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By Judith Kallos
"If I only quote a portion of another site’s content and link to them I do not need their permission.” Again, it behooves you to have permission. Using only portions allows you to possibly give the wrong impression about the author’s overall content. This can be misleading. If you want to quote written work in whole or part you need to ask permission.
“If I pay someone to create graphics for my Web site, I own the copyright.” Not necessarily. Unless your agreement explicitly states that upon payment all rights are transferred to you, you most likely only have exclusive license to use those graphics. And to purchase the full copyright will cost you more than simple exclusivity!
Understand that the moment anything is created, whether it be written or drawn, the creator owns the copyright. That’s the law. Over the years I've had clients claim they own copyrights just because they paid me to create this or that. It simply, legally, is not the case. A copyright only can be transferred via a written, legally binding agreement signed by the creator of the work. My contracts clearly state this, and include information about their option to purchase my copyright if they so choose.
“E-mail is not copyright protected once it is sent.” E-mail is a written work that once created is copyright protected by the author. This means you cannot publicly post an e-mail sent to you privately. You cannot post private e-mails to your site, to message boards or to your blog without the author’s specific permission to do so.
In addition, e-mail posted to a group of people on a mailing list or Newsgroup does not make the e-mail available for reposting, copying or any other use without the express and written consent of the writer.
The bottom line of online copyright is courtesy! Don't assume that you can use, repost or take anything you find online simply because you can. Be a courteous Netizen and always ask first!
You might find a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) page and policy statement on your ISP and hosting provider’s Web sites to handle complaints and reports of the above types of copyright abuse. Read the document and make yourself aware of your rights, and make sure you are not infringing on others. The main resource for online copyright and DMCA information is http://www.copyright.gov.
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