Copyright Issues and Resources

Are free-to-access internet materials protected by copyright? 

In many cases, yes. 

Copyright protects eight different types of "creations of the mind" in the United States: 1. literary works, 2. musical works, 3. dramatic works, 4. choreographic works, 5. visual art, 6. motion pictures, 7. sound recordings, and 8. architectural works (17 U.S.C. §102). There are countless examples of such works posted on the internet every day, and they are protected by copyright law as soon as they are "fixed in any tangible medium of expression" (17 U.S.C. §102). In other words, no copyright symbol or notice is required for protection. There are a few exceptions though:

Creative Commons-licensed works:

Some authors or artists may attach a Creative Commons license that allows others to use their works in specific ways without the need for further permission. For instance, a photographer may post a photo to their website with a CC-BY license. This allows someone else to use the work in their own work so long as they attribute the original photographer. There are other types of Creative Commons licenses that are more restrictive. For instance, a CC-BY-NC license will only allow someone to use the copyrighted work for non-commercial purposes and they must attribute the original author. Be sure to check out the Creative Commons website to learn more about other types of Creative Commons licenses. 

Public domain works:

Copyright protection typically lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. Due to previous legal complexities in the United States, works that have been published prior to 1930 are in the public domain. Works created by federal government agencies are also in the public domain (17 U.S.C. §101). Please visit the following library guide on public domain and Creative Commons works to learn more.  

Fair use:

Fair use is one of the most important exceptions to the exclusive rights of a copyright owner. It has also been misunderstood. The good news is that there are excellent tools created by copyright experts that will help you come to your own layperson's determination on whether your desired use of someone else's copyrighted work could be a fair use. Below are links to these tools:

Please remember that any use of copyrighted works is at user discretion subject to the restrictions and other considerations above. Guidance provided by the Mansfield Library, including the contents of this site, should not be considered legal advice.