Copyright Basics

The purpose of this guide is to assist the UND community with copyright information.

In this guide, you will find: 

• General Information
  • Copyright
  • Registering for Copyright 
  • Fair Use 
  • Public Domain
  • TEACH Act
  • Differences between Copyrighted works, Patents, and Trademarks. 
  • Additional resources including websites, videos, and books 
• Creative Commons (CC) License 
  • In-depth information on Creative Commons Licensing 
• Ethical Considerations in Teaching
  • Best practices
  • Utilizing course reserves and OERs 
  • Information for students scanning materials and using interlibrary loan 
• Information for Authors 
  • Author Rights information ​​
  • Scholarly Sharing 
  • Finding Publishers' Policies on Copyright

Please note this guide should not be used for legal advice. Contact information can be found below for UND legal counsel. UND's copyright policy can be found here.

Specific questions about legal interpretations should be directed to the UND’s Office of General Counsel at 701.777.6345. 

Looking for more information on how to find and use sources? The Chester Fritz Library has a dedicated research guide to Ethical Use of Sources, which provides in-depth information on finding and using sources as well as tips on avoiding plagiarism.