and if the resulting product doesn't compete with the original work.
Please note that this is a very cursory discussion of the concept of fair use. Check out the Copyright FAQ for more information.
Copyright and posted material
The free exchange of information through cyberspace has raised all sorts of questions about who owns that material. Is material that's posted to a discussion group still owned by the original author? What if it's repeatedly quoted in further discussion? What if you write a FAQ and make it publicly available -- do you still own the copyright?
The answer to these questions is yes, yes, and yes. If it's your original work and you wrote it down, the copyright is yours.
There's a common -- and mistaken -- belief that posting information to
USENET, or anywhere else in cyberspace, puts it in the public domain.
That's not true. Think about it -- if you paint a picture and display it for
all to see, you're not giving up the copyright to it.
Anything that's not under copyright is in the public domain. That
means anyone can freely copy and distribute it. You can give copies
away for free, or, if anyone's willing to pay, you can charge them.
As of 1994, most works created before 1922 are out of copyright and in
the public domain. An author can also choose to put a work into the
public domain by declaring, in writing, that he is doing so. That doesn't
apply to most of the material that's posted in cyberspace. So most of the
posted material you see -- whether it's a note in a discussion group or
an article whose author is seeking comments -- is under copyright and
belongs to the author.
Q. What's the
public domain?
Contents ...
Index ... Netiquette Home