The U.S. Copyright Office defines the term copyright as "a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States for 'original works of authorship,' including literary, dramatic, musical, architectural, cartographic, choreographic, pantomimic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, and audiovisual creations."
All original works including (but not limited to) those that are literary, musical, and artistic are covered "under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device."
Creative Commons is a global nonprofit organization that enables sharing and reuse of creativity and knowledge through the provision of free legal tools. Creative Commons offers tools that help creators share their work. Creative Commons copyright licenses provide a simple, standardized way for creators to give permission to share and use their creative work — on conditions of their choice. When using Creative Commons-licensed images, users must both respect the terms of the license AND provide attribution to the creator. Use the resources below to learn more about Creative Commons licenses and best practices for image attribution.
The term "public domain" refers to creative materials that are not protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright, trademark, or patent laws. The public, rather than an individual or company, owns these works. Anyone can use a public domain work without obtaining permission, but no one can ever own it.
Fair Use licensing allows for people to use a portion of copyrighted works for "transformative" purposes. The material still needs to be attributed to its original creator.
When using sources that are protected under copyright there are four major factors to consider (see Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law):
So, what can you do because of the concept of Fair Use? You can take a photograph and recreate it using a different medium. You can quote books, articles, or people in your own work. You can make print materials available to blind individuals by translating them into Braille. You can copy computer code to build off of it and create new programs. As long as you link back to the original works with a citation or other form of attribution and follow any licensing guidelines, all of these things are possible because of Fair Use.
To cite this LibGuide use the following templates:
APA: Northern Essex Community College Library. (Date updated). Title of page. Title of LibGuide. URL
MLA: Northern Essex Community College Library. "Title of Page." Title of LibGuide, Date updated, URL.