Bead_Bar_Paper

Running head: Copyright Implications Copyright Implications Charlene Ubiles IT 236 Professor Flaherty January 20, 2010 Copyright Implications When creating a website there are a couple of concerns that must be taken into consideration. Before development a webmaster should consider the copyright, domain name, linking and framing concerns in order to ensure that their website complies with standard rules and regulations. Copyright A person is found guilty of copyright infringement if they violate the five exclusive rights given to the copyright owner under the Copyright Act. This means that you cannot reproduce (copy), prepare derivative works of, distribute copies, perform, or display another person’s work. If you violate any of these five exclusive rights then you will have infringed their copyright. The best way to go about creating a website is to make all images and text original that way you do not run the risk of copyright infringement. But if you choose to incorporate an image from the Internet onto your website you should first obtain the creator’s permission to authorize use of that image. To add images to your webpage you can also use clip-art libraries or any free images offered on the internet. Clip-art library images are licensed to the person who purchases the software but a webmaster must be careful to obey the terms of all applicable license agreements. Free images on the internet are for use by others and may be used as long as the terms proposed by the creator are met. The rules that apply to integrating images also apply to text. Again, it is always best to go with original text developed by the website creator to avoid any copyright concerns. “As with images, appropriating text from third-parties without permission is illegal, unless there is some substantial ‘fair use’ justification (Web Site Legal Issues, 2008).” When it comes to developing Java Applets, JavaScript’s, and ActiveX scripts the same applies unless the applets are available for use by the public. When linking images, text, or multimedia to a website you should always obtain permission from the creator first. Linking websites to your own and passing off the content as yours is also copyright infringement. Domain Name The selection of a domain name is one of the most important details in the creation of a website. Domain names have two levels; the first level refers to the domain (.COM, .ORG, .NET, .GOV, .EDU) and the second level is the website name for example: http://www.google.com. The .COM is the first level of the domain name and “Google” would be considered the second level. Obtaining a domain name is simple as long as the name is available registration can be filed with InterNIC. References Tysver, Daniel A., Brad Bolin. (2008). Web Site Legal Issues. Retrieved from Bitlaw website: http://www.bitlaw.com/internet/webpage.html#defamation