Copyright law can be tricky, but 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 .
Creative Commons offers flexible licenses that let artists share their work while keeping some control. From full 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
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
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-) requires derivative works to be shared under the same license
CC BY-NC (Attribution-) 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 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