Copyright

May 2001

The Web makes it easy to pull other people's content into your site—and for others to use your content on theirs. Learning some of the basic principles of Internet copyright will help you keep control over your work and avoid inappropriate use of the work of others.

This is a highly complex area, and we can only offer a few pointers:

• Although the Web is an international medium, the copyright laws of individual countries apply. There are, however, international copyright treaties and conventions that allow some degree of protection in most countries.
• Copyright applies from the moment a work is created, regardless of whether a copyright notice is displayed.
• Assume that all work on the Web is copyrighted and that permission is required for re-publication, unless there is a notice stating specifically that materials may be reproduced.
• The principle of "fair use" allows for the reproduction of materials under certain conditions, determined by the purpose of the use, nature of the copyrighted work, the quantity of material reproduced and the effect on the value of the copyrighted material. The use of quotations and short excerpts for purposes of comment, criticism, news reporting and education are generally considered fair use.
• If you contract someone to produce materials for one medium, you will need a separate agreement to republish that material in another medium. For example, if someone is hired to produce a print brochure, you will need another agreement if you wish to publish that brochure on the Web.
• Give thought to whether your interests will be best served by asserting copyright, or by allowing free reproduction and dissemination of the materials, at least for non-profit purposes. Particularly within the NGO and education sectors, there is a move to develop "Open Content" materials, the content equivalent of Open Source software. Materials distributed under the Open Content licence are available for use, modification and distribution provided that the original author is properly credited, changes are clearly indicated, and the modified work is also made available as Open Content. If protecting copyright is important to you, consider formally registering copyright.