GoalExplain the public domain and Creative Commons and how to find pictures I may reuse.
New words
public domain · works that anyone may use because their copyright has endedCreative Commons · a kind of licence where the creator allows reuse under simple ruleslicence · the written rules about how a work may be usedreuse · to use a work again in your own project
Explanation
Copyright does not last forever. After some years a work enters the public domain, and anyone may use it. The book for this class says that in Egypt this normally happens fifty years after the creator’s death, and other countries have different rules. Some creators say ‘yes’ in advance. They give their work a Creative Commons licence. It means: you may reuse my work if you follow my simple rules, usually to give credit. It is like a sign on a garden fence: ‘Please pick the flowers, but tell people whose garden they came from.’ When you look for pictures with a grown-up, you can ask the search tool to show only pictures that you may reuse. Even then, read the licence and give credit.
Kind of work
May I use it?
a new song by a living singer
only with permission
a work with a Creative Commons licence
yes, if I follow the rules (credit)
a very old work in the public domain
yes
Worked examples
Seif finds a photo of a lighthouse with a Creative Commons licence that says ‘please give credit’. He uses it in his project and writes the photographer’s name under it.
A story is so old that its writer died long ago, and its copyright has ended. It is in the public domain, so the class can print and read it. The rules differ between countries, so the teacher checks.
Jana’s teacher shows how a search tool can show only pictures marked ‘free to reuse’. Jana still reads the licence, because some say ‘not for sale’.
Class activity
Licence signs. Draw three garden fence signs: ‘Do not pick’, ‘Please pick, say thank you’ and ‘Open to all’. Match them to: copyright with no permission, Creative Commons, and the public domain. Write a sign of your own for a picture you drew, saying how you want others to reuse it.
Practice
1
What does the public domain mean?
The copyright has ended, so anyone may use the work.
2
In Egypt, when does a work normally enter the public domain, as the book says?
Fifty years after the creator’s death; other countries differ.
3
What does a Creative Commons licence say?
The creator allows reuse if you follow simple rules, usually giving credit.
4
Why read the licence even if a picture is marked free to reuse?
Some licences have extra rules, such as not for sale.
