Copyright, Fair Use, & Intellectual Property

What is the relationship between OA & OER?

• All OER is considered open access but not all open access materials are OER. 

• Items that are licensed with a Creative Commons No Derivatives (ND) license are not OER as they do not permit folks to edit or make other significant changes and share that content with others, which is a fundamental purpose of OER. 

This figure illustrates the range of Creative Commons licenses for open works from least to most restrictive: 

Adapted from: Creative Commons, Open Licensing & Open Education, by Cable Green, CC-BY

Why is Open Access important for faculty and students?

• Open access allows both faculty and students to have full access to publications and does not limit them to what they can afford personally or what is available to them through their institution’s subscriptions. 

• Open access allows for timely access to current research and ideas and does not expire when students graduate or when faculty move to a different institution. 

• Open access promotes equality for all learners regardless of background or size of institution. 

Why is OER important for students and faculty?

• OER saves students money and provides equal opportunities for learning

• OER gives faculty the opportunity to remix content to make better course resources (and even collaborate with students in order to achieve this!) 

• Students can access materials right away and retain them as long as they like; they don’t have to sell back costly textbooks, wait for an access code, or lose access to online resources at the end of the course