Copyright Policy and Forms
Fontbonne's copyright policy is outlined in Section 2.5 of Volume II of the Fontbonne policy manuals: Campus Community Policies.
- Fair Use ChecklistUse this checklist to determine specific cases for fair use.
- TEACH ChecklistUse this checklist to determine specific cases for use under the TEACH Act.
- Sample Permission RequestUse this sample script when seeking to use materials in copyright.
What is the Public Domain?
The Public Domain refers to works that have no copyright protection. In other words, works in the public domain can be used without needing to ask anyone for permission to use them. Works that fall into this category include those whose copyright has expired and those that never had copyright protection, like most works created by the U.S. Federal Government.
Find Content You Can Use
- Creative Commons SearchFind content you can share, use and remix.
- Art Institute of ChicagoThousands of artworks in the museum’s wide-ranging collection + books, writings, reference materials, and other resources.
- Europeana CollectionsArtworks, artefacts, books, videos, and sounds from across Europe.
- Flickr Creative CommonsBrowse or search Flickr content under each type of license.
- Google Advanced Image SearchFilter results to find images, videos, or text that you have permission to use.
- Internet Archive Book ImagesTons of old school copyright-free images from the Internet Archive.
- MorgueFileFree photos for creatives, by creatives.
- PixabayAll images and videos on Pixabay are released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0.
- Prints & Photographs Online | Library of CongressImages from the LC Collections now in the public domain.
- Public Libary of Science | Open for DiscoveryPLOS is a nonprofit publisher, innovator and advocacy organization.
- UnsplashFree (do whatever you want) high-resolution photos.10 new photos every 10 days.
- Wikimedia CommonsFreely usable media files to which anyone can contribute.
- 85 FREE Stock Photo ResourcesThis list evaluates dozens of sites and includes their licensing info and the kind of attribution required.
Public Domain Resources
Works fall into the public domain for three main reasons:
- The term of copyright for the work has expired.
- The author failed to satisfy statutory formalities to perfect the copyright (e.g., did not register or renew copyright).
- The work was created by the US Government.
These tools can help you determine if a work is in the public domain.
- Copyright Slider ToolUse this tool, provided by the American Library Association, to determine if a work is still protected by copyright.
- Copyright Term and Public Domain in the USThis page, from Cornell University, provides more detail to determine whether an item is under copyright protection.