In a first step, it is checked whether it is a work. Only if a work is present the scope of application of the Copyright Act is given. If there is no work within the meaning of the law, it can be used. It should be noted, however, that property rights may arise from other laws.

The relevant actions include, for example, copying (= duplication) or making works available on the Internet (= making them publicly available). Not relevant under copyright law are the watching of films, reading of books, listening to music, etc.

If a work is available and the Copyright Act is therefore generally applicable, it may still not be protected if it is in the public domain.

• Official works are excluded from the protection of the Copyright Act.
• Likewise, protection does not apply to works whose term of protection has already expired.

If the work is protected by copyright, it can only be used if it has been published under a free license. These are licences that allow the work to be used under the conditions set out therein without having to contact the author or copyright holder beforehand.
The best known free licenses are the Creative Commons licenses.
If the work is not under a free license, permission must be obtained from the author or copyright holder. This permission is an individual license.
As a last resort, the work or parts thereof may be used if one of the copyright limitations applies.
Always consider the accessibility issue (materials should be designed to be as accessible as possible) and make sure that you provide content in English as well (see examination regulations).