can use it. The creator can combine the symbols below to spell out how they will allow you to use they work.
dedicated to public domain (line through zero)
in the public domain (line through C)
credit the creator (person) adaptations under same terms (circular) noncommercial use only (line through $) no derivatives or adaptations permitted (=)
Getting Involved
Everyone is welcome in this movement to free the internet. You can share your own creations. And you can borrow someone else's to make it new (with proper credit, of course). But you can also work with others to spread the word in a variety of ways, or even help write the code for software that is freely available. You can be a part of a movement.