Free Images, Videos, Music, & Texts Instructors Can Legally Use in Courses

Copyright infringement is downloading or sharing copyrighted material, such as music or movies, without the permission of the copyright holder. Profit is not a necessary element for copyright infringement. 

- "Ownership" of any item does not grant complete freedom to use it in any way.
- You license digital media such as audio and video, rather than purchase it. There may be greater restrictions on use.
- Ownership in one format (DVD) does not necessarily grant rights to convert to another format (streaming video).
- Even free (no-cost) content can be subject to copyright.

- You, the individual faculty member, or the university may face potential consequences for copyright infringement.
- We as scholars and content creators should be respectful of the work of others.
- We should teach our students by example to be respectful of the works of others.

- Fair use guidelines help protect your right to use content in certain ways, especially in a class for a curricular purpose.
- Some creators use Creative Commons or similar licenses, which are intended to provide more rights to content users.
- Some sites allow more freedom for use in nonprofit educational contexts.

- Always look for the website's Terms of Use, Terms of Service, Legal Policy, etc., before using copyrighted content.
- Use a Fair Use checklist (ilke this one from Columbia U.) to gauge your intended use.
- Remember that fair use guidelines are exactly that: guidelines, not clearly defined rules. Only a judge can definitively decide whether or not a use was fair or infringing.