3.4 Public Domain and Creative Commons

Copyright law can be tricky, but public domain and Creative Commons make sharing art easier. When copyrights expire, works enter the public domain for anyone to use freely. It's a game-changer for creativity and access to knowledge.

Creative Commons offers flexible licenses that let artists share their work while keeping some control. From full attribution to non-commercial use, these licenses bridge the gap between copyright and public domain, fostering collaboration and innovation.

Public Domain and Copyright Expiration

Understanding Public Domain

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Top images from around the web for Understanding Public Domain

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  Public Domain - Copyright Guide - Research Guides at Davidson College View original

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  Copyright & Creative Commons licenses – Teach with Free & Open Educational Resources View original

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  Creative Commons - Copyright - Library Guides at Melbourne Polytechnic View original

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  Public Domain - Copyright Guide - Research Guides at Davidson College View original

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  Copyright & Creative Commons licenses – Teach with Free & Open Educational Resources View original

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• Public domain encompasses creative works not protected by intellectual property laws
• Includes works with expired copyrights, those ineligible for copyright protection, and works dedicated to the public domain
• Anyone can use, modify, distribute, or sell public domain works without permission
• Common examples include Shakespeare's plays, classical music compositions, and early silent films
• U.S. government works automatically enter the public domain, excluding some exceptions

Copyright Expiration and Timelines

• Copyright protection lasts for a limited time, after which works enter the public domain
• Current U.S. copyright term extends 70 years after the author's death for works created after 1978
• Works published before 1978 have different expiration dates based on publication year and copyright renewal status
• Works published before 1926 are in the public domain in the United States
• Copyright expiration dates vary by country, complicating international use of works

Open Access and Its Impact

• Open access movement promotes free, unrestricted access to research and scholarly works
• Aims to remove barriers to knowledge dissemination and accelerate scientific progress
• Open access journals make articles freely available online, often funded by author fees or institutional support
• Repositories like arXiv.org provide free access to preprints in various scientific fields
• Creative Commons licenses often used to facilitate open access publishing while retaining some rights

Creative Commons Licenses

Understanding Creative Commons

• Creative Commons nonprofit organization founded in 2001 to expand the range of creative works available for others to build upon and share
• Provides free, easy-to-use copyright licenses for creators to share their work with flexible terms
• Enables a middle ground between "all rights reserved" copyright and the public domain
• Licenses are machine-readable, allowing search engines to find CC-licensed content easily
• Used by various platforms (Wikipedia, Flickr, YouTube) to enable content sharing and remixing

Types of Creative Commons Licenses

• Six main types of CC licenses, each with different levels of permissiveness
• CC BY (Attribution) allows any use with credit to the original creator
• CC BY-SA (Attribution-ShareAlike) requires derivative works to be shared under the same license
• CC BY-NC (Attribution-NonCommercial) prohibits commercial use of the work
• CC BY-ND (Attribution-NoDerivatives) allows redistribution but prohibits modifying the work
• CC BY-NC-SA combines NonCommercial and ShareAlike restrictions
• CC BY-NC-ND is the most restrictive, allowing only sharing with attribution for non-commercial purposes

License Elements and Their Implications

• Attribution (BY) requires crediting the original creator, present in all CC licenses
• ShareAlike (SA) ensures derivatives are shared under the same terms, promoting open collaboration
• NonCommercial (NC) restricts commercial use, preserving economic rights for the creator
• NoDerivatives (ND) prohibits modifying the work, maintaining its integrity
• Licenses can be combined (CC BY-NC-SA) to create more specific usage terms
• CC0 dedication waives all rights, effectively placing a work in the public domain