Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution, states: "The Congress shall have power...To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries..."

U.S. copyright law gives all creators near perfect control over their creation, with a set of rights that only they may exercise. These include the right to make copies, to prepare derivative works, to publicly distribute, display and perform the work, and (in the case of digital sound recordings) to perform the works over a digital network. (source)

For an overview of copyright and issues related to education and fair use, we recommend reviewing:

• Copyright Crash Course from the University of Texas Libraries 
• When You Need Permission & How To Get It from UNCW's General Counsel. 

There are four ways that you can use copyrighted material:

1. Public Domain.
   • This primarily includes so-called "orphan works" and works that are old enough that their copyright has expired. 
   • Is it Protected by Copyright?  - American Library Association
   • Welcome to the Public Domain - Stanford University Library
   • Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States - Cornell Copyright Information Center
2. Fair Use. 
   • ​​Depending on the nature of the copyrighted item and of your use, you may be able to use it. 
   • Fair Use Evaluator - American Library Association
   • Fair Use Worksheet (.pdf) - UNCW General Counsel
3. Permission.
   • You can contact the copyright holder for permission. Note that the creator is not always the same person as the copyright holder.
   • Sometimes the holder will proactively label their work with permission to reuse with or without restrictions (for example:creative common licenses). 
4. TEACH Act.
   • If you are teaching an online class, you may have special copyright allowances in regards to digitizing items.
   • Learn more about the TEACH Act - Louisana State University
   • TEACH Act Worksheet (.pdf) - UNCW General Counsel

Selected Sites for Allowed-to-Use Resources

Please note that not all materials listed on the sites below are in the public domain or have the permission of the creator for you to use. It is the responsibility of you, the individual using the material, to determine copyright status.

This is not a comprehensive list!  There are many more places to find content on the web.

• Flickr: Public Domain Group
• Flickr: Creative Commons Search
• Google Image Search (After doing a search in Google Images, you can use the Tools tab to sort images by usage rights)
• Unsplash
• CC Search
• The Noun Project
• Pexels 
• Nappy
• Pixabay
• Getty Open Content
• National Archives
• New York Public Library - Public Domain Collections
• Picdrome
• Wikipedia Public Domain Image Resources

Other Ideas

• Government agencies
• Presidential libraries, other special libraries, or archives
• Library of Congress Collections, especially American Memory and the Print & Photo Reading Room
• Digital libraries -- see Wikipedia's List of Digital Library Projects
• New York Public Libraries: Public Domain Collections
• Books, newspapers, and magazines published earlier than 1923, or between the years 1923-1963 if copyright was not renewed. Use the "advanced keyword search" in Randall Library's Catalog to find materials published before a certain date.

• LibriVox (audio books)
• Soundbible - royalty free collection (sound effects)
• Freesound (sound effects)
• Musopen (music)
• YouTube audio library (music & sound effects)
• Facebook Sound Collection (music & sound effects - login required)
• The Mutopia Project (sheet music)
• The Sheet Music Project. (sheet music)

Other Ideas

• Sheet music collections
• Traditional songs or folk music created, or in existence before, 1923

• The Internet Archive - Many of the digitized films in the Prelinger Archive, accessible through the Internet Artchive, are available for nearly unrestricted non-profit use.
• YouTube Creative Commons videos - Start by running a search. Then, open the "filters" and refine results to "Creative Commons." 

Other Ideas

• Special libraries
• The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration has a list of finding aids for locating materials in Presidential libraries and other special collections

• Wikipedia: Public Domain Resources
• Project Gutenberg

Other Ideas

• Books, newspapers, and magazines published earlier than 1923, or between the years 1923-1963 if copyright was not renewed (use the "advanced search" in Randall Library's Catalog to find materials published before a certain date)
• Again, special libraries and archives will have many materials
• While not public domain materials, there are several publishers and web sites featuring authors whose works are available for free download. See the Internet Archive's Text Archive for more information.