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Copyrights Online | A Primer
Intellectual property rights—copyrights—are not limited to the traditional publishing avenues, they also apply to content found on the Internet.Some think they can take what they find on the Internet and use it however they want, but unless you have permission from the copyright holder it's a crime.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I am not an attorney and I am not offering legal advice. This is simply my opinion based on my own research and experience as a webmaster since 1997.
Copyright Basics
Unless you have permission to use content from someone else's web site, using it is theft of their intellectual property unless it is in the public domain—and most content is NOT in the public domain.People who wouldn't shoplift from a store don't think twice about stealing website content. Most do it out of ignorance, but ignorance of the law is no excuse in the eyes of the law.
The creator of the images, the writer of content, holds the copyright to that content from the moments it's published in a fixed form. Fixed form means on the Internet, as well as in print books, ebooks, and any other fixed form.
The previous statement assumes the content is their original creation to begin with. This applies whether there is a copyright notice displayed or not. Content thieves, whether intentional or not, have lost their websites, and often much more, because they've used content that didn't belong to them.
That's why private label rights became popular. If you buy the private label rights to content you can legally use it, rewrite it, and do anything you want with it within the license agreement.
Five Common Myths About Copyrights
If it doesn’t have a copyright notice, it’s free to use.
The Reality
This was true at one time, but today most nations abide by the Berne copyright convention. Original works created after 1989 are copyrighted whether a notice is provided or not. This applies to websites too. Once a website is published (placed online) it has copyright protection. This includes text and graphics.
If I make up my own story based on someone else’s story, the new story copyrights belong to me.
The Reality
These kinds of works are called derivative works. If you write a story using settings or characters from someone else’s work, you need that author’s permission. The lone exception is for parody.
Copyright violation isn’t a serious offense.
The Reality
Depending on the parameters, copyright violation can be a felony. Fines can be in the six-figures, and that doesn’t include actual damages.
If I don’t charge for it, it’s not against the law to use it.
The Reality
If you charge for it, penalties and awarded damages can be more severe, but penalties and damages can be awarded whether you charge for it or not.
Copyrights expire after 3 years.
The Reality
A work that is created on or after January 1, 1978, is automatically protected from the moment of its creation and is ordinarily given a term enduring for the author’s life plus an additional 70 years after the author’s death, or until the author has transferred the copyrights to another entity or placed it in the public domain.
