This
page is intended to assist authors in
properly giving attribution when
using copyrighted graphics. A complete
analysis of the concepts of
public domain
and fair use
can be found on this site.
It is imperative that our authors
understand that the onus of researching
the licenses that apply to graphics
being used in their cards falls
on them. Each license is different
and there is no way for this page to
cover all variations.
When incorporating graphics, there are
several questions you must ask yourself
regarding the image's license and the
image's use in your card.
Does the license allow you to copy
the image and use it in electronic media
for a non-commercial website? If
not, you cannot use the image at all.
Are you modifying the original image?
This would include cropping the image,
adding an arrow to the image, and
changing the colors of the image.
If so, the license must specify that
modifications or derivatives are
allowed.
If the license allows modifying the
image, does it require that you also
license the image to allow
modifications?
Does the license require attribution
to the copyright holder? If so do you
know the name (or alias) of the
copyright holder?
Does the license require a link to
the license text? If so, what is
the link to that text?
Using the bulk editor it is possible
to include an attribution and license
link at the bottom of the card.
The format of the code is shown below.
Text you should edit appears in
green while text that must remain
constant is in red.
<br /><br /><br /><br
/><br /><span
style = "font-size:10px">Image owned by XXXXXX and licensed
under the XXXXXXXX License.<br
/><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/"
target="_blank">Official
License</a></span>
<br /><br /><br /><br
/><br /> - this controls the number of line breaks between the question text and
the attribution text. You can add
or delete tags as needed
<span style = "font-size:10px"> - this sets the font size to be
small
Image is owned by XXXXXX and licensed
under the XXXXXXX License - this is
the editable region in which you enter
the attribution text and license info
required by the license of the graphic
you are using
<br
/><a href=" - this
starts a new
line for the link that follows
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/ - insert the link for the license here
"
target="_blank"> - ends the code for the link and
instructs the link to open in a new
tab/window
Official
License insert the text you want to show for the link
here
</a></span> - finishes the hyperlink and code for
the attribution
If coded correctly, the code will insert the following into your flashcard.
Image owned by XXXXXX and licensed under the XXXXXXXX License.
Official License
Images that require attribution must be attributed every time they are used. If you use an identical image on both sides of a flashcard, it should be attributed on both sides of the card.
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is an organization that has defined an alternative to copyrights by filling in the gap between full copyright, in which no use is permitted without permission, and public domain, where permission is not required at all. Creative Commons’ licenses let people copy and distribute the work under specific conditions.
There are more than a dozen different Creative Commons licenses available and
they each have several different versions. All images licensed under
Creative Commons have "baseline rights" which allows a user to copy the work (image), to distribute it,
and to display it publicly. There are 4 other conditions allowed/required by some of the Creative Commons licenses and prohibited by others:
Attribution: You may copy, distribute, and display the work and make derivative works based upon it only if you give the author or licensor the credits in the manner specified by the license.
Noncommercial or NonCommercial (nc): You may copy, distribute, and display the work and make derivative works based upon it only for noncommercial purposes.
No Derivative Works or NoDerivs (nd): You may copy, distribute, and display only verbatim copies of the work, not derivative works based upon it.
ShareAlike (sa): You may distribute derivative or modified works only under a license identical to the license that governs the original work.
Typical text for attribution of a Creative commons license would be:
Image owned by John Doe and licensed under the Creative Commons
Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License.
Official License
The most recent Creative Commons Licenses are Version 3.0 and can be found at
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/.
Direct links to the license should be
provided under the attribution text.
The most common license types are linked
to below.
-
Attribution - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
-
Attribution-NoDerivs - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/
-
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
-
Attribution-NonCommercial - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
-
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
-
Attribution-ShareAlike - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Please keep in mind that the Creative Commons licenses not only come in the 6
types detailed above, but they also come in Versions 3.0, 2.5, 2.0, and 1.0.
Therefore, there are actually 24
permutations of the above attribution
text and link. Please verify that
you are attributing the correct license type
and linking to the correct version on
your cards. Also, please not that
the above list is not comprehensive
because there are some rarely used
varieties of the license that are not
mentioned above. As always, please
contact us if you have any questions
about image attribution.
GNU Free Documentation License
This license is much more suited for large projects. Entire sites/books/programs are often copyrighted with the GNU license.
Any portion of a site/book/program that is GNU licensed will also fall under the license and can therefore be used/distributed.
The exact attribution to be included when using GFDL images is a bit unclear.
The license states:
"For simple redistribution, include the version you were given access to and its complete history with attribution, and include the GFDL (linked on the same website or reprinted in print). Re-users are free to make derivative works and copy, distribute, display, and perform the work, even commercially. To comply, (a) release your version under the GFDL, (b) credit at least the five most substantial authors or content creators and (c) include a complete copy of the GFDL. In the case of derivative works you must also include the complete history section."
Typical text for attribution of a GNU FDL license would be:
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
image under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation
by John Doe; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
Official
License
The most recent GNU FDL license is located at
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl.txt.
When writing flashcards, we suggest you place the following attribution on the card itself and then link to a full attribution at
http://www.freeworldu.org/static/GNU_attribution.aspx. The abbreviated attribution should read:
Image owned by
John Doe under GNU FDL 1.2.
Full Attribution
The proper code for this in your cards would be:
<br /><br /><br /><br
/><br /><span
style = "font-size:10px">Image owned by XXXXXX
under GNU FDL 1.2. <a href="http://www.freeworldu.org/static/GNU_attribution.aspx"
target="_blank">Full Attribution</a></span>