Copyright

Photo courtesy El Mariachi 94

As so many of us spend so much time on the internet these days, it is very easy to slip into the habit of infringing upon and downright abusing, other peoples’ copyright. So let’s become aware of our behavior on the internet and learn good surfing habits, particularly in relation to our own quilting and crafting industry. Not only learn good habits, but learn how to respect the rights and property of others.

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Part 3 in the article series: Copyright Infringement on the Internet

by Linda Matthews

Photo courtesy photomequickbooth

Slow down – speed bump ahead
We live in such a fast-paced society that most of us don’t even stop to draw breath some days, let alone stop to think about the repercussions of copyright infringement. A lot of us spend a lot of time on the internet, and while there it’s very easy to inadvertently violate copyright even in the smallest of ways. It’s definitely a minefield out there!

But I didn’t do anything wrong
But even if we are mindful of respecting someone’s copyright it often seems like some copyright disclaimers can be totally unreasonable and/or beyond comprehension. Wording can be confusing, or it takes too long to figure out exactly what the wording means, or quite simply you might think that the copyright owner is wrong to put such restrictions on something that you want so badly.

You might think: “If I get caught I can pretend I didn’t understand the copyright, then I didn’t do anything wrong – right?”

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Part 2 in the article series: Copyright Infringement on the Internet

by Linda Matthews

Photo courtesy Mikelo

What exactly is copyright?
The legal aspects of copyright law are complex, but put simply; copyright is legal protection given to authors and creators of artwork, music and photography and the like to protect them against others using their words, artwork design, music or images.

What is copyright violation?
Copyright violation or infringement is taking those words or images without the knowledge or permission of the creator and using them for your own use and/or personal gain.

What is personal gain?
Personal gain does not only mean making money from someone else’s ideas; it can also mean that you somehow personally gain something from it.

Obvious or not
While photo and article theft are the more obvious copyright infringement situations, other forms of internet copyright violation frequently occur.

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Part 1 in the article series: Copyright Infringement on the Internet

By Linda Matthews

Have you ever downloaded or copied an image from the internet?
Yes of course you have, they’re just everywhere and they’re just so pretty.

Have you ever downloaded or copied an article from the internet?
Again, I’m sure you have. Other people simply have such interesting stories to tell.

Did you bother to read the copyright notice before you downloaded or copied the image or article from that website?
I’m going to guess your answer would be – “probably not” or “occasionally” or “I don’t have time to read everything on the internet”.

The recent surge of personal blogs, social websites, and photo sharing websites such as Flickr; have more people than ever are taking to the internet to “show and tell“. On the surface this seems like a wonderful opportunity to connect and share with people who have common interests, but on the flip side it has opened up a whole new world of opportunity for you to become a victim of copyright infringement.

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