Use the following resources to search for alternative legal sources for images, videos, music, and books. Also, don't forget to contact our own library for additional licensed materials and subscriptions.
Creative Commons
Creative Commons (CC) established in 2012 allows for licensing your own works or use others who have shared their works under creative commons. There are 6 main CC licenses which provide permission to share and use others work based on certain conditions, such as providing an attribution.
- Attribution (CC BY)
- Attribution ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
- Attribution-NoDerivs (CC BY-ND)
- Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)
- Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA)
- Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)
* CC also provide tools that work in the “all rights granted” space of the public domain. Our CC0 tool allows licensors to waive all rights and place a work in the public domain, and our Public Domain Mark allows any web user to “mark” a work as being in the public domain.
Are you in need of copyright or free use image, media, music, or video, use the Creative Commons Search feature OR add the CC search to your Firefox browser. Other browser plug-ins can also be added for Chrome, Opera, and Safari.
Visit the UCLA Library for a fantastic grouping of links to creative commons, open content/access, and public domain images, plus online image collections and more.
Public Domain
Works in the public domain are those that are not protected by copyright and are free for use. The reasons why works end up within the Public Domain are due to expiration of the copyright term, work is not copyrightable, work is of the government.
Use the following sites for public domain books, images, and films:
- Library of Congress: Free to Use & Reuse (themed sets of content)
- Public Domain Free Photos, Clipart, Images, & Vectors
- Smithsonian Institution of Public Domain Images
- Public Domain Images from the New York Times
- Free ebooks from the Project Gutenberg
- Free Public Domain audiobooks:LibriVox
- Prelinger Internet Archives
- New York Public Library:Public Domain Digital Collections
Utilize the Librarycopyright.net Public Domain Slider as an aid to determine if a work lands in the Public Domain.
For additional detailed information on the Public Domain and other copyright information visit teachingcopyright.org's Public Domain FAQ's.
Additional Copyright Resources
- Copyright Clearance Center: http://www.copyright.com/learn/media-download/copyright-basics/
- U.S. Copyright Office: http://copyright.gov/
- Educators Guide to Copyright: http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr280.shtml
- University of Texas - The Teach ACT: http://guides.lib.utexas.edu/copyright/teachactchecklist
- University of Texas - Copyright Crash Course: http://copyright.lib.utexas.edu/ccmcguid.html
- Video List of: Understanding Copyright and Fair Use: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/film-festival-copyright-fair-use
- Teaching Copyright: http://www.teachingcopyright.org/
- Library of Congress - Copyright and Primary Sources: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/copyright.html
- Plagiarism:Avoid the Consequences (Center for Online Education)
- Association of Research Libraries: Code of Best Practices in Fair Use
- Educause Intellectual Property, Legal Sources of Online Content
- Copyright Advisory Network: Tools to help learn about copyright
Disclaimer
CopyRight@BC website is intended to provide general information and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact a licensed copyright lawyer if in need of counseling.
Contacts
Phil Roche
Copyright Librarian
Linda McConnell
Digital Copyright Manager
Email questions to: copyright@brazosport.edu
Thank You for Sharing
We wish to thank the following for sharing information and answering questions during site development:
- Columbia University Copyright Advisory Office
- Portland Community College Library
- U.S. Copyright Office