Copyright Rules and Regs - Why They Matter

[Lark]

One of the things which seems to cause a lot of confusion on the internet is the subject of copyright infringements. So I thought it would be useful to provide people with information on the legal implications of reposting copyrighted materials without the permission of the owner of the copyright.

Simply put "copyright" means that the person who created the piece has the right to say where and by whom that piece can be reprinted. Under international copyright law and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act this includes not only books and the like, but also the contents of websites on the internet. Nor is it necessary that the creator of the work be making money off of his/her work for copyright to apply.

So basically if you're reprinting copyrighted material here to this board you are in effect stealing. And if the person who wrote the original piece discovers it here they have every right to have this site shut down. I know, I have done it to some sites that stole my work and they refused to take it down when I asked them to. I have seen Ray Buckland shut down a message board because people were reprinting his books there without his permission and failing to stop when he asked them to. I'm sure no one here wants to see this site vanish, so keep that in mind when you find something you want to post somewhere else.

Now, under copyright law it is permissable to reprint a very limited portion of a work without it being a copyright violation. For a book that would be a paragraph or two. For an internet posting it might be just a couple of lines. So if you want to have people read something that you found on the net the best and safest way to avoid copyright issues is to post a link to the article rather than copying and pasting the article here.

Here's some websites that exaplain what most of us need to know about copyright in basic terms that anyone can understand:

http://whatiscopyright.org/

http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html

http://www.efuse.com/Plan/copyright.html

Remember, copyright violation is stealing just as certainly as taking someone's purse or car. Don't do it! And don't do it here and get this site shut down or we all end up losing.

-Lark-

[Labrys]

Lark, you brilliant and articulate woman, you!  May I use this at a brand new message board some Heathen friends have begun?

I am worried about copyright issues there since a good many of the folks who may participate are pretty new to internet activities like message boards.  I am a moderator there (hopefully temporarily) and did post a brief description of how to BRIEFLY quote and attribute, but your post here is so MUCH better.

[Lark]

Certainly, help yourself.

-Lark-

[Labrys]

Certainly, help yourself.

-Lark-

Thank you VERY much!