Images, Music and Videos on the Web
The websites below provide access to materials that are either in the public domain, have Creative Commons licenses, or are licensed for educational use.
Please note that it is the user's responsiblity to abide by any terms of use stated on these websites.
- Creative Commons SearchLists and searches websites providing images, music, video, and text that use Creative Commons licensing
- Google Advanced Image SearchFind Creative Commons content on Google by scrolling to the bottom of the page to "usage rights" and selecting the appropriate licence
- FlickrUsers can choose to limit searches to Creative Commons-licensed images and videos.
- Flickr CommonsA great source of historical images. Items in “The Commons” have no known copyright restrictions (i.e. are believed to be in the public domain). An objective of this program is to increase access to publicly-held photography collections from libraries, archives, and museums around the world. Rights assessment is still the responsibility of the user.
Note: The Commons search is different from Flickr’s Creative Commons search. - Images CanadaImages from the collections of participating archives, libraries, museums and universities across Canada that are free to use for educational purposes.
- morgueFileA public archive containing free images for use in creative work
- Pics 4 LearningCollection of copyright-friendly images for educational use
- YouTubeAfter logging on, users can search for videos tagged with the Creative Commons Attribution license in the Video Editor. These videos are available to edit, remix, or modify.
- VimeoA browseable collection of Creative Commons-licensed videos.
- Vimeo Music StoreContains music licensed to use in your videos, including free Creative Commons tracks.
- Partners in RhymeRoyalty-free music tracks, collections, and sound effects.
- ccMixterA community music site that features music licensed under Creative Commons and allows users to remix, sample, and reuse music.
Creative Commons licenses explained
There are four types of Creative Commons licences that can be combined:
Attribution means:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work - and derivative works based upon it - but only if they give you credit.
Noncommercial means:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work - and derivative works based upon it - but for non-commercial purposes only.
No Derivative Works means:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of your work, not derivative works based upon it.
Share Alike means:
You allow others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the licence that governs your work.