WARNING: Okay, look, we're not lawyers. So don't rely on any of this as sound legal advice, don't quote it as gospel, and definitely don't make any real-world decisions based on what we say. We're just laymen, talking to friends, trying to navigate the murky, cloudy realm of copyright.
The idea of copyright—especially on the Internet—seems to perplex people. Most folks want to play fair and act legally, pretty much. But copyright seems confusing. What can you do; what can't you do?
Suppose you find a really neat photo on a website, which would be perfect for yours, too. Or, you like the cool way somebody expressed a hot idea. You can just freely cut-and-paste stuff and add it to your website, right? Well, not really! You may be violating U.S. federal and international copyright laws.
On the Web, people like to repeat "information wants to be free." Which somehow translates into: "Artists have no right to their own creations" (legally known as "intellectual property"). It's a strange, self-serving rationalization for stealing, and an argument nobody uses elsewhere, except a jailhouse: "Your honor, it's true, I robbed the jewelry store--but those diamonds were begging for it: they just wanted to be free."
Really, copyright is simple: If somebody creates something--book, poem, song, poster, movie, photo, article, image, graphic, website, or whatever--they own it. They own the right to say how it gets used (or not). They own the "copyright" to do anything with it. You have no right to copy or use their work in any way, without their permission.
Some legal exceptions allow you to use limited portions of other people's works under certain conditions without getting permission. The most common exception is the Fair Use Doctrine.
The Fair Use Doctrine, as best we understand it (remember, we're not lawyers) says it's okay to quote a short amount of something, depending on: (a) why and how you use it; (b) the nature of the copyrighted work; (c) how much of the work gets used; and, (d) any market impact on the quoted work. Problem is: There's no exact line where you'll know if you cross it.
One practice that seems acceptable is what many websites—our own included—often do: to quote a brief extract from a good posting or article, credit the source, and give a link back to the original. Even though we're not lawyers, that seems legal, acceptable and safe. If, however, you: (a) quoted the whole piece; or, (b) gave no credit to the source; or, (c) gave no link back to the original—any one of those, or two, or all three—you're crunching on paper-thin ice.
Some intellectual property exist in the Public Domain. So, no one legally holds the copyright ownership. Anyone can use it freely in any way, even commercially. No permissions are required.
Why would a work be in the public domain?—perhaps the work is so old, its copyright has expired and cannot be renewed; or, it was created by a government agency (and thus excluded from copyright protection); or, the author(s) chose, on purpose, to allow the work to enter the public domain.
An excellent solution to copyright dilemmas has been provided by a non-profit organization called Creative Commons. Founded in 2001 by Lawrence Lessig, Creative Commons has freely provided a legal framework, with a series of licenses, to "let authors, scientists artists, and educators easily mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry."
What Is Copyright?
Copyright
The idea of copyright—especially on the Internet—seems to perplex people. Most folks want to play fair and act legally, pretty much. But copyright seems confusing. What can you do; what can't you do?
Suppose you find a really neat photo on a website, which would be perfect for yours, too. Or, you like the cool way somebody expressed a hot idea. You can just freely cut-and-paste stuff and add it to your website, right? Well, not really! You may be violating U.S. federal and international copyright laws.
On the Web, people like to repeat "information wants to be free." Which somehow translates into: "Artists have no right to their own creations" (legally known as "intellectual property"). It's a strange, self-serving rationalization for stealing, and an argument nobody uses elsewhere, except a jailhouse: "Your honor, it's true, I robbed the jewelry store--but those diamonds were begging for it: they just wanted to be free."
Really, copyright is simple: If somebody creates something--book, poem, song, poster, movie, photo, article, image, graphic, website, or whatever--they own it. They own the right to say how it gets used (or not). They own the "copyright" to do anything with it. You have no right to copy or use their work in any way, without their permission.
Exceptions
Fair Use
Some legal exceptions allow you to use limited portions of other people's works under certain conditions without getting permission. The most common exception is the Fair Use Doctrine.
The Fair Use Doctrine, as best we understand it (remember, we're not lawyers) says it's okay to quote a short amount of something, depending on: (a) why and how you use it; (b) the nature of the copyrighted work; (c) how much of the work gets used; and, (d) any market impact on the quoted work. Problem is: There's no exact line where you'll know if you cross it.
One practice that seems acceptable is what many websites—our own included—often do: to quote a brief extract from a good posting or article, credit the source, and give a link back to the original. Even though we're not lawyers, that seems legal, acceptable and safe. If, however, you: (a) quoted the whole piece; or, (b) gave no credit to the source; or, (c) gave no link back to the original—any one of those, or two, or all three—you're crunching on paper-thin ice.
Public Domain
Some intellectual property exist in the Public Domain. So, no one legally holds the copyright ownership. Anyone can use it freely in any way, even commercially. No permissions are required.
Why would a work be in the public domain?—perhaps the work is so old, its copyright has expired and cannot be renewed; or, it was created by a government agency (and thus excluded from copyright protection); or, the author(s) chose, on purpose, to allow the work to enter the public domain.
Creative Commons
An excellent solution to copyright dilemmas has been provided by a non-profit organization called Creative Commons. Founded in 2001 by Lawrence Lessig, Creative Commons has freely provided a legal framework, with a series of licenses, to "let authors, scientists artists, and educators easily mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry."
This means, under this specific Creative Commons license, that:
- You are free copy, distribute, and transmit parts of our work. You must attribute the work to us as follows: "Used courtesy of EdgyBear.com (Copyright © 2007), protected under a Creative Commons License 3.0."
- You may not use our work for commercial purposes.
- You may not alter, transform, or build upon our work.
Suspected Violations
Please Alert Us
EdgyBear always makes every good-faith effort to protect other people's copyrights. We desire to use no materials or intellectual property on our site unless they fit one of five criteria: (a) we are their creators and copyright owners, (b) they are in the public domain, (c) no known restrictions apply, (d) use is allowed under a icense like Creative Commons, or (e) permission for use has been granted.
The act of making posts, sending comments, or submitting other materials to our site carries an implicit permission to publish that work without restriction. [See our Terms of Service.]
NOTE: If you find anything on EdgyBear.com you believe to be an infringement of your copyright, please alert us immediately. Send an email to copyright@edgybear.com, stating the work in question, your established ownership, and the infringement that occurred.
Please also alert us if you find that EdgyBear's works (as legally protected under copyright) have somehow been infringed upon. Send an email to copyright@edgybear.com, stating the source in question, its identifying information (such as web address, date published, page, etc.), and the infringement you believe occurred.
For More Information
- Creative Commons
- Library of Congress, Copyright.
- Richard Stim, Getting Permission: How to License and Clear Copyrighted Materials Online and Off, NOLO (2007)
- Wikipedia, "Copyright."
- Wikipedia, "Copyright Infringement."
- Wikipedia, "Creative Commons."
- Wikipedia, "Public Domain."
