Copyright Essay

Rick Wilson
Copyright Essay

The Internet and Copyright:
"The Internet has been characterized as the largest threat to copyright since its inception. The Internet is awash in information, a lot of it with varying degrees of copyright protection. Copyrighted works on the Net include new s stories, software, novels, screenplays, graphics, pictures, Usenet messages and even email. In fact, the frightening reality is that almost everything on the Net is protected by copyright law. That can pose problems for the hapless surfer." ("The Copyright Web site" http://www.benedict.com/)
It is complex, when researching what online content is protected by copyright laws, and what is not protected. Original works, concepts and designs, etc. are protected in the same way as works outside the internet. But, the internet introduces an entire new world that needs to be protected and policed. I thought I would focus on a few points concerning material posted on or taken from Web pages.
The fundamental design of Web pages and all of its contents including audio, video, links, graphics, original text and even the original markup language or languages of a site are protected. Lists of sites, whether belonging to an organization or an individual, are also protected. Just as with most any work, the unique elements of a Web site are protected under copyright law.
There are some things that you can do with web pages. You can link to other web pages as long as you follow any requirements that the owners of other web pages have and you can copy and paste free content such as graphics, as long as the graphics are marked as "free". You can quote from a web site as long as you properly cite the quote.
One misconception is that you can copy and past information together from different Internet sources to create your own document. Also, you must get permission to use other peoples' electronic material in your work or site. You cannot copy and past others' logos, graphics or icons or their lists of resources unless the material is marked or advertised clearly as "freeware."
Many facets of the issues of copyright and the Internet are still up in the air. One should do their research and make sure that they are properly using Internet material. You can consult Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution for the law concerning copyrights. The Library of Congress and the U.S. Copyright Office are other good sources of copyright information.

References
Montecino, Virginia. (1996) Copyright and the Internet. Retrieved June 12, 2010, from http://mason.gmu.edu/-montecin
Fair Use of Copyrighted Material. Retrieved June 15, 2010, from http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/copypol2.htm