EDUC 406: ICT in Education

Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that aims to make licensing your
work and accessing public domain resources simple for individuals, educational
institutions, and other organizations across the globe.

Creative Commons License

 Creative Commons (CC) licenses are legal tools that creators and other rights
holders can use to grant certain usage rights to the public, while reserving
other rights. CC licenses are written as an agreement between the author
and the general public, making usability and shareability the default – rather
than restricting use. Like traditional licenses, they are designed to offer
authors and creators legal standing from which to protect their intellectual
property and act against those who use it improperly.

 Creative commons license is a license issued by the copyright owner to allow

anyone in the world to use his or her copyright work in any manner
consistent with that license. Creative Commons licenses are essentially
standard form license agreements which can be attached to a work to enable
its use under certain circumstances without the need to contact the author or
negotiate terms of use.

Creative Commons licenses comprises a set of copyright licenses created by CC that

builds upon traditional copyright practices to create a balance between the standard
‘all rights reserved’ method of publishing and public domain ‘no rights reserved’.
The licenses provide a simple and standardized framework which allows creatives to
maintain their copyright and still authorise certain uses of their works (some rights
reserved) on certain conditions dictated by them. Such uses include copying,
remixing and distribution subject to attribution. Today, the movement and the
licenses have generated a pool of content ‘that can be copied, distributed, edited,
remixed and built upon within the framework of copyright law.

Creative Commons licenses give everyone from individual creators to large

institutions a standardized way to grant the public permission to use their creative
work under copyright law. From the reuser’s perspective, the presence of a Creative
Commons license on a copyrighted work answers the question, what can I do with
this work?

Attribution
Attribution is the acknowledgment of the creator of a work when it is copied.
Attribution is usually displayed close to the work, for example, in the caption to a
photograph. Attribution should include the work’s title, the name of its creator, and
the source, as well as the terms under which it was copied, for example 'used with
permission' or 'licensed under CC BY'. Creators often specify how to attribute their
work and these instructions should be followed.
The CC License options
There are six different license types (attribution), listed from most to least
permissive here:

1. CC BY

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build

upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is
given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. CC BY
includes the following elements:

BY: credit must be given to the creator.

2. CC BY-SA

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build

upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is
given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. If you
remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material
under identical terms. CC BY-SA includes the following elements:

BY: credit must be given to the creator.

SA: Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.

3. CC BY-NC

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build

upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial
purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the
creator. CC BY-NC includes the following elements:

BY: credit must be given to the creator.

NC: Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.

4. CC BY-NC-SA

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build

upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial
purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the
creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the
modified material under identical terms. CC BY-NC-SA includes the following
elements:

BY: credit must be given to the creator.

NC: Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.

SA: Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.

5. CC BY-ND

This license enables reusers to copy and distribute the material in

any medium or format in unadapted form only, and only so long as
attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial
use. CC BY-ND includes the following elements:

BY: credit must be given to the creator.

ND: No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted.

6. CC BY-NC-ND

This license enables reusers to copy and distribute the material in

any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial
purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the
creator. CC BY-NC-ND includes the following elements:

BY: credit must be given to the creator.

NC: Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.

ND: No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted.

Importance of CC in Education

1. Facilitates Sharing and Collaboration

CC licenses allow creators to specify the permissions for their work, making it easy
for teachers to share resources with colleagues, students, and the broader
education community. It also encourages collaboration and the development of a
shared pool of educational resources, promoting a culture of knowledge exchange.
2. Reduces Barriers to Access
By using CC licenses, creators can grant permissions upfront, eliminating the need
for individuals to seek explicit permission for using, sharing, or adapting educational
content. This reduces legal and administrative barriers, making it easier for
educators and learners to access a wide range of high-quality resources.

3. Supports Open Educational Resources:

CC licenses are often applied to Open Educational Resources, allowing for the free
use, adaptation, and sharing of educational materials. This promotes affordability
and accessibility in education. OER, with CC licenses, empowers educators to
customize content to meet specific learning objectives and adapt resources to suit
diverse learning styles.

4. Encourages Innovation and Creativity:

CC licenses promote a culture of innovation by allowing others to build upon
existing works. Teachers can modify and adapt resources to better suit the needs of
their students.

5. Global Reach and Cross-Cultural Collaboration:

CC-licensed materials can be easily shared and accessed globally. This facilitates
cross-cultural collaboration, allowing teachers and students from different parts of
the world to benefit from a diverse range of educational content. It promotes the
idea that education is a global endeavor, encouraging the exchange of ideas.

Intellectual property (IP)

Intellectual property refers to any intellectual creation, such as inventions, literary
works, artistic works, inventions, designs, symbols, names, images, computer code,
etc. Intellectual property law exists in order to protect the creators and covers
areas of copyright, trademark law, and patents.

Copyright
Copyright refers to the rights granted to the creators or copyright holders of original
works. Copyright protects owners’ rights to control how their works are used.
Generally, permission must be obtained before using work protected by copyright.
Copyright protection lasts for a specific period of time. Once that period has ended
(usually 70 years after the death of the creator), the work can be used without the
need for permission or payment. Copyright is the form of IP most commonly
created and/or used in the Department and schools. Examples of material protected
by IP or copyright that school staff might encounter include:
• curriculum material
• text books and other teaching resources
• software and apps
• films, videos and podcasts
• literary works such as novels, poems, plays, reference works, newspaper
articles;

Trademark
A trademark is a recognizable sign, symbol, or design that distinguishes products or
services of a particular source from those of others. Trademarks can be relevant in
educational resources to protect logos, names, or other distinctive symbols
associated with educational institutions, programs, or specific educational products.
Trademarks can potentially last indefinitely if properly maintained and renewed.

Patent
A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, providing the inventor with
the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, or importing the patented
invention. While patents are more commonly associated with inventions and
technological innovations, they can also apply to certain educational methods, tools,
or processes that are novel and non-obvious. Patents typically last for a limited
period, usually 20 years from the filing date of the application. In principle, the
patent owner has the exclusive right to prevent or stop others from commercially
exploiting the patented invention. In other words, patent protection means that the
invention cannot be commercially made, used, distributed, imported or sold by
others without the patent owner's consent.
Patents are territorial rights. In general, the exclusive rights are only applicable in
the country or region in which a patent has been filed and granted, in accordance
with the law of that country or region.

In conclusion, trademarks safeguard brands and their identifiers, copyright protects

original creative works, and patents secure exclusive rights to inventions. Each
serves a distinct purpose in the realm of intellectual property, offering creators and
inventors the means to protect and benefit from their creations.

The CC0 Public Domain Dedication

CC0 (aka CC Zero) is a public dedication tool, which enables

creators to give up their copyright and put their works into the
worldwide public domain. CC0 enables reusers to distribute, remix,
adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, with no conditions.

Choosing a license
The six licenses and the public domain dedication tool give creators a range of
options. The best way to decide which is appropriate for you is to think about why
you want to share your work, and how you hope others will use that work.

Before licensing
Before you apply a CC license or CC0 to your work, there are some important
things to consider:

The licenses and CC0 cannot be revoked. This means once you apply a CC
license to your material, anyone who receives it may rely on that license for as long
as the material is protected by copyright, even if you later stop distributing it.

You must own or control copyright in the work. Only the copyright holder or
someone with express permission from the copyright holder can apply a CC license
or CC0 to a copyrighted work. If you created a work in the scope of your job, you
may not be the holder of the copyright.

Public Domain

The term “public domain” encompasses those materials that are not protected by
intellectual property laws such as copyright, trademark, or patent laws. No
individual owns these works; rather, they are owned by the public. Anyone can use
a public domain work without obtaining permission and without citing the original
author, but no one can ever own it.

There are five common ways that an item will arrive in the Public Domain.

1. The copyright has expired.

Copyright has expired for all works made in the United States prior to 1926. If the
publication date is before January 1, 1926, then the work is in the Public Domain.

For works published after 1977, copyright will not expire until 70 years after the
last surviving author dies.

2. The Copyright failed to affix the required notice.

Works published in the United States before 1978 immediately entered the public
domain if they were generally published without a proper copyright notice. Which
required the copyright symbol © (for phonorecords, the symbol ℗) word copyright
of the abbreviation copr. along with the name of the holder and the date of first
publication. © 1959 John Doe.

Between 1979 and 1989 works published in the United States would entere the
public domain if a registration was made within 5 years of initial publication with
the Copyright Office and reasonable effort was made to correct the omission on all
copies distributed in the U.S. after the omission is discovered.

3. The copyright owner failed to follow renewal rules.

Works published in the United States before 1964 fall into the public domain if
copyright was not renewed with the Copyright Office during the 28th year after
publication. No renewal meant a loss of copyright.

For works published between 1925 and 1964, research with the Copyright Office is
needed to know whether the item is in the Public Domain. For a helpful guide to
researching Copyright Office records, please see this guide from Stanford University
Libraries.

4. The copyright owner deliberately places the item in the Public Domain.

Sometimes, a copyright owner will choose to release their work to the Public
Domain. They can do this via a CC-0 license or by placing a statement such as "This
work is dedicated to the Public Domain" on their work. It is important to verify that
the person dedicating the work to the Public Domain is, in fact, the owner of the
copyright for the work.

5. Copyright law does not protect this kind of work.

Copyright law does not protect the titles of books or movies, nor does it protect
short phrases such as, “Beam me up.” Copyright protection also doesn’t cover
facts, ideas, or theories, which has important ramifications for the collection of
data. While the facts of data are not subject to copyright, their organization may
be. For help with questions surrounding copyright and data, contact Office of
Scholarly Communication and Publishing.