Copyright protects the exclusive right of the originator of a work to copy or license the work. In contrast, Creative Commons provides an alternative to the restrictive nature of copyright, and provides learners with a more cost-effective option to access materials.

Creative Commons (CC), sometimes referred to as “copyleft”, gives creators a choice in how they allow others to use their creations, whether they are text, pictures, songs, or in other forms.

Creative Commons and other commitments to openness are gaining momentum in many environments: open access, open data, open source, open pedagogy, etc. In this module, we concentrate on Creative Commons and its support of open educational resources, more commonly known as OER. We explore how high-quality OER, with their ability to be reused and often remixed, can replace high-cost commercial resources in your courses when adopted. Beyond saving learners money, these OER can boost learning in your courses. With careful curation, you can design and develop courses that include content tailored to your specific learners’ needs, modelling your preferred pedagogical approaches and strategies.

The Wanna Work Together? video (Creative Commons, 2009) explains some of the differences between Copyright and Creative Commons:

To find out more about Creative Commons, watch this ‘Creative Commons Licences Explained’ video (Process Arts, 2011).