Copyright awareness, education and training — our courses are designed to help you and your colleagues gain confidence to answer copyright questions and keep your organization's copyright risks to a minimum. We offer three certificate programs and a variety of individual courses.
See all of our scheduled copyright courses.
Types of Online Courses from Copyrightlaws.com
Copyrightlaws.com offers several types of online courses, each requiring different commitments:
- Certificate programs
- Assignment courses
- Beyond the fundamentals courses
- Primer courses
- Micro Courses
All of our courses are eTutorials using the learning platform Thinkific. We selected Thinkific for its simplicity, ease of use, and consistency with our eTutorial method of teaching, and have received positive feedback about it from students.
Thinkific is intuitive and easy to click through the assignments and discussions.
First time using Thinkific, I found it easy to navigate. It was perfect for the structure of this course. I appreciate that I was able to download notes in advance of reading them, so that I could carry them with me on my iPad and study at convenient times.
Some courses include online discussions, assignments and virtual meetings.
Participants receive a Certificate of Completion upon completing each course. Graduates of our copyright certificate programs receive certificate plaques ready to hang in their offices.
Copyright Certificate Programs
Our copyright certificate programs are designed to teach you how to manage copyright and licensing issues in libraries, institutions, organizations and businesses. See what our recent graduates say.
These certificate programs will benefit you in:
- Gaining knowledge and tools to manage copyright and licensing issues
- Practically applying copyright law to lower your risk of copyright infringement
- Growing your confidence in answering daily copyright and licensing questions
Choose our Copyright Leadership Certificate if you're in the U.S. or around the world, or our Certificate in Canadian Copyright Law if you're based in Canada. To learn about digital licensing, choose our Certificate in Licensing Digital Content.
Assignment Courses
These courses include lessons with text lectures and further resources, plus online discussions and assignments in each e-lesson. We offer:
- Developing a Copyright Policy or Guidelines (8 e-lessons)
Schedule to spend up to two hours per e-lesson, all-in (inclusive of lessons, readings, assignments and online discussions). Assignments are posted in the discussion forum for commentary by the instructor. Complete all assignments and you'll have a draft copyright policy or guidelines.
We recommend that you have an understanding of copyright prior to registering for this course.
Beyond the Fundamentals Courses
These copyright courses include lessons with a text lecture, further resources, and a self-marking quiz. We offer:
- 21 Virtual Ways to Build Copyright Awareness in Your Library or Organization (10 e-lessons)
- Obtaining Permission: The Copyright Permissions Request (10 e-lessons)
- The Essential Guide to Managing Copyright Issues in Publishing
Schedule to spend at least 30 to 60 minutes per lesson. We recommend that you have some knowledge of copyright law before taking one of these online courses that expand on the fundamentals of copyright.
Copyright Primer Courses
We offer primer courses on:
- U.S. Copyright Law (10 e-lessons)
- Canadian Copyright Law (18 e-lessons)
- Legally Using Images (10 e-lessons)
These courses consist of lessons with a text lecture, further resources, and a self-marking quiz. Our primer courses involve the least time and participation of all of our course offerings, and provide a great foundation for other courses. Schedule to spend approximately 30 to 60 minutes per e-lesson. We think of these courses as primers and refreshers on the fundamentals of the particular topic.
Demystifying Copyright Micro Courses
Copyrightlaws.com’s new Demystifying Copyright micro courses are a series of short courses that provide an overview of specific copyright topics. In as little as four to six hours, you can learn about and test your knowledge on subjects such as the public domain, Creative Commons, moral rights, and becoming the copyright go-to person in your organization.
The micro courses are entirely self-paced. You’ll have access to each course for four weeks in our easy-to-use online learning system. And you can download the lessons for future reference.
The Demystifying Copyright series is for those new to copyright and those who want a refresher on a specific area. The Demystifying Copyright series complements our copyright and licensing certificate programs.
