Copyright
From Learning and training wiki
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Copyright refers to the ownership rights assigned to the author or creator of an original piece of work whether this is subject matter, illustrations, audio or video clips. An original work is automatically protected upon creation, implying that the creator of the work does not need to formally file a registration to gain the copyright entitlement.
It is practical to assume that all materials- whether in print, digital, audio or visual format- are copyrighted and, therefore, should not be re-produced in any form without permission from the copyright holder. In the internet age, where vast sources of materials are easily obtainable online, additional caution needs to be exercised to prevent breaching the copyright of digital resources when presented with the option of copying, scanning or downloading these materials. In general, a copyright term remains valid for a period of 70 years after the author’s decease, with this term being reduced to 50 years after the creator’s death in case of resources like audio and video. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that materials are either free of copyright protection or to seek copyright clearance before utilising them. [1] |
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What is copyright?According to the Berne Convention, everything is copyright protected. Practical examples of copyrighted works are books, writings, academic documents, musical compositions, cinematographic works (e.g. videos), drawings, photographic works (e.g. photos), illustrations, maps and any transmission of those works on the internet and in similar networks. This non-limitative list only provides a few examples and could include any other type of literary, musical, scientific or artistic material.
Special User Rights in Copyright WorksFor the usage of materials in learning contexts, there are three main cases where users are entitled to use copyright protected work both legally and freely:
Public Domain and Public UsePublic domain is the intellectual property designation for the range of contents which are of "public property" and available for anyone to use freely for any purpose. Generally, public domain refers to the use of copyright works after the expiry of their term of copyright; when the copyright expires (depending on the duration of the protection), the work enters the public domain. Furthermore, public domain refers also to ideas, information and works that are "publicly available": as an example, if you are linking to a document you are not infringing copyright laws because you are referring to something that can be consulted on the internet, and which could be removed from the owner at any time. Unlike the previous example, if you download or “copy-paste” a document or a video directly into the contents of an e-learning course, the material will not be for public use anymore and will automatically infringe copyright protection. Open Educational Resources (OER)Open Educational Resources (OER) is an important movement that works to build a global learning commons for the free use of learning materials (e.g. full courses, course materials, content modules, learning objects, collections and journals). OER are the basis for a burgeoning open education movement which is rapidly expanding in the number of people, projects, resources and policies designed to support its continued growth and impact. In view of the fact that OER collects learning materials that are freely available for use, remixing and redistribution, educators and administrators who are developing e-learning courses are highly encouraged to consult and take advantage of the materials and works which are already available on the OER website: www.oercommons.org. Creative Commons RightsCreative Commons (CC) licenses are the most important open licenses for copyrighted material. CC created a spectrum of licenses which allow users to combine four different rights: Attribution, Non-commercial, No Derivative and Share Alike. By combining those rights, users have the opportunity to use “personalized” licenses for a less restrictive use of copyrighted material. CC website lists and explains these rights as here below:
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