Even though Creative Commons and other open licenses mean you can reuse and edit content without restriction, it's still important to provide accurate attribution to the original resource and author and to make it clear when a work has been adapted or edited. These tools provide some guidance on best practices for attribution when reusing and/or editing Creative Commons licensed items.
Start your search for content using these search engines, which search a number OER databases.
For additional information on locating existing OER, review:
Don't feel the need to start from scratch! Open licenses allow reuse of content to make the creation process easier.
Just remember to review licenses before using an existing resource. While multiple types of open resources exist, the most common are the Creative Commons licenses. If the resource uses a creative commons license, you can use with the following licenses without worry:
If there are any questions about licenses or reusing content, please contact the Open Educational Resources Librarian.
And even if you can use content without permission, don't forget to attribute the original source and author.
If you're interested in using something with a No-Derivative (ND) Creative Commons restriction (CC BY-NC-ND and CC BY-ND licenses) or under traditional copyright, there is a possibility you can still include it in your OER.
The No-Derivative (ND) restriction (CC BY-NC-ND and CC BY-ND licenses) means that you cannot make any changes to the work. If you want to insert the whole item without changing it, you can include it in your OER. For example, you can include an image with a ND restriction in your work. However, if you wanted to crop or alter the coloring of the image before including it, you would NOT be allowed to include it in your OER (with the caveats below).
Because the US has an opt-out copyright system, you should assume everything is copyrighted unless it explicitly says otherwise. So, for example, even though an image might be freely available to view online and download, you should not include it in your work unless it explicitly states it uses an open license or you use one of the options below.
Under certain circumstances, you can reuse restricted usage work by claiming fair use. This concept is based on the idea that certain uses of copyrighted works benefit society without causing undue harm to copyright holders and therefore do not require permission from the copyright holder. In some cases, this can include usage for scholarship and educational purposes. However, there are no easy rules for what constitutes fair use (i.e. the 10% rule is not a true rule). Rather cases are individually evaluated on four factors, the most important of which is the impact on the market of the original work.
If you are considering claiming fair use, we recommend you perform a fair use analysis before finalizing your decision. This analysis will help evaluate your use against the four factors which courts will use if you are ever sued for copyright infringement. We recommend retaining a copy of your fair use analysis on the off chance that you ever need it.
For more information on fair use, visit:
You can also consider asking for permission from the original copyright holder for any rights not automatically granted by the license. When asking for permission, it's good to clearly describe 1. what item you want to use, 2. your resource and 3. the rights you want. For example, you may be requesting the non-exclusive right to distribute the item as a part your OER, which will be licensed using the X creative commons license. Some copyright owners will be happy to grant permissions, others may be resistant, and others are ok with reuse of their materials only under certain conditions. Additionally, some copyright owners (typically commercial companies) will request compensation for the reuse of their copyrighted materials. This cost varies from institution to institution, but can be as large as hundreds or thousands of dollars per item.
If permission for use is granted, you should retain a copy of that communication and indicate the copyright alongside the item. For example, including "(c) copyright owner. Used with permission" at the end of an image caption.
In you're interested in requesting permission, here are a couple resources to get you started:
You can also ask the Open Educational Resources Librarian for help in writing a permissions letter or locating a copyright holder.
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