Our Demystifying Copyright Micro Courses include:
- Demystifying the Role of the Go-To Copyright Person
- Demystifying Copyright Myths, Public Domain and Creative Commons Licenses
Which Online Copyright Course Is Right For You?
When choosing a copyright course, consider your:
- Level of copyright knowledge
- Information and practical applications you want to learn
- Interest in individual courses or a copyright certificate program
- Available time to participate in the course
- Preference for working individually through our eTutorials and/or engaging in virtual discussions
- Interest in creating a copyright network
- Willingness to prepare assignments from courses
- Training budget
Further Testimonials About Copyrightlaws.com's Online Copyright Courses
Defining Your Role as the Go-To Copyright Person exceeded my expectations. The questions raised in each lesson really made me think outside my daily tasks. I am now able to make it clear to my colleagues that all permission questions and requests must be addressed through me. I highly recommend this course to other go-to copyright persons!
— Irina Burns, Senior Managing Editor and Licensing Services Manager, Academy of Management (January 2020)
I truly enjoyed the course and pulling my knowledge about copyright law all together.
— Suzanne Morin, May 2019
I have taken several of Copyrightlaws.com’s courses and continue to believe that they are really worth the money. I always come away from the courses with new information I can apply in my library and on campus. I am the copyright specialist on my campus so the courses provide me with more of an understanding that I can bring to my regular meetings with faculty. As well, I provide regular copyright updates for our library staff and provide one on each course I complete.
— Shelley Hawrychuk, Deputy Chief Librarian, University of Toronto Mississauga
Thank you very much [for instructing Developing A Copyright Policy]. This course has forced us to put down on paper what we need to move copyright forward in our institution.
— Patricia Sutherland, Library Manager, College of the North Atlantic – Qatar
I received some training on copyright when I started my job as a librarian a year ago. I understood enough about copyright for our daily operations. After completing the U.S. Copyright Law eTutorial I feel have a much deeper understanding of copyright law, how to make sure the company is following it, and what the consequences are if there's an instance of copyright infringement. I can also better explain to patrons why some practices are allowed and others aren't.
— Chelsea Embree, Research Librarian, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
This course [Developing a Copyright Policy or Guidelines] has been tremendously helpful in showing me crucial components for a copyright policy. It has helped me organize what’s needed in a copyright document, who needs to be involved from our staff, and has provided me with great examples of policy documents. Thank you!
— Erin Beasley, Digital Image Rights and Reproduction Specialist, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institute (October 2017)
The Copyright Leadership Certificate is a great, well-paced overview of copyright law, with material to continue to study on my own and to continue to use as reference in the future. The email format of the lessons worked great. The self-grading quizzes in each lesson helped me focus on what I failed to learn/understand and need to relearn. I will use the fair use tool and many of the charts and guides provided. I found the class list had great potential for network contacts as well, should I have questions in the future and may want to reach out. Thanks to the Certificate, I am now able to respond with more confidence to copyright questions and know when to seek further advice from legal. The Certificate was definitely worth the price and I recommend it to others.
— Jane E. Matthews, Cook Research, Inc. (June 2017)
I loved the Certificate [in Canadian Copyright Law] program, it exceeded my expectations. Each tutorial delivered copyright information in an easy-to-understand format and I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of information that we received. After the program, my priority is to revise the copyright portion of our contracts. I will also make a copyright adherence policy for staff and begin staff copyright education. The program has been a very valuable experience for me and has made me feel more secure in managing copyright at work. I definitely recommend the Certificate program to others.
— Nicole Fletcher, Collections Manager, Winnipeg Art Gallery
I found this course [Introduction to Digital Licensing] to be a useful overview of licensing for librarians. The e-mail format allowed me to do things at my own pace. I really like the sample licenses that were provided and we will now be creating our own license template for use with vendors.
— Alana Pollock, Library Manager, Natural Resources Canada (November 2018)
Don’t see what you need? Check out our course calendar.
Would you like to offer private and customized sessions for members of your organization? See Build-Your-Own Copyright Education Packages.
