Study guide · 3.3
Understand copyright and licensing restrictions for digital content
Most content you find online is protected by copyright, but some is in the public domain and some is shared under licences such as Creative Commons. This guide explains what each means so you can reuse content correctly.
A study feature written by ExamDragon, not part of the real exam. Each heading is one of Certiport's skills for this objective.
3.3.1Explain the basics of public domain content
- Public domain content is not protected by copyright, so anyone may use, copy and change it without permission.
- Works usually enter the public domain when copyright expires; the length of copyright differs from country to country.
- Some creators dedicate their work to the public domain on purpose, for example with the CC0 tool.
- Public domain is a status, not a licence.
- A work may be public domain in one country and still protected in another.
- A modern edition, translation or photo of an old work can have its own new copyright.
Example: A classic novel whose author died long ago may be public domain where you live, but a recent illustrated edition of it can still be protected.
3.3.2Explain the basics of Creative Commons content
- Creative Commons (CC) licences let creators keep copyright while allowing others to reuse their work on stated conditions.
- BY (Attribution): you must credit the creator. All standard CC licences include BY.
- SA (ShareAlike): if you adapt the work, you must share your version under the same licence.
- NC (NonCommercial): no commercial use. ND (NoDerivatives): you may share it only unchanged, not as an adapted version.
- Elements combine, for example CC BY-SA, CC BY-NC or CC BY-NC-ND; CC BY is the most open of them.
- To reuse a CC work, credit the title, the creator, the source and the licence, and say if you changed it.
Example: You use a CC BY-SA photo in a school poster you edit and share online: you credit the photographer and the licence, and release your poster under CC BY-SA too.
Key terms
- Copyright
- Legal protection giving creators control over copying and use of their work.
- Public domain
- Content free of copyright that anyone may use.
- Creative Commons
- A set of licences that allow reuse on stated conditions.
- Attribution
- Giving credit to the creator of a work.
- Licence
- Permission that sets how a work may be used.
Easy to confuse
- Thinking anything online without a copyright notice is public domain; most content is protected automatically.
- Calling public domain a licence; it is the absence of copyright.
- Forgetting that every standard Creative Commons licence requires attribution.
- Ignoring NC or ND conditions, such as using an NC image in an advertisement.
After this guide: You should be able to explain public domain, read a Creative Commons licence code and state what it allows.