A Brief Look at Copyright Law
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The ease of saving images off of the web has caused a very
real problem for artists and content providers alike. If
you have placed your intellectual property on the web chances
are that sooner or later someone is going to 'borrow' a little
bit of it... without your permission.
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Is there a way to protect yourself from having your graphics stolen.
The answer to that is... yes.
First we need to educate ourselves about copyright laws. What can
be copyrighted, when is it copyrighted, how do we copyright it, should we
copyright it. There are several outstanding web sites dealing with copyright,
so I won't delve into it in detail here. I will, however give you a brief
summary, with links to additional reading.
What is copyrighted?
Anything you write down. Exceptions are extremely short writings,
such as a few words, and very simple line drawings. (Items you copy from
someone else are also not copyrighted by you). Pictorial, graphic and
sculptural works are copyrighted.
What is not copyrighted?
Facts and ideas can not be copyrighted. The US Copyright Office
lists the following, (among others), as not being protected by copyright:
- Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression.
- Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans;
- Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts,
principles, discoveries, or devices
- Works consisting entirely of information that is common property
and containing no original authorship.
When is a work copyrighted?
As soon as it is written down. Whether it be on paper, on a floppy
disk or saved to your hard disk, it is copyrighted. A work does not have
to be registered anywhere to be copyrighted.
This is an extremely brief summary of what is and what is not protected
by copyright. It is highly recommended that you visit the following links
for additional reading material. This material is provided for your edification
only and should not take the place of legal counsel.
Secondly, we need to educate the newbies, and some not-so-newbies to good netiquette
and copyright laws. The copyright laws are sometimes vague concerning the web,
but not so vague as to leave any doubt at all that graphic pilfering is against
the law.
Why Steal?
Purloining and Pilfering
Software Protection
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