Free content facts for kids
Free content is any creative work, like a song, a book, a computer program, or an image, that you can freely use, study, copy, and change. This means anyone can use it for any reason, even for business! Free content includes things that are in the public domain (meaning their copyright has run out) and also copyrighted works that have special "free" licenses.
Usually, when someone creates something, it's automatically protected by copyright. This means only the creator has control over it. To make content free, the creator must clearly say so, often by using a special free license. These licenses give you the freedom to use, study, change, or share the work. Sometimes, these freedoms come with rules, like needing to mention the original creator or sharing your new version under the same license. There are many standard licenses, like the Creative Commons licenses, that creators can choose from.
Contents
What is Free Content?
A free cultural work is something that has no big legal limits on your freedom to:
- Use the content and enjoy its benefits.
- Study the content and learn from it.
- Make and share copies of the content.
- Change and make the content better, then share your new versions.
The idea of "free content" is very similar to "open content." Think of it like "free software" and "open-source software"—they are very much alike, but sometimes people use different terms for slightly different ideas. For example, the Open Knowledge Foundation says "open" means the same thing as "free" in the "Definition of Free Cultural Works." Both groups suggest using specific Creative Commons licenses: CC BY, CC BY-SA, and CC0.
Legal Stuff About Free Content
What is Copyright?
Copyright is a legal rule that gives the person who created something (like a book or a song) control over who can copy it or perform it publicly. In many places, this control lasts for a certain time. After that time, the work usually goes into the public domain. Copyright tries to balance the rights of creators with the public's right to use and build on those works.
While something is copyrighted, you usually need the creator's permission to copy, change, or perform it. There are exceptions, like "fair use," which allows limited use without permission for things like teaching or criticism. Copyright can make it hard to use content if you can't find the creator or if you want to make new works (like mashups) from existing ones.
What is the Public Domain?
The public domain is like a big collection of creative works where the copyright has either ended or never existed. It also includes ideas and facts that can't be copyrighted. If a work is in the public domain, the creator has given up their control over it, or their control has expired. This means anyone can use, share, or change the work without any legal problems.
What is Copyleft?
Copyleft is a clever twist on the word "copyright." It's a way of using copyright rules to make sure that copies and changed versions of a work stay free. The goal of copyleft is to let other people use and change content created by an author.
Unlike works in the public domain, the original creator still owns the copyright. However, they give everyone permission to share and often change the work. Copyleft licenses usually require that any new works made from the original must also be shared under the same free terms. The symbol for copyleft is often a reversed copyright symbol, with the "C" facing left.
How Free Content is Used
Free content projects are found in many areas, like computer programs, books, music, images, and videos. Thanks to technology, it's now much easier and cheaper for individuals or small groups to create and share materials widely. This has made free literature and multimedia content very popular.
In Media
In media (like text, audio, and video), free licenses such as some from Creative Commons help share works with clear rules for use. Not all Creative Commons licenses are fully "free"; some are more restrictive. Since February 2008, Creative Commons licenses that are truly free have a special badge saying they are "approved for free cultural works."
There are also online places that only offer free material, like photos, clip art, music, and books. Wikipedia is one of the most famous places for user-uploaded free content on the internet. Most of Wikipedia's content is free, but some copyrighted material is used under "fair-use" rules.
In Software
Free and open-source software (often called open source software or free software) is a growing area. Many companies use it to provide services and technology. It's easy to share and change, which helps smaller groups work together on projects. Some people believe that open source projects encourage teamwork and recognition, similar to scientific research, which can lower costs.
If enough people are interested in a software program, sharing it using peer-to-peer methods (where users share directly with each other) can reduce costs for developers. This way, users help with distribution, making it work well no matter how many people use it. Many places offer free services for hosting projects and sharing code.
In Engineering and Technology
The ideas behind free content are also used in engineering. Designs and knowledge can be easily shared and copied to reduce costs in developing new projects. Open design principles are used in areas like mobile telephony, small-scale manufacturing, cars, and even farming.
New technologies allow people to build devices from existing plans using special software and manufacturing tools. This means users can turn digital information into physical objects.
In Academia
In academic work (like research papers), most works are not free, but more and more are becoming "open access." Open access means research papers are available online for free, and often with few limits on how they can be used. Authors might choose open access to reach more readers or because they believe in sharing knowledge freely.
Some universities, like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), make their course materials (like notes and videos) available for free online. This content is shared with everyone.
Open content publishing can also help reduce costs for universities. Universities often pay a lot to subscribe to traditional academic journals, even though academics write and review the articles for free. This has led to disagreements between publishers and universities over subscription prices.
