Copyright for Educators

• When possible, create links to licensed materials. Ask your library liaison to help with this.
• For materials not available freely or in Library subscriptions, you can rely on UT System's subscription to the Copyright Clearance Center Annual License.

  • This license enables UTMB affiliates to reproduce and distribute copyrighted content, in both print and digital format, across campus with confidence that sharing is being done in compliance with copyright laws and UTMB guidelines.

  • The license does not provide permission for using images within the articles outside of the context of the article.

  • Note: Coverage does not include content being used in publications or off-campus presentations.

• RightFind Academic allows you to check to see if a book or journal is covered by the Annual Copyright License.
  *If you are off-campus, you will need to register with your UTMB email address.

• More information is available in the FAQs about the Annual License.

Find copyright-free materials to use or create your own. Here are some options: 

Library Resources: 

• Several resources have separate searches of images/multimedia
• License allows use for educational purposes:
  • Access Medicine and Clinical Key allow you to make PowerPoint slides
  • Other ebook packages that allow use: Books@Ovid, STAT!Ref

Freely Online Resources:

• Google Images - searches can be limited to the public domain

      1. Go to Google Images
      2. Fill in the search box with your search terms
          Hint: You may need to also search synonyms; e.g. Volkswagen Beetle, VW Beetle, VW Bug
      3. Click on Advanced Image Search (in the Settings menu after you have results)
      4. In the Usage Rights section, change the pull-down menu to 'free to use or share' 
      5. Once you find an image, look on the page for confirmation (perhaps Creative Commons License information) that the image may be freely used.
      Note: It appears that the use of the back/forward buttons of the browser often lose the 'free to use or share' limit so you may need to reapply the filter before performing another search.

• Youtube

• Creative Commons - searches several Internet sites for items that are marked for re-use

• Learning Object Repositories
        - HEAL (Health Education Assets Library) - a collection of over 22,000 freely available digital materials for health sciences education
        - MedEdPortal (AAMC) - a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that promotes educational scholarship and dissemination of teaching and assessment resources in the health professions
        - MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching - access to curated online learning and support materials and content creation tools