Has The Internet Made Copyright Laws Invalid And Null?

Copyright law makes up one of those legal areas that can be complicated, both for those trying to protect their legal rights and the legal courts tasked with deciding when an infraction has occurred. With the introduction of photocopying - sometime in the mid 20th century, along with the rise of the World wide web, this issue has grown to be even more difficult. A copyright attorney traditionally dealt only with published material, but now there has been a distinction made between what is submitted on the web and what the legal rights of those "posters" are versus true printed content. The issue of whether or not the laws are or should be obsolete because of the Internet is very much alive and debated in today's world.

First of all, an item that is circulated online is not regarded as published; rather, it is a public display. Nevertheless, portions of copyright laws do apply because public display is one of the legal rights conferred upon the holder of the rights to a work. An author of an original work (which includes not only written prose, but also photographs), automatically is the owner of the rights to that work as soon as it is put in print or uploaded onto a website. They don't need to submit a notice or register the work with the Library of Congress to maintain legal rights to the writing, although doing so is extremely important in an infringement lawsuit.

Due to the fact internet content is regarded as public display, people can access it easily, but things get trickier. A computer's random access memory or RAM automatically preserves web pages, holding them in store in the event the user visits the site again. Depending on the Internet browser, it may trash the memory once the computer is turned off, or it may store it in what's referred to as a cache. Ultimately, all memory in a cache is recycled but only because more recent pages are being stored. By necessity, the law specifically exempts Internet service providers or ISPs from any culpability with regards to infringement. However, the unauthorized printing or saving of copyrighted documents onto a hard drive does amount to infringement, although it is rarely enforced unless an effort is made to make money from the works.

In what is referred to as fair use, excerpts of protected material may be reprinted or redisplayed, provided a few conditions are satisfied. Namely, it must be for academic or scholarly uses, and the author of the work must be acknowledged. Fair use guidelines commonly allow instructors and professors to make photocopies of academic works for their students without these copies being regarded as an infringement of the authors' rights.

Instead of nullifying copyright law, the Internet has made the issue that much more important. The laws help authors protect the use of their existing works and encourage the creation of more.

Actual infringement by another party impairs an author's ability to exhibit or disseminate their own creations.There have even been circumstances in which the author's reputation has been slandered as a consequence of the original work being altered in a manner that makes it offensive, controversial, or contrary to the author's original intent. Copyright lawyers are hired to take these issues to court. An infringer or plagiarist can be assessed penalties of anywhere from $750 to $150,000, the very first time they are found guilty. The penalties can increase if a party is found to be an habitual offender of copyright infringement.

Writers who choose to register their works with the Library of Congress mainly do so on their own. A licensed copyright attorney can help clear up any confusion when registering a work, or an author may consult with them when it seems appropriate to file an injunction with the courts or sue for damages if necessary.

Thanks to photocopiers, computer hard drives, printers, Internet browsers and an ignorance of the laws, copyright infringement takes place with stunning regularity. The ease with which people can pass off others' authored content as their own is a little scary.

Some examples of infringement include:

• Copying total articles or other content without changing it, acquiring prior authorization from the creator, and/or without giving credit to the original author.

• Plagiarizing parts of the content and neglecting to give credit to the original author.•

• Utilizing content and tweaking a few words or sentences here and there and then using your own byline when re-posting online.

These examples underscore the necessity of sound laws, especially as regards content found on the internet.

There are safeguard programs/websites on the Internet to protect authors. Websites such as Copyscape will help an author locate any written content with any amount of identical content, though it is still up to the author to pursue any legal action against the plagiarist. The bottom line though is that authored written material and photographs are real property, and in a world that values property rights, these laws are as essential as ever.