NEIU Libraries Research Guides: Copyright & Fair Use: Copyright

NEIU Libraries

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Subjects: Education, Success Programs, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Public Domain Works

If you use content that resides in the public domain (currently anything published before 1924), there's no need to worry about copyright violations! The resources below can connect you to content in the public domain. To learn more about the timeline of works entering into the public domain, visit the Cornell University Library's Copyright Information Center.

The Public Domain Review
The Public Domain Review is an online journal and not-for-profit project dedicated to the exploration of curious and compelling works from the history of art, literature, and ideas. In particular, as our name suggests, the focus is on works which have now fallen into the public domain, that vast commons of out-of-copyright material that everyone is free to enjoy, share, and build upon without restriction.
Europeana
Europeana is an online portal for exploring Europe’s cultural collections. Use the "Can I Use It?" filter to limit search results to works in the public domain.
Wikimedia Commons
Wikipedia’s media repository – the place to go for finding images, anything from 17th century anatomical engravings to the casual user uploaded snapshot of a shopping center.
Library of Congress Digital Collections
A vast site from the Library of Congress- original documents and photos.

What is Protected by Copyright?

Literary works
Musical works, including any accompanying words
Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
Pantomimes and choreographic works
Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
Sound recordings
Architectural works

Source: Crew, K.D. (2012). Copyright law for librarians and educators (3rd ed.). Chicago: American Library Association

Course Materials in D2L

To comply with copyright policies and database contracts, it is best to link to the full text of articles in library databases. Please click the Linking to Library Materials in D2L tab for linking help.

Copyright Resources

Copyright Basics from the United States Copyright Office (PDF)
This 10-page document provides a valuable overview of the varying functions of copyright, and how to use a copyrighted work, among other topics.
Copyright Terms and the Public Domain
Compiled by Cornell University, this guide lays out the length of time different types of work are
(or are not) protected by copyright.

Copyright Policies for Journals

SHERPA/RoMEO
RoMEO is a searchable database of publisher's policies regarding the self- archiving of journal articles on the web and in open access repositories.