Copyright is a protection that covers published and unpublished literary, scientific and artistic works, whatever the form of expression, provided such works are fixed in a tangible or material form. This means that if you can see it, hear it and/or touch it - it may be protected. Copyright laws grant the creator the exclusive right to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute, perform and display the work publicly. Exclusive means only the creator of such work, not anybody who has access to it and decides to use it.
Graphic images provided by “free” or “linkware” graphics sites are not public domain. These images, although provided to you for “free”, are not being given to in ownership. You are being allowed to use them if you comply with the owner’s terms and conditions, so make sure that you comply with them in full when you use or display the graphics in question. If the owner says “don’t alter it”, don’t alter it. If the owner says, “only use for your personal homepage,” only use it for your personal homepage. The same applies to linking images, or logos. They are still copyrighted by the owner and are usually only to be used for links to the owner’s Web site. In these cases the © symbol at the bottom of your Web site only pertains to the content that you yourself created, not to the logos provided to you for links or the “free” graphics loaned to you to decorate your Web pages.
© 2005 Kathleen Sickler ~ Web Designer. All rights reserved.
