OER's are very important tools in our educational toolkit. However, fair use only goes so far in making our material freely accessible and usable for our students. Copyright can be a very complicated topic, especially in our online courses.
Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of "original works of authorship," including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works.
Copyright protection exists from the moment a work is fixed in a tangible form of expression (This could include a DVD, CD, even a napkin with writing on it). It is the right granted by law to an author or creator to control the use of the work created. If you want to use a work under copyright, you must get permission to use it.
Copyright law and duration varies per country. However, several countries have worked together to create international agreements that align policies across borders. Foreign works are, for the most part, protected for the same term as works published within the user's country for all signatories of the Berne and TRIPS agreements. The U.S. is both an adopter of the Berne convention and a party of the TRIPS agreement. (University of South Florida LibGuide)