Title: Determining Copyright & Usage
Course: Tech Tools for Teachers > Section: Copyright (Required)

How to determine a work's level of copyright.

How to determine a works copyright status

Physical Media

Physical media, such as books and CD, should have a copyright notice on the work itself. However, a copyright notice is not required, so assume that a work is copyrighted with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted.

Digital Media

Digital media may also have a copyright notice directly on it; for example, a watermark on an image, a notice on the first or last slide of a presentation, or credits on a video. The copyright may also be embedded in the file information; if the file is downloadable (you can save it to your computer), right-click on the file and select Properties to check for a copyright notice.

Websites that provide digital media often provide a blanket policy regarding all the media on the site. These policies are most often found in the footer of a website; look for the phrases such as: Terms of Use, Rights Statement, or simply Copyright. Sometimes the notice itself in in the footer. FAQ or “About” pages are another good place to look.

When a work does not include a copyright notice, but you can determine when it was published (or when the author died, for unpublished works), use the Copyright Digital Slider to determine copyright.

If all else fails, assume the work is copyrighted with all rights reserved.

Using Copyrighted Material

Once you have determined the copyright status of a work, use the guidelines below to determine how you may use the work in your class.

All Rights Reserved

For posting content online, see Copyright Guidelines - Online Material
For in-classroom use, see Copyright Guidelines - Classroom

Creative Commons

All CC licenses allow you to display/distribute a work for non-commericial use, but changing or building upon the work may be restricted, depending on the specific license. See Creative Common Licenses for guidelines on using creative commons content.

Public Domain

Works in the public domain may be used freely without the permission of the former copyright owner (via Copyright.gov)

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