COPYRIGHT

PUBLIC DOMAIN?

Public domain works are not restricted by copyright and do not require a license or fee to use. Public domain status allows the user unrestricted access and unlimited creativity!

There are three main categories of public domain works:

• Works that automatically enter the public domain upon creation, because they are not copyrightable:

  • 1. • Titles, names, short phrases and slogans, familiar symbols, numbers

       • Ideas and facts (e.g., the date of the Gettysburg Address)

       • Processes and systems

       • Government works and documents

• Works that have been assigned to the public domain by their creators

• Works that have entered the public domain because the copyright on them has expired (which include):

  • 1. • ​works published before January 1, 1923.

       • works published between 1923 and 1978 that did not contain a valid copyright notice.

       • works published between 1923 and 1978 for which the copyright was not renewed.

COPYRIGHTS AND COPYING WRONGS

Education World answers the question "What can my students and I freely use in our lessons, presentations, workshops, newsletters, reports, and Web sites, and what is protected by copyright?" Included: A tour of the public domain!

COPYRIGHT CRASH COURSE

University of Texas course on copyright. The Copyright Crash Course was created by Georgia Harper and is currently maintained by UT Libraries. The Course is arranged into several sections that allow users to explore certain areas of copyright law individually or as a group. The Course was originally created with faculty in mind, but can be used by anyone who is interested in understanding and managing their copyrights

COPYRIGHT CHEAT SHEET

​Helpful cheat sheet including where to find copyright-free audio, video, and images for student and teacher projects.

COPYRIGHT FAQ

Frequently asked questions about EVERYTHING COPYRIGHT.​

HOW CAN YOU PROTECT YOURSELF?

IN THE DATABASE PORTAL

MUSIC: ​

SOUNDZABOUND - Royalty free music library who understands the growing technology requirements and licensing needs for education, having been created by educators for education.

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PLAGIARISM:

​​NOODLETOOLS - Cite what you have used - sign up for an account for free using your Pal-Mac email!

OTHER SUGGESTED SITES/RESOURCES

IMAGES:

PIXABAY.COM - Free images and videos you can use anywhere. Pixabay is a vibrant community of creatives, sharing copyright free images and videos. All contents are released under Creative Commons CC0, which makes them safe to use without asking for permission or giving credit to the artist - even for commercial purposes.

GOOGLE IMAGES - Make sure you are using LABELED FOR NONCOMMERCIAL REUSE under TOOLS>USAGE RIGHTS.

CREATIVE COMMONS - A nonprofit organization that works to increase the amount of creativity (cultural, educational, and scientific content) available in “the commons” — the body of work that is available to the public for free and legal sharing, use, repurposing, and remixing. For more information visit https://creativecommons.org.

​SOUND EFFECTS

BBC SOUND EFFECTS - More than 16,000 free sound effects.

PLAGIARISM

Visit the High School Library for Citing Sources.

Other Citation websites: Easybib.com | Citation Machine | BibMe

RRLC - ASK A LAWYER!

The Rochester Regional Library Council has acquired the services of an attorney to offer RRLC and its members timely input on intellectual property, digital rights management, vendor contracts, and other legal issues that can impact library operations. Questions sent to Ask the Lawyer! will be reviewed by RRLC staff, and sent to counsel for responses. This project is being offered in collaboration with the Western New York Library Resources Council.