This section provides an introduction to copyright alternatives including Creative Commons, public domain, and licenses.
Copyright doesn’t last forever. When a work is no longer protected by copyright, it enters the public domain. As of December 2022, works generally enter the public domain in Canada 70 years after the creator’s passing. Note that there are exceptions where entry into the public domain could be delayed.
Creators may also choose to "donate" their original creative works to the public domain. In doing so, creators waive the copyright to their work allowing others to freely use and/or adapt the work.
Learn more:
• More means less: Extended copyright benefits the corporate few, not the public (The Conversation)
Licenses are contracts or agreements that define permissible use of copyright protected works. Each license is unique and must be reviewed to ensure that you are using the works according to the terms set out in the license. If the use does not fall under the terms of use permitted in the license, then permission must be obtained.
Licenses supersede any exceptions stated in the Copyright Act such as fair dealing. Before using a work, check if there are any licenses that define how the work can be used. Certain works such as those from personal subscriptions (e.g., iTunes, Netflix) have licenses which do not permit copying or sharing even for educational purposes.
When searching for images, audio, and other media, you may have come across sites which describe their content as "royalty-free". Royalty-free content usually refers to licensed works which don't require additional future payments to the original creator/licensor.
Royalty-free works don't necessarily mean that the content is free. Some royalty-free media sites (e.g., Unsplash) offer free content, but there are other sites which require users to pay a fee in order to acquire a license to their content. Since the material is royalty-free, the user typically pays a one-time fee to license and use the work.
Royalty-free works are not free of copyright. They typically come with a license which outlines permitted use of the work. For example, some royalty-free materials have a license that allows the work to be adapted for commercial purposes. If you are considering using royalty-free works, make sure to review the license to determine that it works for your intended use. Check out the Seneca Sandbox guide for a list of free images, audio, and video sites you can use for your coursework.
Creative Commons copyright licenses and tools "forge a balance inside the traditional 'all rights reserved' setting that copyright law creates. [Creative Commons] tools give everyone from individual creators to large companies and institutions a simple, standardized way to grant copyright permissions to their creative work" (Creative Commons).
There are different types of Creative Commons licenses that creators can apply to their original works. The licenses range from most open (CC BY) to most restrictive (CC BY-NC-ND).
Adapted from: “Creative Commons Licenses ” by foter is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0