Open Educational Resources (OER): Copyright, Creative Commons, Fair Use, and OER Usage Rights

A variety of tools to help users determine copyright status and whether or not a usage would be considered fair use. Additionally, the site collects links to best practices from several professional organizations.

An authoritative guide in determining whether or not a work is still under copyright and for how long.

A checklist that helps you weigh the factors supporting and opposing fair use of a work to help you determine whether the use you're proposing counts as fair use or whether you will need to seek permission from the copyright holder.

An explanation of each type of Creative Commons license and what they permit with real world examples of how each is used.

Interactive form to help you choose the best Creative Commons license to share a work the way you want.

An overview of Creative Commons licensing, plus how to apply a Creative Commons license to your own work, what it means to use others’ openly licensed works, and a Q&A with presenter Jennryn Wetzler, Director of Learning and Training, Creative Commons.

Up-to-date resource on copyright and other intellectual property rights organized with sections for Faculty and Instructors, Students, Social Media, and Plagiarism and Infringement. Created with open educational resources and open access materials in mind.

Self-paced Canvas course from Copyright & Creativity for Ethical Digital Citizens. At the end of this course, you should understand copyright and fair use and be able to apply them in project-based learning situations, including knowing how to help students find creative work that is free and legal to re-use and share.

Resources for teaching copyright and fair use including curricula for elementary school, middle school, and high school as well as professional development for teachers.

An introduction to how copyright applies to and affects works you create as well as how you can use the copyright-protected materials of others. Includes information on basic copyright, copyright registration, visual art, photography, musical works and sound recordings, fair use, and the public domain.

Extensive introduction to many aspects of copyright law in the United States, including fair use, Creative Commons, public domain, Section 108, and the TEACH Act.

Covers questions about copyright and open licensing that come up when working with OER. Includes a discussion of foundational knowledge, questions and common challenges, and fair use and attribution for third-party copyrighted works.

Powered by WVNET, this site seeks to support and gather information on the adoption and creation of OER in West Virginia. Information on the West Virginia Open Education Resources Grant (presented by the Higher Education Policy Commission (HEPC) and the Community and Technical College System) can be found here.