Open Content
Open Content is a collective term for creative works (such as text, images, sound, and video) that are published under a license that allows you to:
- copy the work
- share the work
- and sometimes also edit the work
Are you using Open Content material? Then you're not violating any copyrights (unintentionally or otherwise). The producers of the original material often indicate with a Creative Commons license that the original material should be referenced. Sometimes they list other conditions for use, such as that the material may not be used commercially.
Of course, even when using Open Content material, the rules for acknowledging sources remains the same.
Creative commons
Creative Commons offers authors, artists, scientists, lecturers and students the freedom to handle their copyrights in a flexible way. With a choice of six (free) standard licenses, the copyright owner determines to what extent their work may be further distributed and under what conditions.
Offering work under a Creative Commons license does not mean the creator gives up their copyright. It means they choose to grant certain rights of use in advance, for which a user would otherwise have to ask for explicit permission.
Creative Commons lists the seven different Creative Commons licenses, ranked from least to most restrictive:
Text
Most texts posted on the Internet are subject to rights. They cannot simply be reused. However, the links below all refer to material that may be freely reused because it is in the public domain:
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Wet- en Regelgeving (Laws and regulations) This Dutch database contains current and historical texts of nationally applicable treaties, laws and regulations as of 1 May 2002. License: CC0 - Public domain |
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Any form of reuse of the content of this central government site (Dutch) is permitted, unless it is indicated near or in an image or document that a copyright exception applies to that item. License: CC0 - Public domain |
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Current statistics and brief analyses of all countries in the world from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). License: CC0 - Public domain |
Images
Most photographs and other images posted on the Internet are subject to rights. They cannot simply be reused. The links below all refer to material that may be freely reused, provided the conditions in the licenses are met:
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Flickr: Creative Commons - Attribution More than 55 million photos that may be reused as long as the source is credited upon publication. License: Attribution |
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Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (Cultural Heritage Agency) This image bank unlocks more than half a million images of Dutch monuments, archaeology and landscapes from the last 150 years. |
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Collection of thousands of clipart images that may be used by anyone without restriction (until spring 2019 Open Clipart Library). License: CC0 - Public Domain |
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Large collection of public domain photos, also the ability to add your own images. License: CC0 - Public Domain |
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On wikimedia commons, media files (such as images and video and sound clips) are shared under a Creative Commons license. License: CC0 - Public Domain |
Video
Most videos on the Internet are copyrighted and cannot simply be reused. The links below all refer to material that may be freely reused, provided the conditions in the licenses are met:
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Open beelden (Open Images) Initiative of the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision. Among other things, over 1,300 Polygon items can be found here. License: Attribution - Share alike |
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Over 2,000 old American advertising, corporate, promotional, propaganda, educational and amateur films. For unrestricted use, no source acknowledgment even required. License: CC0 - Public Domain |
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Thousands of free videos and moving graphics, music recordings and sound effects; some files require payment, filter on 'free clips' for the free files. License: Creative Commons, various licenses |
Music and Sounds
Most music and sound material available on the Internet is copyrighted. The material cannot simply be reused. The links below all refer to material that may be freely reused, provided the conditions described by the creators in their Creative Commons license or otherwise are met:
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Large collection of license-free songs released under the Creative Commons license. |
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Large collection of audio recordings released under the Creative Commons license. |
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Large collection of free sounds and sound effects, both royalty-free and under the Creative Commons license. |
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After registration, free downloadable music by American musicians for non-commercial purposes. |
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More than 20,000 free music files in various genres, released under the Creative Commons and other licenses. |
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Het geluid van Nederland (The Sound of the Netherlands) Over 2,000 unique sounds from the archives of the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, released under the Creative Commons license. |
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Archive of more than 16,000 free soundbites. |
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Thousands of free music recordings and sound effects; some files have a Creative Commons license; some files require payment, filter on 'free clips' for the free files. |
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Thousands of free sound effects and music recordings in a variety of genres for use in your own videos; is replenished every month; access after login. |
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