Creative Commons and Fair Use
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Learning Objectives
- 1Identify the four common Creative Commons license types and what each one allows
- 2Match each license to the uses it permits and the uses it forbids
- 3Apply the four factors of fair use when reusing copyrighted work for learning
- 4Credit creators correctly with attribution that names the work, the author and the license
Mini Lesson
When you make a poster, a slideshow, or a video for a lesson project, you almost always borrow something — a photo, a sound effect, a snippet of music, a quote. Copyright law says the creator of that work decides how others may use it. Creative Commons licenses and the rules of fair use are how the internet works out who can reuse what, and on what terms.
Why Copyright Exists
Copyright is automatic. The moment a person writes, draws, films, codes, or records something original, they own the rights to it. Copying, posting, or remixing that work without permission is not just rude — it is against the law in most countries, even when no money changes hands.
Four Creative Commons Licenses You Will Meet
- CC-BY — anyone may copy, share, and remix the work for any purpose, including business, as long as they credit the creator.
- CC-BY-NC — same freedoms as CC-BY, but only for non-commercial uses such as a home project, a club, or a personal blog.
- CC-BY-SA — anyone may remix the work, but the new version must be shared under the same share-alike license, keeping the chain open.
- Public domain (CC0) — the creator has waived every right; the work is free for absolutely any use, with no attribution required (though crediting is still kind).
All Rights Reserved
A work with no Creative Commons mark is, by default, all rights reserved. You may not copy it, post it, or remix it without written permission from the owner. The fact that you found it on Google or social media does not make it free to reuse.
Fair Use — The Four Factor Test
- Purpose — is the new use educational, transformative, or news-related, or is it just a copy for entertainment or profit?
- Nature — is the original mostly factual (easier to reuse) or highly creative such as a song or a novel (harder to reuse)?
- Amount — are you using a small, necessary clip, or are you taking the heart of the work?
- Effect — does your reuse harm the market for the original, or could it replace a sale?
How to Credit a Creator
A good attribution names four things: the title of the work, the author, the source link, and the license. Example — Mountain Sunrise by Aya Tanaka, from Unsplash, licensed under CC-BY 4.0. Paste this near the image, in the slide notes, or in a credits page at the end of your project.
Tip: when you search, filter image results by license. Most search engines and stock sites have a Creative Commons or Usage Rights filter that lets you skip past the all-rights-reserved photos automatically.
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