Copyright law can be tricky, but public domain and Creative Commons make sharing art easier. When copyrights expire, works enter the public domain for anyone to use freely. It's a game-changer for creativity and access to knowledge.

Creative Commons offers flexible licenses that let artists share their work while keeping some control. From full attribution to non-commercial use, these licenses bridge the gap between copyright and public domain, fostering collaboration and innovation.

Public Domain and Copyright Expiration

Understanding Public Domain

• Public domain encompasses creative works not protected by intellectual property laws
• Includes works with expired copyrights, those ineligible for copyright protection, and works dedicated to the public domain
• Anyone can use, modify, distribute, or sell public domain works without permission
• Common examples include Shakespeare's plays, classical music compositions, and early silent films
• U.S. government works automatically enter the public domain, excluding some exceptions

Copyright Expiration and Timelines

• Copyright protection lasts for a limited time, after which works enter the public domain
• Current U.S. copyright term extends 70 years after the author's death for works created after 1978
• Works published before 1978 have different expiration dates based on publication year and copyright renewal status
• Works published before 1926 are in the public domain in the United States
• Copyright expiration dates vary by country, complicating international use of works

Open Access and Its Impact

• Open access movement promotes free, unrestricted access to research and scholarly works
• Aims to remove barriers to knowledge dissemination and accelerate scientific progress
• Open access journals make articles freely available online, often funded by author fees or institutional support
• Repositories like arXiv.org provide free access to preprints in various scientific fields
• Creative Commons licenses often used to facilitate open access publishing while retaining some rights

Creative Commons Licenses

Understanding Creative Commons

• Creative Commons nonprofit organization founded in 2001 to expand the range of creative works available for others to build upon and share
• Provides free, easy-to-use copyright licenses for creators to share their work with flexible terms
• Enables a middle ground between "all rights reserved" copyright and the public domain
• Licenses are machine-readable, allowing search engines to find CC-licensed content easily
• Used by various platforms (Wikipedia, Flickr, YouTube) to enable content sharing and remixing

Types of Creative Commons Licenses

• Six main types of CC licenses, each with different levels of permissiveness
• CC BY (Attribution) allows any use with credit to the original creator
• CC BY-SA (Attribution-ShareAlike) requires derivative works to be shared under the same license
• CC BY-NC (Attribution-NonCommercial) prohibits commercial use of the work
• CC BY-ND (Attribution-NoDerivatives) allows redistribution but prohibits modifying the work
• CC BY-NC-SA combines NonCommercial and ShareAlike restrictions
• CC BY-NC-ND is the most restrictive, allowing only sharing with attribution for non-commercial purposes

License Elements and Their Implications

• Attribution (BY) requires crediting the original creator, present in all CC licenses
• ShareAlike (SA) ensures derivatives are shared under the same terms, promoting open collaboration
• NonCommercial (NC) restricts commercial use, preserving economic rights for the creator
• NoDerivatives (ND) prohibits modifying the work, maintaining its integrity
• Licenses can be combined (CC BY-NC-SA) to create more specific usage terms
• CC0 dedication waives all rights, effectively placing a work in the public domain