As you consider what material is 'ok' to use in your OER, you'll likely have questions about fair use.
Fair use is the right to use in-copyright material without payment or permission, so long as the use is fair. Which uses are fair is a context-sensitive determination that can grow and evolve to accommodate new uses and technologies. Courts have found fair use in a wide variety of circumstances, from plagiarism detection software to unauthorized re-tellings of best-selling novels. The Copyright Act itself gives examples of fair use purposes, including criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, and scholarship.
The following video (run time 2:15) provides an overview of fair use.
We recommend you review the Library's Fair Use page.
The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources provides a comprehensive examination of the issues and recommendations for OER.