Before using any content found at these sites ensure that you review the terms of use and follow any restrictions found in the terms of use or licensing agreements.
I. Open Access Resources
Open Access materials generally allow readers to view, download and copy the material freely for any lawful purpose. However, before using any open access materials check to see if there are any limits to the use of the content. The terms are set by the individual creator or copyright owner and can range from unrestricted use to partial access. Always check each site for work's attribution requirements as well as the terms of use.
Books and Journals
- Directory of Open Access Journals
- Directory of Open Access Books
- Directory of Open Access Repositories
- Open Access Text Archive
- The Online Books Page
- Project Gutenberg
II. Creative Commons Licensing Information
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that lets content creators license their work for distribution and other uses such as remixing. Creative Commons licences vary in scope and nature, and they allow the creator to impose certain conditions on the copying and sharing of works, such as the condition that a work cannot be distributed for commercial purposes.
- Creative Commons licence information - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
- Creative Commons guide for educators (slide presentation) - http://www.slideshare.net/thecleversheep/creative-commons-what-every-educator-needs-to-know-presentation
Search for Images, Music, Video
- Creative Commons Search - Search for images, music, web and video content that are licensed for use through Creative Commons search services provided by other independent organizations. Information on the different types of licences and attribution requirements are provided on the Creative Commons site.
- Open Educational Resources
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain Music
Creative Commons content attribution should include:
- Title of the work;
- Creator’s name;
- Source of the work (in the form of a URL to the source page);
- Any copyright information dictated by the rights holder (a watermark, including the home page URL, etc.); and
- The licence information along with a link back to the CC documentation page.
III.Public Domain
Some good sources for high resolution images in the public domain are listed below. Any potential copyright restrictions on use are listed so check each image before using it.
- Rijksstudio - Rijksmuseum with over 125,000 high resolution images from this Amsterdam museum, free for use and reuse, https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio
- BioDiversity Library's Flickr Photostream with illustrations of plants, animals, landscapes, and more. Most images are licensed CC-BY for reuse, https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/
- Photos Public Domain is a collection with a wide variety of stock photos, http://www.photos-public-domain.com/
- The Public Domain Review contains collections of images, illustrations, audio and video.
IV. Court Cases, Decisions, and Government Documents
- Canadian Legal Information Institute
- LEGISinfo
- Government of Canada Publications - Works that have been created under the direction of the Government of Canada are governed by Crown Copyright. Information on copying Crown works can be found here.
V. Data
VI. Copyright Information
Copyright Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-42 can be found on Canada's Department of Justice website.
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office administers the intellectual property in Canada and disseminates Intellectual Property information. FAQs on copyright and trademarks.
Updates on recent decisions concerning the Access Copyright Interim Tariff.
