Copyright was initially relevant primarily to published and sold works. The Internet has changed the way in which people seek and publish information, making it important to understand the ways in which copyright laws affect Internet use. Internet-based businesses and businesses that use the Internet
Copyright was initially relevant primarily to published and sold works. The Internet has changed the way in which people seek and publish information, making it important to understand the ways in which copyright laws affect Internet use. Internet-based businesses and businesses that use the Internet for promotion and publication of information should be aware not only of how to avoid copyright infringement, but also of the protections copyright laws afford to website operators.
Copyright Law Basics
Copyright protection is automatic for any creative work that is created after 1978 and fixed in some tangible form. You don't have to display a copyright symbol or register rights to your item for it to receive copyright protection. For this reason, you should assume all content on the Web is copyrighted unless it explicitly states otherwise. Copyright laws are federal laws, which means you generally have to sue in federal court if someone violates your copyrights. If someone from another country steals your items -- an increasingly common phenomenon given the worldwide reach of the Internet -- it can be extremely difficult to enforce your copyright protection.
The "Fair Use Doctrine" provides an exception to copyright laws for scholarly and educational purposes. Fair use permits people to take limited excerpts of works for articles, critiques and other public services. Parodies of copyrighted works are also generally protected. There is no standard excerpt that is permissible under law, and guidelines about fair use are relatively unspecific. If your small business has had copyrighted material copied from your website, courts examine the purpose of the use of copyrighted work, the financial effect the use has on the copyright holder, the degree to which an item was excerpted and the nature of the c