| All credit for this summary goes to Joe Burns, Ph D. This is taken from his book HTML Goodies which is in it's second edition. *What is copyright? Copyright is a form of intellectual property law. Copyright law protects an author or creator from his or her stuff being pirated and used without permission. *How this applies to the Internet. The copyright laws that apply to written, photographs and other such items also applies to the internet. The IITF task force is attempting to shape existing laws to apply more fully to the digitalage. *How do I get my stuff copyrighted? It technically already is. The law states that a copyright can be placed on an tiem as soon as it is placed into tangible form (a web page for example). There have been many examples of cases where *implied* copyright has upheld in court. Don't take the chance though, use copyright insignia and text. *What do I put on my page/fic? You should place the letter C in a circle, the word copyright, the year and the name of the author. Remember the letter C in the circle is created using HTML and when printed as a source code it does not show. The code for the symbol is & c o p y ; (without the spaces). If using this on a website you do not have to put it on every page. Make a note of stating the copyright covers the entire site though! For a fic site, have individual copyright messages for everyone's fics. *Don't I have to send a form to the Government? This is voluntary. In America it costs around $30 plus shipping. This registration with the Government is not necessary to bring civil action against someone for copyright infringement. You can claim moent in the civil action for damages and lost profit however unless you register you cannot claim punitive (punishment) damages. *How long does my copyright last? It lasts until you have been dead for 50 years. *I'm just a kid, can I get a copyright? Yes! Minors are allowed copyright protection. Follow the same procedure. *What about someone in another country using my stuff? That depends on the country's policies. Some recognise U.S. copyright and help, some don't. *One site has a great fic but it's copyrighted. Can I use it? Not without written permission. *Can I use anything from a site? According to the Fair Use Doctrine (Section 110 [5] of the Copyright Act of 1976), it is allowable to use 'limited portions' of a copyrighted item for works such as commentary, news reporting, academic reports and the like. You still have to give credit to the source; you cannot claim the work as your own. You must cite where it came from! *What if I take a person's fic and change it a little. Can I copyright it? No! The changes must be 'substantial and creative'. In effect, there must be few remnants of the original work. You might as well write it from scratch before trying to steal and alter. The one possible exception is if you are creatng a satire, that is protected by the First Amendment (in America obviously!). However, it must be an obvious satire. Make it blatent! *What can I do if someone uses my copyrighted stuff without getting permission? You can file a civil lawsuit in a court to get an order stopping the person from using your material. You should really start by writing a calm email asking the person to stop. If that does not work, contact their email provider or server (depending where your work has been sent from) and inform them of the situation. If nothing happens let both parties know civil action will follow. If you are not willing to take this as fair as you can, the government can rescind your copyright! *I'm just a kid. I don't have anything to take. Go ahead! Sue me! You can't do anything to me! You are right in one aspect. However you can be convicted of a federal crime and it will stop you from being employed in the future. You have t acknowledgefederal crimes on any application forms. Final Thoughts... The internet is not wide open! The law still applies there. Give credit as youwould want credit given to you! Stealing something may get you a little attention but it is not worth a lawsuit! |
| With the recent plague of plagerist wandering around the net I felt the need to post this. Here is the copyright info for any fics on this site. Pay CLOSE attention and read carefully. |