What Is the Importance of Copyright Laws on the Web?
Some people think copyright laws don't hold as much weight on the Internet as they do in the traditional printed world. They're wrong. Copyright laws apply equally to publishing on the Web as they do to newspapers, books, CDs or any other form of publishing. It's just that it's a whole lot easier to violate copyright on the Internet, either through ignorance or intent. Copyright can also protect you and your blog.
Other People Are Reading
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What Can Be Copyright?
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If you wrote it, if you shot the picture, if you painted it, if you sang and recorded it, it falls under copyright law. U.S. copyright law gives authors of "original works of authorship" protection for their literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and other intellectual works, whether published or unpublished. This protection gives the owner of the copyright exclusive rights to reproduce the work, prepare derivative works, to distribute copies, to perform or display the work publicly or authorize others to do so. Copyright protection begins when the work put is down in a "fixed format."
What Can't Be Copyright?
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Works that are in the public domain are free to use for non-commercial and commercial purposes. But it's not always clear what's in the public domain. U.S. law generally extends the length of copyright for the duration of the author's life plus 70 years.
Government works created by employees as part of their official responsibilities fall within the public domain. For instance, NASA states: "You may use NASA imagery, video, audio and data files" for personal, educational and commercial use. "This general permission extends to personal Web pages." Commercial uses must not imply NASA's endorsement. So use all those cool space photos you want. NASA does ask you credit the space agency for use of their material, and does have restrictions on use of its logo. Images that show identifiable people may also fall under privacy restrictions. -
Websites
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The original works posted to a website can by protected by copyright, including photos, artwork and the blog you write. Because it is easy to copy such works, copyright infringement can often be a click away. To stop inadvertent infringement, you can display a copyright notice covering a website's content, and a statement that prohibits copying and using the material elsewhere without your permission. While you don't need a copyright notice nor are tou required to register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office, a notice can prevent casual posting of your material elsewhere.
You could also do the opposite and declare your blog as in the public domain, setting your words free on the net.
News Articles
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This is a growing bone of contention between news "aggregators" online and traditional media that produces news. The best practice is to provide a link to the article, and leave the actual story where it is. There is always a legal tension between what is "fair use" of copyright material and when you use too much. Basically, you are allowed to quote from an article, or use a clip from a video or sound recording, for editorial purposes such as a review. If in your blog you quote an article from The New York Times, you are in safe territory as long as you keep the excerpt short, credit the Times, and best of all, link back to the original article (even if free registration is required to read it).
Ask Permission
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If you really want to use someone's copyrighted material on your website, your easiest recourse may be to simply ask permission. The author has a right to control how his work is used, but may be eager for it to reach a wider audience.
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