Two quick corrections
malcolm McCallum wrote:
> Anything that is posted on the internet without
>
> Copyright (c) YEAR. NAME OF COPYRIGHT HOLDER.
>
> is technically open for use by anyone. I got this directly from the
> copyright office a few years back.
Must have been quite a few: changes to US copyright law in 1979
eliminated this requirement.
From: http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html
"When is my work protected?
Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and
fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with
the aid of a machine or device."
Once it is published, then copyright protection is automatic. Copyright
_registration_ is a more complex process, and useful in case of legal
action, but not required (see above link).
See also: http://www.iusmentis.com/copyright/symbol/
> When constructing websites, I believe you can
> link the picture so that it shows on your site but is posted on their
> site without any problem. But, this may be inaccurate so don't take my
> word from it.
This is called hotlinking, and is generally a very bad idea. It doesn't
violate copyright (according to legal precedent), but if you hotlink to
a small provider's images, you then force that person to pay for the
bandwidth that _your_ site is using to display that image. In some cases
it is fine, or even encouraged - Flickr, Amazon book cover images - but
in others it could cost the image creator/host quite a bit of money.
As has already been said, the best solution is to ask if there is no
explicit license.
Sarah
---
Dr. Sarah Goslee
USDA-ARS Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit
Penn State
