It is a fact; most people do not have a clear understanding of Federal Copyright. For the average user, if an image, story or article is posted on the internet, it must be free to access, right? Not quite. What most people do not understand is that when a person creates a work, it automatically granted copyright. Registration is voluntary, and the works are protected.
There are other forms of protection of individual works, including patents and trademarks. While copyright protects author works, a patent protects inventions or discoveries are not protected under the Act, but the way they are expressed may be.
Download articles, images or other works on the internet, or using someone else’s work without their permission, in a way, is considered a violation of copyright and is illegal according to the Federal law. If a person is found to have infringed on the copyright of another, that person may be liable for damages up to n/a $ for every violated job. This amount may be increased to n/a $ for each work, if willful infringement is proven by the copyright owner. In addition, an offender may be liable for legal fees incurred by the copyright owner as he tried to protect his own rights.
The doctrine of “fair use” has developed over the years through a number of important decisions of the Court. In some cases, the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair if used for editorial, research and teaching. Can be difficult to determine the difference between infringement and fair use, and the simple recognition of the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.
While it is no longer required as a condition of copyright protection, it is always recommended to use a copyright notice on your work as an identifier. This review generally includes the symbol or the word “copyright (or copr.)”, the name of the copyright owner and the year of first publication, for example.