CC BY license

Content on the Libraries’ website for which OSUL owns the copyright (or has permission to sublicense) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. The footer of every page on the OSUL website now includes the CC BY license information and a link to the Copyright Information page which provides additional details. The CC BY license enables others to share, reuse, and remix OSUL content so long as they credit The Ohio State University Libraries as the source of the original material and they indicate if changes have been made.

The Libraries' Executive Committee has approved the Proposal for open licensing of OSUL website content. This page collects the documents, supporting materials, and FAQs related to the open licensing initiative.

How to comply with the CC BY licensing initiative

Staff and student employees: No action needed
Faculty and non-employee students (e.g. practicum students, interns): ACTION NEEDED!

Faculty and non-employee students must fill out this brief form and take action regarding works for which they own the copyright. They may agree to participate in the CC BY license or they may clearly label materials for which they own the copyright with an alternate rights statement. They only need to complete the form once, but they are responsible on an ongoing basis to apply an alternate rights statement to any materials they do not wish to include in the CC BY license. NOTE: Visitors viewing University Libraries webpages will likely presume that materials are included in the CC BY license if the materials are not labeled with an alternate rights statement or are not listed among the excluded materials. Please use an alternate rights statement with any materials that you do not want to include in the CC BY license.

Sample alternate rights statement:

<Insert identifying name/description/citation of specific materials> is not included in the OSU Libraries’ Website CC BY license. Please contact <insert your name and contact information> for rights and permissions regarding uses that may exceed fair use or other exceptions to the law.

Notes on using an alternate rights statement:

You may only provide an alternate rights statement for materials when you own the copyright to those materials. You own the copyright if any of the following apply:
1. You are a faculty member AND the material is traditional scholarly work (e.g. publications, blog posts, exhibit materials)
2. You are a non-employee student (e.g. practicum students, interns)
3. You created the material outside of the scope of your employment (e.g. personal photography or artwork)
If you would like help crafting a different rights statement than the standard language provided above for content for which you are the copyright owner, please contact Copyright Services.

More information

CC BY - FAQs
CC BY participation form for OSUL faculty and non-employee students (e.g. practicum students, interns)
Copyright information page for the OSUL website
Copyright information for new OSUL employees (coming soon!)
Proposal and implementation plan for open licensing of OSUL website content

Questions?

Contact the Copyright Services at libcopyright@osu.edu or 614-688-5849

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