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Finding and Using Free-Use Online Content

Looking for free images, sound, music or video to use in your PowerPoint, e-Learning video or other digital projects? Curated here is a list of databases containing free content. Check the license terms before use.

Right to be Identified Under Singapore Copyright Act (New!)

The Singapore Copyright Act 2021 introduced a new right to be identified. 

Identifications of authors must be made in the way the author wishes to be identified and displayed prominently. 

Full details under section 373 of the Copyright Act and page 5-6 of this link https://www.ipos.gov.sg/docs/default-source/resources-library/copyright/copyright-act-factsheet.pdf.

Citation vs Attribution

Citation and Attribution of licensed works are slightly different concepts. Attribution is a requirement under open licenses such as Creative Commons and are intended to provide attribution to the author of the work.

Some differences: 

Citation Attribution
Rights of the copy are not share with the public, only citation given Copy is shared with the general public e.g. image is reproduced
Reference list of cited sources are at the end of the article or presentation Attribution statement is reasonably prominently displayed on the same page 
Follows citation styles e.g. APA, IEEE, Chicago, Turabian 

May follow attribution guidelines set by the open license e.g. TASL 

*May also follow attribution styles as set by guides e.g. APA , Chicago , IEEE

*These normally require attribution and corresponding reference/footnote

Table adapted from Page 21 of Self-Publishing Guide by Lauri M. Aesoph is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Format of Attribution (Creative Commons)

Attribution is normally required when using someone else's copyrighted work. 

Creative Commons (CC)

Creative commons recommends the TASL approach:

T = Title
A = Author
S = Source
L = License

Examples of CC Attribution

 

Breakdown:

T = It is the beautiful Egypt
A = Karim Essm
S = It is the beautiful Egypt (link to original Wikimedia Commons page)
L = Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International (link to license deed)

More examples of TASL at the Creative Commons wiki here: https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/best_practices_for_attribution

Others

Databases sometimes provide their own attribution guidelines e.g. Freesound.

Placement of Attribution (Creative Commons)

Specific guidelines for Creative Commons (CC) Licensed Materials:

The general recommendations differ based on the medium.

Here are some recommendations by CC Australia:

Screenshot above from “Attributing Creative Commons Materials” by Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (www.cci.edu.au) in partnership with Creative Commons Australia (http://creativecommons.org.au) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia licence.

Here are some recommendations by CC Wiki:

Attribution in Specific Media 

...best practices for attribution apply as reasonable to the medium you're working with. For media such as offline materials, video, audio, and images, consider:

1. Publishing a web page with attribution information. For example, on a webpage featuring your audio recording, provide a credit list of material you used that adheres to best practices above. Doing so allows not only your material, but the materials you attribute, to be found by search engines and other web discovery tools. If possible within the medium, make the Author, Source, and License links the user can follow.
Example:
This video features the song "Desaprendere (Treatment)" by fourstones, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.
2. Mentioning the credits within the media itself. For example, crediting videos can be a simple list of the materials used with their associated licenses in a screen at the end of a video. For audio, it can be a verbal recitation of credits at the end of the recording.
Video example 1: "Science Commons" by Jesse Dylan - see attribution starting at 1:52
Video example 2: "Video Editing and Shot Techniques: Study of jump cuts, match cuts and cutaways " video by New Media Rights - see attribution starting at 3:21
Audio example: "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" by Cory Doctorow read aloud. Mastered by John Taylor Williams - listen to attribution starting at 17:08

Text above extracted from "Best practices for attribution" by Creative Commons Wiki which is licensed under CC BY 4.0 ​