We are all owners – creators – consumers. If content creators want to protect their expressions with copyright then they will require a fixation in a tangible medium, that shows originality and is minimally creative. So copyright does not cover Ideas, Concepts and Data, therefore you have patents, and non-disclosure agreements. Copyright contains a bundle of Exclusive Rights that can be transferred to: Reproduce, Distribute Copies, Create Derivative work, Perform Publicly, Display Publicly. Exceptions that do not violate copyright is Linking (does not create a copy) and Fair Use. Fair use is evaluated on: Purpose, Nature, Amount and Effect on the Market (Did the owner perceive loss). You are also free from copyright, when it clearly states that the fixation is in the public domain or is licensed by Creative Commons with attribution.
Copyright by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images
We all use fixated media while developing Learning Solutions. These can consist of Drawings (Vectors), Pictures (Raster), Sounds, Videos and Fonts. Not all learning architects have extended drawing, photographing, video and audio recording skills, and at that time they fall-back to stock media that is free of copyright. Stock media used to be very expensive, but today there is a wealth of free to use attributable content, without the need of breaching copyright. One nice example is the free elearning assets in adobe captivate.
Keep in mind to always check the copyrights as content that you find on the web is by default copyrighted if not stated differently!
How using Google Images can cost you $8,000
For this post I wanted to add a nice picture so I started using my good friend google.com, and selected tools, usage rights, labeled for reuse.
Then I visited the site to see the actual license of use, in this case it was “Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)” that requires me to attribute the owner. If you do not want to attribute the owner then you should search for public domain media.
Can I Use that Picture? The Terms, Laws, and Ethics for Using Copyrighted Images
I also compiled a list of free stock image, vector, font, video and audio sites that give you access to milions of assets. And please feel free to comment on what your favorite free resource is.
I recall needing a picture of a product that I believe was called an Ambulift when I worked at the Toronto International Airport. It was a device to aid persons who used wheelchairs to board smaller aircraft from the tarmac. I could have just used the images from the company website and probably not have a problem, however, I decided to reach out to the company.
They were so excited that their product was going to be featured in a training program at Toronto International Airport, they sent me higher quality pictures and a demo video of the product being used. Oh, I should point out that these higher resolution images and videos didn’t cost my organisation or me anything.
Great example, that by asking permission you most of the time get more in return then what you requested for originally.
What a neat post and resource sharing. I can’t wait to spend some time (while developing) to explore some of the sites. Thank you!
Attitude towards intellectual ownership is very different depending on countries. At least that is my experience, both as explorer and author.
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