Warning - Are You Breaking Copyright Law?

With blogs and website content being so prolific on the internet, copyright concerns are more important than ever. It is easier today than it ever has been to copy, change and share different pieces of information. The main worry with this is that there are many people who don't have a clear understanding of the Copyright Law. This could then end up with serious, illegal and extremely costly mistakes.

I am listing here a few Do's and Don'ts where Copyright Law is concerned, and I hope it helps clear up any worries or concerns you may have as an online writer.

What you can do

· You can use materials that are under a public domain - You are able to use any work that has been placed in the public domain. This includes many materials such as any produced before 1923 and 1977 that do not have a copyright attached to them.

· You can quote interesting remarks or tidbits - You are able to quote small snippets of other peoples work provided it is used for criticism, commentary or perhaps news that you need to report. The quote however, should only be a small part and shouldn't be from the 'heart' of the work.

· You can use different facts and also ideas - The Copyright Law allows everyone to express facts and certain ideas. You can create these from the form, the combination and also the structure of certain documents. This doesn't include the facts themselves however.

· You can use any materials that do not have a Copyright attached - There are many different types of materials that cannot conform to Copyright Law. These are popular slogans, titles, procedures, short phrases, ingredients in recipes, symbols and names. Be careful though, as these may be protected by trademark instead of Copyright.

· You can use another companies name or logo if you are writing about them - Obviously they will have a trademark attached to them, but if you are writing an article or comment about them, you can still use the name and the logo.

· You can use a company name within your domain - As long as you not out to deceive people, (by attempting to fraudulently get people to your site), you can use another companies name within your own domain name. If you want to create a website called 'Microsoftrippeopleoff.com' then you can!

What you can't do

· You can't assume that because you credit the author you will conform to Copyright Law - You won't be. You can only ever use material from another if you have permission to do so. Even if you credit the author or the place you got the material from, you are still in violation of Copyright Law.

· You can't assume that because there is no Copyright message there is no Copyright - Copyright Law required a notice of Copyright to protect work until 1977. It was in 1978 that the law was changed then abolished to give way to a Copyright Notice. What this means for any author is that anything written either online or on paper, automatically generates a Copyright notice, whether intended or not.

· You can't remove the Copyright Notice and use the material - Whether you remove the Copyright notice or not, you are still breaking the Copyright Law.

If you are worried that you may be breaking Copyright Law, you need to seek advice from a specialized lawyer or representative.

This article was not written by a lawyer and it is not to be considered legal advice.