3 Copyright and OER
Faculty, staff and students are creators as well as users of copyright-protected works. As creators, we rely on the protections offered by the Copyright Act to ensure that our work is protected from improper use. As users, we are legally and morally obligated to respect the rights of others, just as we expect others to respect our rights. It is important that faculty, staff and students abide by the provisions of the Copyright Act, as well as the university policy Use of Materials Protected by Copyright.
Copyright is a copyright owner’s sole and exclusive right to produce, reproduce, perform, publish, adapt, translate, and telecommunicate a work, and to control the circumstances in which others may do any of these things. Copyright owners may grant permission to others through licences or contracts.
Copyright protection exists as soon as a work is created in a fixed form (for example, written down or recorded). A fact or idea is not subject to copyright protection, but the expression of the fact or idea is protected.
Copyright does not protect factual information, titles, short word combinations, names, characters, slogans, themes, plots or ideas. These may be used or copied without permission or payment of royalties (unless they happen to be protected under trademark law).
Usually, the creator of a work (for example, the one who writes, draws, films, etc.) is the first owner of the copyright in that work. However, ownership of copyright may be transferred to another individual or entity (for example, to a publisher) or waived. Note that if someone owns a copy of a work, it does not mean they own copyright in that work.
Copyright Infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized use of work(s) protected by copyright or infringing the copyright holder’s rights, without written permission from the copyright holder. A person who does something with a protected work that only the copyright owner is entitled to do, and who does so without the permission of the copyright owner of that work, infringes the copyright of the owner and can be held liable. Remember – the author or creator of a work might not be the copyright owner of the work, if they have transferred or assigned their copyright to another person or entity.
Open Educational Resources
Open educational resources (OER) allow instructors and students to access, use, revise/remix, and share pedagogically appropriate learning materials freely. Generally, there are less restrictive copyright licences (for example, Creative Commons licences) attached to OER than there are for traditionally published materials.
OER doesn’t just apply to the finished resource, it applies to all the elements within the resource. All the images, tables, and other content within the resource need to be open or free of copyright protection. When adopting or adapting a resource, you need to be aware of how the resource can be used. It’s important to remember that just because an item is available online, it does not give an individual the right to use the work however they choose.
Many faculty members choose to make their teaching and learning materials, resources, or full courses publicly available online, which means that anyone with an internet connection can access and view the resources. This means that when faculty members post content openly on the internet, they are effectively publishing that content online for a global audience.
Using copyrighted materials in an open environment requires more diligence than using those same materials in a classroom or learning management system at USask. Since the audience is not limited to registered students, the use of third-party copyrighted material is more likely to require the permission of the copyright owner(s), and the inappropriate use of such material is more likely to generate complaints. Further, many of the educational exceptions that allow classroom use of copyrighted material without permission either do not apply in the open environment or apply only in a limited fashion.
Public Domain
Publicly available works, such as those available on the internet, are different from public domain works. Most content on the internet or in journals and books, are not in the public domain.
The term “public domain” refers to creative materials that are not protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright, trademark, or patent laws. The public owns these works, not an individual author or artist. Anyone can use a public domain work without obtaining permission, but no one can ever own it. In Canada copyright expires 70 years after the death of the creator, at the end of the relevant calendar year. Public domain material then is free for you to use any way you choose. That means there are no restrictions on copying and adapting, and there is no need to seek permission to use the content.
Works can also be in public domain because the work was either not eligible for copyright protection in the first place or the copyright owner has chosen to completely release the work from copyright protection. This can be done by stating on the work that it may be copied or reproduced without permission or payment of royalties (for example, CC0, or insubstantial amounts of a work).
Note:
- Effective December 30, 2022, the copyright for a work created in Canada was extended to 70 years following the end of the calendar year in which the creator died.
- However, for works where the last living author died on or before December 31, 1971, the previous copyright term (of 50 years after the end of the calendar year in which the author died) still applies. The 2022 Copyright Act extension is not retroactive.
Looking to learn more?
- USask Copyright Office public domain webpage.
- University of Albert Canadian Copyright Term and Public Domain Flowchart webpage
Licenses and Permissions
If you are looking for content to add to your text, you should look for and use Creative Commons (or similar) licensed material or items that are in the public domain. If you want to use materials that are not released in the public domain or under a Creative Commons license, you can do so by obtaining written permission from the copyright holder to use this material in your text. However, this process limits how others can use or reuse that material, meaning that your text will not be truly open
Copyright information may be located on webpages such as “Terms of Use,” “Legal Notices,” “Copyright Notice” or something similar. These webpages may also include contact information for acquiring copyright permission. If you acquire permission to use the content, please keep a copy of any permissions that you receive.
If permissions were obtained, clearly note in the textbook license and on the specific material that the items are copyrighted so that other adapting the book in the future know they cannot reuse that material without permission.
Note:
- Providing a link to any materials that are legally and openly available online is a very good option if there is a notice on the website/online material that prohibits the reuse of the material for any reason.
- Obtaining clearances for materials can take a long time (on average of six to eight weeks), so please submit your requests early so that your course materials will be available in time.
Looking to learn more?
- USask Copyright Office getting permission from a copyright owner webpage.
Citation and Attribution
As you put an open textbook together, be sure to keep track of where information came from, and the copyright terms associated with any significant amounts of text or digital media you include. The following section provides guidance on how to communicate this information in your work.
“Citation” and “attribution” are often used as synonyms, but they mean two different things.
Citing Sources
Citation is a scholarly practice for crediting ideas that are not your own and providing readers with where to locate the source of this information.
As with any published work, be sure to provide complete in-text citations and reference entries in your open textbook using a recognized citation style (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago).
Reference lists can be included at the end of each chapter or section, or all together in their own section in the back matter of your book.
Attributing Sources
Attribution is about crediting a copyright holder according to the terms of a copyright license.
Attributions are required when including works under a Creative Commons license and recommended when using works in the public domain.
Attributions can be included directly underneath a source, or at the bottom of a chapter or section under an Attributions heading to leave content uncluttered.
Note:
- The important thing to remember about using Creative Commons licenced materials is that you need to always attribute the creator regardless of the license version being used.
- To help you with making Creative Commons attribution, there are attribution creator website Open Attribution Builder or ImageCodr.org for the use with Flickr images.
Looking to learn more?
- BCcampus Self-Publishing Guide Chapter 21 Citation vs. Attribution OER.
Additional resources:
- Module 7 – Openly Licensed Materials – https://www.carl-abrc.ca/influencing-policy/copyright/opencopyrightcourse/module-7/
- From CARL Copyright Open Educational Resource for University Instructors and Staff – https://www.carl-abrc.ca/influencing-policy/copyright/opencopyrightcourse/
- USask copyright website – https://library.usask.ca/copyright/
Adaption
This page was adapted from several source, which are listed below:
- Adapted from the UBC Open Text Publishing Guide by Erin Fields; Amanda Grey; Donna Langille; and Clair Swanson licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerial 4.0 International License except where otherwise noted.
- Adapted from Public Domain by Copyright at UBC under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License except where otherwise noted.
- Adapted from Copyright at the University of Saskatchewan by USask Copyright Office under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Licence unless otherwise noted.
- Adapted from Open Educational Resources (OER): Instructor Guide by Ryerson University Library licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License unless otherwise noted.
- Adapted from MacEwan Open Textbook Authoring Guide by MacEwan University Library licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
