How To Avoid Copyright Infringement

Copyright infringement is not an easy thing to explain. While it may seem as simple as not using someone elses work, its not that easy. Thanks to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and many other organizations, we have the ability to use others works -- as long as we use it under Fair Use laws. So what does Fair Use have to do with copyright infringement, and how can you utilize it?

Fair Use laws allow us to use a copyrighted work without having to pay someone royalties. This includes using a copyrighted work for educational or instructional uses, criticism of the work, commentaries on the work, news reporting about the work, teaching on the work (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship uses, and research. This is talked about fully in Section 107 of the Copyright Code (commonly called Fair Use) and is available for you to read at your local library.

Copyright Infringement in day-to-day life

Sometimes, if youre writing a paper for work or school, or if you are creating a Power Point presentation, you need to use someones work that is already in copyright. So how do you use it without committing copyright infringement? All you have to do is ask -- the worst they can say is no, right? But, if they do say no, there are several items in the public domain which may help you to finish your project without having to commit copyright infringement.

What is the public domain, and how does it relate to copyright infringement?

Material that is not copyrighted is considered in the public domain. You cannot commit copyright infringement on works in the public domain. These works include things that the copyright has expired on, or is not copyrightable -- such as government publications, jokes, titles, and ideas. Some creators (writers, musicians, artists, and more) deliberately put their work in the public domain, without ever obtaining copyright, by providing an affiliation with Creative Commons. Creative Commons allows people who create materials to forfeit some, or all, of their copyright rights and place their work either partially or fully in the public domain.

So, how do I ensure Im not committing copyright infringement?

First of all, if youre going to use someone elses material, you may want to check the public domain to see if something is suitable for use, instead of trying to use someone elses copyright. However, if you cant find something suitable (and you cant create something yourself), the next best thing (and your only legal course of action) is to find a piece that is in copyright, and contacting the copyright holder.

When you contact the copyright holder, make sure you tell them what you want to use their piece for -- whether its for your blog, podcast, or report -- and ask if you can use it. You may have to pay royalties, or an attribution in your piece, or a combination of both. The creator may also place many limitations on when and how you can use their material. Follow all these instructions they give you, and youll be free and clear to use their work as you want.

Once you have permission to use a copyrighted work, you need to make sure you stay within the agreed-upon boundaries. If you veer outside their agreed terms, you may open yourself up for a copyright infringement lawsuit, which can be nasty, costly, and time consuming. If youre in doubt, before contacting the copyright holder, contact a copyright lawyer to ensure youre following the law -- and protect yourself!

QUESTION: If you hear a great new band, and then download a song from MySpace, is that legal or not?

ANSWER: The events of copyright infringement are not only limited by Kazaa, Morpheus, or some other file sharing peer to peer (P2P) service. If you download a song -- no matter if youre on a website or a MySpace page -- and it isnt coming from the artist themselves, you may want to think about downloading it. Chances are, if its not coming from them, you cant have it -- unless it is under a Creative Commons License. Creative Commons gives the exact ways in which you can use the license -- and many times those are completely free and legal to download, so make sure you check if its under a CC License.

QUESTION: If Im writing a paper, or article, and I want to quote another website, can I?

ANSWER: First of all, did you know the minute you write or create something, you hold the copyright to it? ESPECIALLY if youre writing it online -- its very easy to track things on the Internet. So, if youre writing a blog, all the things youve written (no matter good or bad) are recorded, thanks to Archive.org, which lets you review last versions of your web pages.

Sometimes, we can use someone elses work in our own, and think were small and anonymous. That no one will notice by the time you get it down -- youre just borrowing it. Before you begin quoting anyones website -- from CNN to your local neighborhood hardware store -- you need to ask the person who holds the copyright if you can. Usually, theyll let you if you attribute to them. Depending who you talk to, youll either have to pay royalties or license rights to republish. If you dont ask before you quote, youre beginning the events of copyright infringement and you are opening yourself up for a lawsuit.

Richard Cunningham is a freelance journalist who covers copyright law for http://www.ResearchCopyright.com. Download his free e-book, "Copyright Basics" at http://ResearchCopyright.com.

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How Does Apple Manage To Dominate The Mp3 Player Market With The Ipod

In the realm of MP3 players, Apple (producer of Macintosh computers and related technology) is the definite dominator when it comes to having the most highly-purchased products among the other manufacturers. One of the main reasons for this simple as it may seem is basically out of customer loyalty to the originator of this portable audio device. It was the first of its kind on the market and still remains today, the brand of choice.

Apple actually released the iPod in 2001 as a portable audio device that was strictly compatible with Macintosh technology. Working in unison with Apples iTunes, Mac users were able to create, maintain and utilize countless numbers of sound files in their music and audio libraries. However, due the growing popularity among its customers, many Windows users were feeling left out and wanted to be able to take advantage of this great new way of listening to and downloading music and other audio as well. So, in 2002, Apple produced a new form of iPod that was compatible with both Macintosh and Windows interfaces. And later in 2003, they gave the Windows world a compatible version of iTunes as well. This made the audio playing and storing consumer market very happy.

Then eventually, other companies like Sony and Samsung began producing MP3 players as well but have never reached the level of success that Apple has with their iPods. And moreover, it doesnt look like those competitors ever will. Statistics show that Apple and their iPod actually dominate the MP3 player market with a 70% selling advantage over other manufacturers of these types of portable MP3 audio devices. And when it comes to hard-drive based MP3 players, theyve got a whopping 90% lead over the competition.

The main reasons consumers complain about the non-Apple brands of MP3 players is that not only are the competitor versions too expensive, but they are strongly lacking in form. They just dont have the ease of operation in terms of user-interfacing and also dont include a lot of the convenient and cool features that the Apple iPod does either. Generally speaking, the iPod emphatically outperforms the other manufactures brands of portable audio devices by a mile (or more).

And with the addition of Intel into the Apple product line as a whole, the iPod is only going to continue to be improved upon causing it not only to remain the favorite, but also further expand its appeal throughout the music-loving universe.

Gray Rollins writes for http://www.totalmp3player.com/ - a site that provides iPod Guides. Also learn where you can get wholesale ipods at http://www.totalmp3player.com/wholesale/ and http://www.salehooreview.com/.

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