Using Copyrighted and Library Content
Library Research Guide
Content You Can Share Publicly Online or in a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC)
Introduction
This page will provide you with guidelines to legally and ethically reuse others' content in an open online setting, such as a blog or a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).
The content on this page is based on the Framework for Analyzing any U.S. Copyright Problem, which has been modified and adapted specifically for the reuse of content in open online settings and in MOOCs.
- Framework for Analyzing any U.S. Copyright ProblemThis framework is designed to work through any copyright question faced by any individual when it comes to reusing others' content in the United States. Links to resources and tools provided.
1. When in doubt, link it out!
1. When in doubt, link it out! If possible, provide a link to the resource rather than include a copy of the resource in your open online setting. That way, you don’t have to worry about copyright concerns, because you aren’t reproducing the content.
2. Find content in the public domain
2. Find content in the public domainIn other words, the copyright term has expired or the work never had copyright protection.
Here is an image that is in the public domain.
Moon panorama, series of photos taken by NASA astronaut Harrison Schmitt, later combined to create a panorama, 1972
All works created by U.S. government employees when acting in their direct job responsibilities are in the public domain.
Public Domain Resources
- Public DomainThe public domain webpage of K-State's copyright website. Includes information and resources to help you determine copyright status of a work.
- The Public Domain Review - SourcesFind content in the public domain through these many sources used by the Public Domain Review.
3. Use Creative Commons Licensed (CCL) content
Find content with Creative Commons Licensing (CCL). CCL enables authors to establish a set of licenses or permissions that determine how others can use their work. Creative Commons (CC) doesn't replace copyright, but it does make it easier to determine how someone can use a particular work.
CCL works can easily be used in a public/open website or in a MOOC, but be sure to comply with the CCL Terms of Use.
- Creative Commons Terms ExplainedExplains the terms of use for Creative Commons Licenses.
For example, all the licenses require attribution, which is as simple as including an in-text citation and/or attribution to the source in a reference list. See the caption below this image for an example of an in-text citation/attribution.
Photo courtesy of Ehud Tal, Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC BY-SA).
Creative Commons Resources
- Search the Openverse CommonsSearch for images, media, music and other content that have CCLs.
- OER CommonsSearch for open educational resources here. Many have CCLs.
- MERLOTMERLOT is a curated collection of free and open online teaching, learning, and faculty development services contributed and used by an international education community.
4. Rely on fair use.
- Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act
- Be sure you have a legal copy of the content you are using.
- Ensure that the copyrighted work you are using is crucial to your educational, scholarly, or creative objective.
- If the resource can easily be replaced by another resource that is in the public domain or has a CCL, it is probably not fair use.
Image courtesy of OpenClipArt-Vectors,
CC0, adapted by Rachel Miles
Fair Use Resources
- Fair UseThe fair use webpage of K-State's copyright website. Includes information about what is considered a legal copy of a resource, the four factors of fair use, trademarks and fair use, and resources and tools.
- Four Factors of Fair UseExplains the four factors and gives examples of what is and is not in favor of each factor.
- Fair Use EvaluatorUse the fair use evaluator tool in order to better understand the four factors of fair use and make your own evaluation of your use of a copyrighted work. The tool generates an optional PDF of the evaluation that can act as documentation for your records.
Image adapted from
Clker-Free-Vector-Images
5. Request permission
- Be sure to specify that the content will be used in an open online context and available to anyone worldwide with an Internet connection. If it is going to be available in a MOOC, explain the educational nature of the use.
- Be sure to archive all permission letters, even if it's just an email granting you permission.
Permission Requests Resource
- Request PermissionThe permissions webpage of K-State's copyright website.
Content You Cannot Share Publicly Online or in a MOOC
- Content licensed by the library for use by the university are otherwise restricted to authorized users and should never be publicly shared online.
- Copyrighted content you found on a website that does not allow you to legally download their content or for which you have not obtained permission from the rights holder(s).
- Check the website's terms of use to ensure you are allowed to download the content for "personal use" or your "own use." Sometimes, terms are even more specific and allow for use as long the use is non-commercial, for example.
- Legally obtained copyrighted content for which you do not have a good fair use argument or for which you have not received permission to use it.
