Copyright restrictions can be OPENED with an overlaying Creative Commons License

If it is on the Internet, it is free to use, right?

Not exactly. Just because content is on the Internet does not mean it is free to be used in any situation. All original content, regardless of access, may have copyright protection, even if it is not declared.

When in doubt, treat everything as under copyright, until proven otherwise.

What is Open Access? (OA)
Open Access refers to removing barriers such as "paywalls". Open Access initiatives seek to make research articles and other works easy to find and read, for free. It does not address copyright, but rather the methods of funding and accessing the research or other works.
What are Open Educational Resources (OER)?
Open Educational Resources are works that copyright owners have "opened" by adding a Creative Commons or other License that removes some copyright restrictions. The ideal is to allow others to "retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute" without needing to ask for permission, as long as the work is attributed to the copyright owner, giving credit where it is due.
U.S. GOVERNMENT WORKS (fairuse.stanford.edu)
"In the U.S., any work created by a federal government employee or officer is in the public domain, provided that the work was created in that person's official capacity."...
"Keep in mind that this rule applies only to works created by federal employees and not to works created by state or local government employees. However, state and local laws and court decisions are in the public domain."

The rights granted through copyright law - to the copyright owner - can have an addendum added by the copyright owner only - to give away some of those copy rights.

Using a Creative Commons License or GNU or other legal license addendum

to give away some of your legal copy rights,

may be referred to as opening your property license (copy right).

Such "Opened Content" is ONLY as opened as the attached license indicates.

Creative Commons Licenses ONLY apply to works that are protected by copyright.
They provide a legal way to remove some copyright restrictions.
Share your work: Choose a Creative Commons License:
Copyright owners can choose which copyright restrictions to remove by selecting the appropriate Creative Commons License.

After a Creative Commons License is attached to a work, it can not be revoked for that copy of the work...but the copyright owner still retains all rights and privileges of copyright for their work.

OER Background: Creative Commons (CC) - Licensing and OER

If it is on the Internet, it is free to use, right?

Copyright restrictions can be OPENED with an overlaying Creative Commons License

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