Public Domain
An uncopyrighted work is considered to be in the public domain and can be used for any purpose with violating copyright law. If an item has no copyright notice, you will need to consider if it falls within the public domain.
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Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United StatesCornell University
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Digital Copyright SliderTool to help determine if a work is protected by copyright or if it is in the public domain. Based on publication date.
Creative Commons
Understanding Public Domain & Creative Commons License Types
Public Domain (no limitations)
Copy, adapt, modify, share.
Commercial and non-commercial.
Do not have to credit original content creators.
Attribution (BY)
Copy, adapt, modify, share.
Commercial and non-commercial.
Credit original content creators.
Attribution (BY) - Share Alike (SA)
Copy, adapt, modify, share under same license type.
Commercial and non-commercial.
Credit original content creators.
Attribution (BY) - No Derivatives (ND)
Copy, share.
Commercial and non-commercial.
Credit original content creators.
Attribution (BY) - Non-commercial (NC)
Copy, adapt, modify, share.
Non-commercial.
Credit original content creators.
Attribution (BY) - Non-commercial (NC) - Share Alike (SA)
Copy, adapt, modify, share under same license type.
Non-commercial.
Credit original content creators.
Attribution (BY) - Non-commercial (NC) - No Derivatives (ND)
Copy, share.
Non-commercial.
Credit original content creators.
Creative Commons Explanation
Sources of Non-Copyrighted Material
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Flickr (images)Use the advanced search to limit search to images licensed with a Creative Commons license.
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Google Image SearchLimit by types of usage rights:
Free to use or share - Allows you to copy or redistribute its content if the content remains unchanged.
Free to use, share, or modify - Allows you to copy, modify, or redistribute in ways specified in the license.
Commercially - If you want content for commercial use, be sure to select an option that includes the word "commercially." -
Moving Image ArchiveDigital movies uploaded by Internet Archives users.
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Legal Sources of Online ContentEducause
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OER CommonsOpen Educational Resources
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Public Domain and Creative Commons: A Guide to Works You Can Use FreelyGuide to using public domain and Creative Commons materials for scholarly projects.
Using Non-Copyrighted Material
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Good Copyright and Creative Commons Practices - Presentation SlidesNancy Sims, Copyright Program Librarian, University of Minnesota Libraries
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Using Open Educational Resources (OER) to Open Up KnowledgePresentation for the 24th Annual AFACCT Conference, January 9 and 10, 2014 (hosted by Prince George's Community College, Largo, MD)
Linking to Library Licensed Content
The Library licenses digital content such as databases, journals, ebooks, and streaming video on behalf of the college. To link to library licensed content, you need to put a proxy string in front of the URL so that the resource can be accessed from off campus.
The proxy string is https://ccproxy.idm.oclc.org/login?url=
Example: To link to the Academic Search Complete database, you would insert the following URL https://ccproxy.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=a9h (proxy string + URL of Academic Search Complete database)
Getting Copyright Permissions
If you need to use a copyrighted work that isn't yet licensed by the library, permission may need to be obtained from the copyright holder. The Library can assist you via our reserves service. For articles, book chapters and other text, we use the Copyright Clearance Center to request and pay for permissions. For streaming media, such as video, we contact the copyright holder or service for the work in question. Again, the Library will pay a fee for this permission.
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Reserves & CopyrightOverview of the Library's Course Reserves & Ereserves
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Permission to reuse content from Howard Community College Library.
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