In Laws and Government Documents
Every country has its own laws. In a democratic country, these law documents are usually published as open media content, meaning they are generally free to use. However, they often don't have clear licenses. Instead, their "implied license" comes from the country's own rules about government works. A few countries, like the UK, have clear licenses, such as the Open Government Licence.
Law documents are often available through national websites, like Legislation.gov.uk in the UK. They might be offered in several official versions, but the main one is usually published by a government gazette.
Open Content
Open content describes any creative work that others can copy or change freely, as long as they mention the original creator. This means you don't need to ask for special permission. This idea has been used for textbooks, academic journals, films, and music. It grew from the idea of open-source software. Such content is said to be under an open license.
What Does "Open Content" Mean?
The Open Content Project once said open content was "freely available for modification, use and redistribution under a license similar to those used by the open-source / free software community."
Now, the term has a broader meaning. Open content is "licensed in a way that gives users free and lasting permission to do the 5R activities."
The 5Rs are a way to understand how "open" content is:
- Retain – You can make, own, and control copies of the content (like downloading or saving it).
- Reuse – You can use the content in many ways (like in a class, on a website, or in a video).
- Revise – You can change or adapt the content itself (like translating it).
- Remix – You can combine the original or changed content with other open content to make something new (like a mashup).
- Redistribute – You can share copies of the original content, your changes, or your remixes with others.
This broader definition is different from open-source software, which must allow commercial use. However, it's similar to definitions for open educational resources, which can include resources that don't allow commercial use.
History of Open Content
How it Started
The idea of using free software licenses for other types of content began in 1997. The term "open content" was created by David A. Wiley in 1998. He promoted it through the Open Content Project, describing works licensed under the Open Content License and similar terms.
Since then, "open content" has come to mean a wider range of content without typical copyright limits. The "openness" of content can be checked using the '5Rs Framework' (Reuse, Revise, Remix, Redistribute, Retain). Unlike truly free content, there's no strict rule for what makes something "open content."
Even though open content is seen as a way to balance copyright, open content licenses still rely on the copyright holder's power to give permission for their work. This is similar to copyleft.
In 2003, David Wiley announced that the Open Content Project was being replaced by Creative Commons and its licenses. Wiley joined Creative Commons.
In 2006, a new project called the Definition of Free Cultural Works was started for free content. It was created by several people, including Erik Möller and Lawrence Lessig. The Wikimedia Foundation (which runs Wikipedia) uses this definition. In 2009, some Creative Commons licenses (Attribution and Attribution-ShareAlike) were officially marked as "Approved for Free Cultural Works."
Another project is the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKF), started in 2004. It's a non-profit group that promotes and shares open content and data worldwide.
In 2007, the OKF created an Open Knowledge Definition for "content like music, films, books; data (scientific, historical, geographic); and government information." By 2014, they defined "open" as meaning the same thing as "open/free" in the Open Source Definition, the Free Software Definition, and the Definition of Free Cultural Works.
A key difference for OKF is its focus on the public domain, open access, and easy-to-read open formats. OKF suggests six licenses that fit its definition, including three from Creative Commons: CC BY, CC BY-SA, and CC0.
Open Content and Education
Open content has created new ways to get higher education. Traditional universities can be very expensive. Open content offers a free way to learn, focusing on shared knowledge and reusing learning materials. Many projects and groups, like OpenCourseWare and Khan Academy, promote learning through open content. Some universities, including MIT, Yale, and Tufts, offer their courses for free online.
Open Textbooks
Traditional textbooks can be costly and quickly become outdated because publishers often print new editions. Open textbooks help solve this problem because they are online and easy to update. Many organizations support creating openly licensed textbooks, such as the University of Minnesota's Open Textbook Library, OpenStax College, and Wikibooks.
Licenses for Open Content
According to the OpenContent website, any general, royalty-free copyright license can be an open license. This is because it "gives users more rights than normally allowed by law," and these permissions are free.
However, a stricter definition, used by the Open Definition, limits open content to "libre content" (truly free content). Any free content license, as defined by the Definition of Free Cultural Works, would count as an open content license. Some examples of these licenses include:
- Creative Commons licenses (only Attribution, Attribution-Share Alike, and Zero)
- Open Publication License
- Against DRM license
- GNU Free Documentation License (without fixed sections)
- Open Game License
- Free Art License
See also
In Spanish: Contenido libre para niños
- Digital rights
- Open source
- Free education
- Free software movement
- Freedom of information
- Information wants to be free
- Open publishing
- Open-source hardware
- Project Gutenberg
