What Is Creative Commons?

What is Creative Commons?

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. For more information, go to http://creativecommons.org/about

Creative commons allows you to utilize a wide variety of media such as photos, videos, music, and clip art from a wide variety of sources. You can use the creative commons search query by going to https://search.creativecommons.org.

Why use Creative Commons?

As a contributor to Creative Commons, you are able to create a license for other people to use your work. You may set certain restrictions to the capacity in which your work is used.

As a user of Creative Commons, you may utilize available media within the restrictions set by the creator. Please be aware of the restrictions or exceptions that apply to the media before you use it to make sure that you do not violate the Creative Commons license.

What is Copyright?

Copyright is the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same.

Copyright licenses provide a simple, standardized way to give the public permission to share and use your creative work — on conditions of your choice. CC licenses let you easily change your copyright terms from the default of “all rights reserved” to “some rights reserved.”

 

What is Public Domain?

Public domain works is content that is not restricted by copyright which means that it is free to use by the public. There are three main categories that Public Domain work falls under:

  1.   Works that are automatically entered into the Public Domain because they are not able to be copyrighted
  2.   Works that creators have assigned to Public Domain
  3.   Works whose copyright have expired which include
  4.    Works published in the U.S. before 1923
  5.   Works published with a copyright notice from 1923 – 1963 without copyright renewal
  6.    Works published without a copyright notice from 1923 – 1977
  7.   Works published without a copyright notice from 1978 – March 1, 1989 and without subsequent registration within 5 years

For more specifics about Public Works, visit the following website

https://www.teachingcopyright.org/handout/public-domain-faq

The following websites are places where you can find a wide variety of different Public Domain works: