Licensing
OER are based on a set of permissions that enable the use and modification of educational content. In this module, you will gain knowledge about the shift from traditional copyright to open licenses, and how you can apply open licenses to works you create, remix, and share.
Licensing Quick Start Kit
When you create something, you automatically own the copyright to that creative work. But sometimes full copyright is too restrictive. What if you want your work to be freely shared and built upon by the world? The video linked below explains how Creative Commons provides free copyright licenses so that creators such as yourself can stipulate how you want the public to use your work.
Sometimes, creators want to start with resources that already exist, and remix them into new OER. This video walks through ten steps you’ll need to take in turning pre-existing resources into OER—from finding out who originally created the resource, to seeking permission to include it in your OER, to selecting a Creative Commons license that tells the public how you want your new resource to be used.
Copyleft and Open Licensing Resources
About Copyleft and Open Licensing
What is Copyleft?
Copyleft is a play on the word copyright. Copyleft is a strategy for encouraging the public's right to freely copy, share, modify and improve creative works and modified versions of those works. Copyleft describes any method that utilizes the copyright system to achieve these goals.
Copyleft as a concept is usually implemented in the details of a specific copyright license, such as the Creative Commons Attribution License or the GNU General Public License, that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution with no or limited restrictions. Copyright holders of creative works can choose these licenses for their own works to build communities that collaboratively share and improve their creative works.
Attribution:
Definition of copyleft is a derivative of What is Copyleft? by Copyleft.org, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
What Are Open Licenses?
Open licenses support creators that want to share their works freely and allow other users more flexibility to reuse and share the creators’ works. Specific benefits include:
Allowing others to distribute the work freely, which in turn promotes wider circulation than if an individual or group retained the exclusive right to distribute;
Reducing or eliminating the need for others to ask for permission to use or share the work, which can be time-consuming, especially if the work has many authors;
Encouraging others to continuously improve and add value to the work; and
Encouraging others to create new works based on the original work - e.g., translations, adaptations, or works with a different scope or focus.
OER are typically licensed under an open licensing system, with the most popular being the Creative Commons (CC) licensing system.
Attribution:
Text is a derivative of Guide to Open Licensing, by Open Knowledge International, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Creative Commons Licenses
Creative Commons licenses allow creators to retain certain rights while waiving some rights. There are six types of Creative Commons license. All require attribution to the original creator(s). The creator can add on other restrictions such as non-commercial uses only and no derivative works. The six licenses include:
CC0: In general, you may treat the resource as if it were in the public domain.
CC attribution to the author/creator required.
CC BY-SA: Attribution required, and you agree to license new derivative versions of the resource that you create under CC BY-SA as well.
CC BY-NC: Attribution required; non-commercial use only; commercial use requires a separate, negotiated license.
CC BY-ND: Attribution required; no derivative works permitted; creation of derivative works requires a separate, negotiated license.
CC BY-NC-ND: This license is the most restrictive of the six main licenses. It allows others to download your works and share them with others as long as they mention you and link back to you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.
Open Licence Conditions
As a creator of OER, you can choose the conditions of reuse and modification by selecting one or more of the restrictions listed below:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work — and derivative works based upon it — but only if they give credit the way you request.
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your work — and derivative works based upon it — but for non-commercial purposes only.
You allow others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs your work.
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of your work, not derivative works based upon it.
Attribution:
Text a derivative of definitions provided in A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources, by Commonwealth of Learning, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Which Licence? A Use Case
In this animated video, Michelle develops a chapter on metabolism for an open textbook. She uses her teaching notes for the text of the chapter, and finds openly licensed images and exercises to accompany the text. She also determines which Creative Commons license to assign to her finished chapter before sharing it.
About Copyright
Copyright matters, because as educators, we often use content created by others and create content for others to use.
What is Copyright?
Copyright is a form of legal protection that affords the copyright owner the exclusive rights to, among other things:
Reproduce (copy)
Distribute
Publicly perform
Publicly display
Create “derivative works” (e.g., translations, revisions, other modifications)
Without permission from the copyright owner, or an applicable exception such as fair dealing under the Copyright Act, it is a violation of copyright law to exercise any of the copyright owner's exclusive rights.
What is a Copyright License?
A copyright license is a grant of permission to use certain copyright rights. Copyright licenses often have specific limitations that are outlined. For example, they may:
Be limited in time
Contain geographical restrictions
Only allow for educational uses
Only grant permission to use some of the copyright rights (for example, a license may grant permission to download and distribute a work, but not the right to create derivative works)
When evaluating the permitted scope of uses, read all copyright language closely. Using a work in a manner that exceeds the scope of permissions granted in a license is copyright infringement.
National and Local Copyright Policy
Under the Copyright Act of Canada, the author of the work is generally the owner of the copyright. However, if a work is created within the scope of the author’s employment, the employer holds the copyright unless there is an agreement to the contrary.
Check your college's copyright policies and intellectual property policies. Collective agreements or employment contracts can also affect copyright ownership. Contact the Learning Commons if you need more information, since they may be able to direct you to relevant policies and contacts.
Copyright Exceptions and Limitations
Public Domain
Works in the public domain are released from copyright protection due to the expiration of their copyright or by designation by the copyright holder. This content may be used in any way by anyone. In Canada, with some exceptions, copyright expires 50 years after the death of the creator.
Fair Dealing
In 2012, the Copyright Act of Canada was amended to add education as a purpose of fair dealing.
Linking to Copyrighted Materials
It is not a violation of copyright to link to copyrighted material, nor is it necessary to obtain permission from the copyright holder to, for example, links to a YouTube video in a presentation.
How to Determine Permissions
Follow this simplified checklist to determine the use permissions of the resources that you find online:
Look carefully at the resource you want to use and any information surrounding the resource to identify licensing information.
Also review the "About" and "Terms of Use" pages of the resource's website for permissions and licensing information.
If you cannot find a symbol or statement of the license or the permissions for use, the copyright owner is probably retaining all of their exclusive rights.
Additional Notes:
In Canada, the majority of federal, provincial and territorial government works and records are protected by Crown Copyright, and their copyright expires 50 years after the date of publication. However, the Government of Canada permits reproduction of its works for personal or public non-commercial purposes or for cost-recovery purposes under certain conditions.
Some provincial and territorial governments in Canada also allow reproduction of their works under certain restrictions. Check the respective government website for more information.
How to Seek Permission to Use a Work
Use the guidelines below to identify whether you need to seek permission from the copyright holder when repurposing existing materials as OER. You may also contact the Learning Commons for help on determining whether your intended use falls within a copyright exception or license, or whether permission is required.
You DO NOT need to ask permission if:
The resource is in the public domain. However, note that if resources do reside in the public domain, they may contain copyrighted works within them, so examine the resource and read the terms of use carefully.
Your intended use falls within a copyright exception or limitation (such as fair dealing).
The way that you want to use the resource is in compliance with the terms of a copyright license that applies to you (i.e., you already have permission in this case).
You DO need to ask permission if:
You wish to use a resource that is protected by copyright, and your intended use would be infringing copyright law.
You wish to use a resource in a way that is beyond the scope of the permission granted to users in an applicable copyright license.
You should consider asking for permission if:
You are uncertain about whether your intended use is permitted by an applicable copyright license.
You are uncertain about whether a work is protected by copyright.
You are uncertain about whether your intended use falls within a copyright exception or limitation (such as fair dealing).
Attribution:
Text is a derivative of Permissions Guide for Educators, by ISKME licensed under CC BY, 4.0.
Credits
The OER Toolkit was a developed by Colleges Libraries Ontario (CLO) and the Ontario Colleges Library Service (OCLS) in collaboration with the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME).