Copyright Laws Internet – Your Ultimate Guide

By: Bob Silber

The World Wide Web has always been considered as vast, unfathomable, and even an ultimately diverse virtual arena where people from all over the world are able share all kinds of information with one another despite the distance, the difference in culture, language, and even age and gender.  But this power has its disadvantages and we see that in the copyright violations that plague the academic community.  Because of the easy access to shared information, many internet users think that these works are free for the public domain and can be taken, copied, and distributed for others without prior notice to the owners of such works.  This is a violation not only of the person’s rights to copyright his or her works but also his respect as the creator or owner of such work.

What most do not know is that anything posted online on the Internet is still considered “published” work and are therefore still qualified for copyright protection.  So if you think that your works can be made public to the online community, it is important that you know copy laws internet before considering putting up your works online. There are thousands of internet users who want anything that is free and downloadable for their own personal agenda, so it’s best that you know what to do to be able to exercise your rights with regards to copyrighting on the internet.  Remember that no matter what, a site owner, author, director, or even an artist deserves to give permission to people who wish to use their works for other reasons such as redistribution or personal use for school or work. 

So exactly does one enforce their authority over their ownership on the internet?  An actual copyright law that enforces copyright laws internet is known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.  This act is designed to primarily limit the liability of ISPs or Internet Service Providers due to copyright infringements that their subscribers experience while using the company’s systems and networks.  It was also enacted in order to both preserve the rights of those who rightfully have ownership of works posted on the internet and to immune ISPs from possible accusations and liabilities on their part for such violations.  So if ever you encounter an instance or situation where any of your works were taken, reposted, or redistributed without your sole permission, you can write a DMCA letter to the internet user’s ISP server who made the offense as well as to search engines like Google or Yahoo.

There are websites all over the World Wide Web that provide good advice as well for people who need to know about copyright laws and the internet, so if you think you need more information about this all you have to do is search through Google and Yahoo.  You’ll stumble upon thousands of websites such as this one that will provide you with tips and step-by-step instructions on what to do when faced with a situation involving copyright infringement. 

About the Author

Want to make sure you know all the laws associated with internet marketing? We have everything you need to know to stay compliant at http://www.BusinessLawsForYourWebsites.com

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