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Find copyright-free resources

Find public domain or openly licensed resources that you can use for free.

Find copyright-free resources

There are many sites where you can find free to use resources. These resources are in the public domain or openly licensed for free use. As a rule of thumb though, you are always allowed to use content that:

  • you own the copyright in
  • you can use under an exception in the Copyright Act
  • is out of copyright or the creator has waived their rights
  • you have permission to use (if your use is for University purposes, the Copyright Office can seek permission on your behalf)
  • is licensed under an appropriate Creative Commons licence
  • is licensed or permissible for your uses through the website terms and conditions
  • is provided via hyperlink to the original source

Please note it is best practice to attribute all resources you use in your project.

Open Education Resources

Open Education Resources (OERs) are educational materials available for free use and adaption under an open sharing licence (eg. Creative Commons) or are free from copyright restrictions (i.e. the public domain) that can enrich the Deakin teaching and learning experience.

OERs can be textbooks, teaching and learning materials, images, videos, games, lesson plans, worksheets and assessments.

Find open educational materials specific to your teaching area.

Openly licensed images

Openly licensed sound effects and music

  • Sound Bible - Sound effects under a Creative Commons license and some in the Public Domain.
  • Freesound - User uploaded sound effects.
  • YouTube Audio Library - Read the terms and conditions before use. Requires Google account.
  • Free-Loops - Loops and audio clips to produce music and soundtracks.
  • Free Sound Effects - Sound effects for non-commercial use only.
  • Free Music Archive - Creative Commons and public domain music
  • Bensound - Free to use music. Read the licensing conditions first.

Openly licensed stock footage

  • Pexels - Free to use video with no restrictions.
  • Videezy - Videos free to use under Creative Commons and the Videezy standard license.
  • Videvo - Over 12,000 clips under their own attribution license.

Get in touch

The Copyright Team provides copyright help to everyone within Deakin. We manage Deakin University copyright and external requests to use University works.