Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons

The digital age has made the ability to copy and share the works of others remarkably simple and instantaneous to the extent that many students do so without realizing that their actions could have both legal and moral consequences. Although using the intellectual property of others, whether it’s an image, video, song, or piece of code, is granted on a limited basis to students in an academic setting, knowing how creative works are protected by copyright is an essential principle to keep in mind as they create their own digital artifacts now and in the future.

In this lesson (created originally as an extension to Google’s CS First curriculum) students will develop a basic understanding of copyright and how Creative Commons licenses help creators to share their work with others on their own flexible terms. They will also learn how to search for and cite images and sounds that are either in the public domain or have been licensed under Creative Commons.