Copyright FAQs

Copyright FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about copyright and how it applies to your work at Orbis Education. If you have a question you would like answered, please submit to ORB-ElearningQATeam@gce.com.

One way is to conduct a reverse Google Images search and attempt to locate the image's origin.

  1. Go to Google Images and drag your image file into the search bar.
    Screenshot of Google Images search
  2. Click Find image source.
    Screenshot of Google Images, find image source
  3. You will see a list of exact matches in the search results. You can then look at the sites and attempt to verify copyright.
    Exact image matches in Google Images

My SME wants to use publisher PowerPoints. May I put these in the course and modify them (i.e., add voiceover, remove slides or content, etc.)?

Strictly in terms of copyright, the license with the publisher will dictate usage of the content. Therefore, the license agreement with the publisher should be checked before using any content. Typically, publisher content (such as PowerPoints, text content, images, etc.) may be used and modified for the duration of the license. All uses of publisher content must be removed from the course when the license expires. However, copyright is just one consideration of course design. Ensure that course integrity and best practices are part of this discussion if your SME wants to use publisher content in the course.

My SME wants to use copyrighted material and claim fair use. Is this okay?

Because fair use considers the commercial nature of the use and we are a commercial enterprise, we cannot reasonably nor ethically guide the use of copyrighted material in course content without permission, including under a fair use claim.

Oftentimes, a website will allow users to copy, download, and/or distribute content (e.g., articles, fact sheets, tools, etc.) from their site, but specify personal, non-commercial use only. Unless the terms specifically prohibit linking, the personal, non-commercial use would apply only to the activities discussed in the terms (e.g., downloaded, copied, posted, displayed, etc.). The terms must address linking; otherwise, you are free to link to that site.
Creating derivatives of content is a right afforded to the copyright owner, but are any recreations a copyright infringement? Because we are regularly curating content in our line of work, it’s a given that desired copyrighted material cannot be used and we must look for alternatives. These alternatives include original Orbis content that our multimedia teams develop based on instruction and, frequently, visual examples of the copyrighted material we can’t use. Is it a copyright violation to use material as inspiration for a new work? In order to sufficiently address this question, we must consider the essential purpose of copyright and how we can respect it while providing quality content.
Copyright’s essential purpose is to protect creative expression and authorship in order to advance the collective growth and breadth of knowledge and art. The law includes the creation of derivatives as a protected right of the copyright holder because “derivative” implies that it takes its essence from something else. To take its essence is to deprive the creator of their rights of creation. The essence of a work varies greatly depending on what type of work it is. For instance, an oil painting of a landscape encapsulates a greater degree of creative expression than an anatomical drawing of a human cell structure. The essence of the landscape painting is beauty and creativity whereas the essence of the anatomical drawing is an objective reflection of the material world.
So, when asking how different to recreate a work in order to respect copyright, first determine the essence of the work and then consider whether you would be siphoning it through a recreation. The new work must encapsulate originality and its own creative expression. Although it is difficult to define and quantify, inspiration is different than imitation.

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