Everything that somebody publishes to the Internet is covered by copyright automatically, whether or not it says so explicitly. Some copyright holders do make their material available for sharing, and in different ways. Here’s a list of the most common types of permission.

Be very careful when copying something you find online. It’s usually easy to do it, but that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to do so! And it’s becoming easier than ever for copyright holders to track down where their material is being used.

When you’re scouring the Internet for material, you’ll find different phrases describing how you’re allowed to use that material. Here’s a list of the most common types of permission.

• Public domain: The material is freely available for you to use in any way you like – including changing it and selling it.
• Free: As it says, you don’t have to pay! Unlike public domain material, though, you don’t automatically have permission to change it. And the copyright owner might add other restrictions (e.g. Some free e-books can only be given away, while others can only be included in paid product bundles). Be sure the owner does have the right to offer it free, though. Some Web sites offer, say, a collection of clip art with the notice that they “believe these are free for you to use”. That’s not good enough, and could get you in legal hot water in the future!
• Royalty free: This means you only pay once for buying the licence, but don’t pay each time you use it (unlike, say, a radio station that pays a royalty every time they play an artist’s song).
• Reprint licence: This is just the name given to the copyright owner’s wording that spells out your rights in using the material. Generally, if you’ve “got a reprint licence” for something, it means you’ve got the right to pass it on freely – but possibly under certain conditions.
• Creative Commons licence: This refers to a special group of licences, which make it easy for copyright holders to make their material available for reuse under certain conditions. The least restrictive Creative Commons licence allows you to use something without any restriction except giving credit. But other versions of the licence do add more restrictions (for example, not to be used in commercial projects), so read them carefully.
• Resale licence: This usually means you don’t have the right to copy the product, but you can re-sell it on the owner’s behalf, and keep a share of the sale income.
• Private label rights: This usually means you have the right to take the content and re-publish it under your own brand. This most often applies to some e-books, where the author gives you the original Microsoft Word document, so you can edit it in any way you like.
• Master reprint licence: This means you’ve not only got permission to pass on the material, you’ve also got permission to pass on the licence. For example, if you’re involved in network marketing, you might want a master reprint licence to an e-book, so you can not only pass it on to your downline, but they can pass it on to their downline in turn.

These various terms might have your head spinning. But in practice, it’s just a matter of carefully reading the copyright owner’s wording.

The Internet landscape has changed when it comes to copyright. Previously, publishers would jealously guard their material, and could even send lawyers after you if you copied it without permission. But now Web 2.0 sites like YouTube encourage users to copy their material, so they get more exposure and more traffic.

So what has changed, and what can you do about it?

First, understand that the basic copyright laws have not changed. Anything published by somebody is still copyright, and you’re legally not allowed to copy it without their permission.

In fact, I know somebody who recently received a nasty letter and a big bill from a law firm representing a photo library, alleging she was using one of their photos without buying the licence. It turned out her graphic designer had used this picture illegally on her Web site.

So be careful about what you copy from the Internet. If anything, it’s become easier, not harder, for copyright owners to track down offenders.

But more people are giving permission.

The big shift is that more people are giving permission for other to copy their material. I’ve already mentioned YouTube, which goes out of its way to give you the exact instructions to copy any of their video clips to your Web site or blog.

Another copyright system that’s becoming more common is the “Creative Commons License”. It’s very useful to know how this works, because it allows you to use other people’s material – with their permission.

For example, Flickr (which is like YouTube for photos), allows a photographer to make their photos available for others to use. Flickr can be an excellent source of photos for your PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, books, e-books and any other publications.

Here’s how it works …

By default, photos on Flickr are copyright. But optionally, the photographer can grant these rights:

Attribution: You have to give them credit for using their photos.
Noncommercial: You can only use them for non-commercial purposes.
No Derivative Works: You can’t alter the photos.
Share Alike: If you use the photos in any product, you must make that product available for others to use in the same way.

These rights can be combined. For example, “Attribution + No Derivative Works + Noncommercial” means the photo can only be used in original form for non-commercial purposes. On the other hand, just “Attribution + No Derivative Works” means you can use it for commercial purposes (but still only in its original form).

For our sake, as potential users, the least restrictive licence is just “Attribution”, because it means we can use it – at no charge – for commercial purposes, and even alter it, as long as we attribute the original photographer. For instance, if you’re using the photo in a book, attribute the photo where it appears or on the Acknowledgements page.

So how many photos are available this way?

Here’s the good news. At the time of writing, Flickr has over 8 million photos available for use under just the Attribution licence! That’s a huge collection to choose from, so it’s an excellent starting point when you’re searching for a photograph to use in your presentations, documents or products

Chris Pudney and Gihan Perera discuss the do’s and don’ts of copyright of digital content on the Internet – including music, videos, e-books, graphics and software copyright.

MP3 File

Web sites we discussed:

• Creative Commons
• YouTube copyright rules
• Flickr