Creative works that are copyrighted or under copyright are those that you cannot use without gaining permission from the holder of the copyright. This could either be an individual, a company, or an organization. How one acquires permission can vary per situation. In some instances, you may simply need to contact the owner and ask for permission. In others, you will likely need to purchase a license to use the work.
Click here to learn what to consider when using materials available to the Quinnipiac University community.
Assume it's protected
-Investigate -- assume that the work is protected until you find its copyright information
-Most images from databases will grant you permission to use the images for educational uses (see Fair Use)
-Images from free web resources will either be in the Public Domain, covered under Creative Commons licenses, or allow their content to be used for educational purposes
Review usage agreements, ownership notices, and the terms and conditions for each resource
-Some images may have different usage polices than others
When in doubt, seek permission
-If you cannot find the information that you need to use the image, contact the publisher, organization, or listed owner
Cite every time
-Even if the image is in the public domain, you must always cite images properly
Adapted from UNC Health Sciences Library: https://guides.lib.unc.edu/images/copyright
Creative Common Licenses are one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work.. There are currently six licenses types and four types of conditions available through CC.
Something in the Public Domain means that it is not under any form of copyright, and you may use it without permission of any kind. Although you do not have to attribute the work to a creator, you should note that the work is from the public domain as well as include a proper citation.
There are two reason why a work may enter the public domain
Fair Use is an exemption to the rights of copyright holders.
The Four Factors
"Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered “fair,” such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair. See the checklist below to see how to apply these factors.
The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
The nature of the copyrighted work; (fiction/creative or nonfiction/factual)
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
From the U.S. Copyright Office http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
Fair use allows for the limited use of copyrighted material without the permission from the copyright holder themselves. Although Fair Use allows for the copying, displaying, and distributing of copyrighted materials in the classroom, these privileges do not extend into areas concerning publishing.
If you intend to use copyrighted materials outside the context of Fair Use, you should absolutely seek out formal permission from the copyright's original holder.
Many publications will have their own policies regarding copyrighted materials that you should refer to for guidance. Be aware, you will likely be the one responsible for clearing permissions and acquiring the necessary licenses to use the copyrighted images.
You can include copyrighted text, images, or videos in your presentation, with proper attribution. However, if your presentation is recorded and shared or the slides are made freely available, you may need to acquire the proper licenses and permissions for the copyrighted material.
Under Fair Use, you can use copyrighted materials for classroom projects and papers. If you intended to make the project readily available, such as a website or a handout for distribution, you should seek out permissions from the original copyright holder.
Using copyrighted material for commercial use falls outside the scope of Fair Use. If you intend to use copyrighted materials for commercial use, you must acquire the necessary permissions and licenses, or find other alternative works to use. A failure to do so can result in copyright infringement penalties being brought before you.
There are a number of factors that should be taken into consideration when utilizing materials available tthrough QU
Determine if you are dealing with a copyrighted work:
If the work is copyrighted, then you need to determine if the work is licensed by the University:
If the work is not held in the public domain nor it is licensed for use, there are other options to consider:
Many of the images available through Netter Library resources are protected under copyright, unless otherwise noted. QU pays license fees to make them available to you.
Most can still be used for class projects or presentations (which fall under Fair Use), but they cannot be used for publication or commercial purposes.
No matter what you maybe using it for, always check the licenses on each image before you use it.
