Copyright of other peoples material can have serious legal implications if misused!
For your legal safety, we would like to draw attention to the matter of
Copyright of other peoples material. It is an important matter that can get people into serious trouble if they disrespect it - i.e. it is a legal
matter that can land one in court if not respected!
What a person creates is legally their own property i.e. writing, painting, photography, illustrations, graphics etc etc etc whether it is done in hardcopy or via electric medium such as the internet - it is their Copyright.
When these rights have been asserted the © sign is shown with the material - this sign is created by pressing the 'Alt' key & typing 0169 on the numbers keypad at the right hand side of the keyboard. When work has been copyrighted, it means that it cannot be used or copied without the owners permission.
Sometimes you will see Copyrighted work not created by the user with a comment "courtesy of Fred Blogs" - this means that the Copyright owner has been contacted & has given permission for the work to be used in that particular circumstance with acknowledgement of the permission. Use elsewhere by the same person would require further permission.
Sometimes permission is given to use Copyrighted work, if it is to be used for private, non-commercial, reference &/or non-profit making use, provided the permission is acknowledged by 'courtesy of Fred Bloggs' or 'with kind permission of Fred Bloggs' - usually the creator will state their preference of acknowledgement. If used in any other way, it leaves the user open to being prosecuted in court.
Base line is - if in doubt - Do no use unless you ask & are given
permission.
e.g. I have posted a few pictures I have taken with my pencam of the
Horsemen of the Apocalypse - www.horsemen-of-the-apolcalypes.co.uk I do not have permission to use the pictures off their web site but there are no legal problems in me refering to their web site or posting the link & others going to the web site to look at the pictures there.
If you wish to copy work that has not been Copyrighted, contact the author of the work to ask for permission - it is worth making sure you can rather than risk landing yourself in legal trouble.
Web information relating to - EU Copyright Directive link
http://www.cla.co.uk/ - including information on Copywatch - Copyright
applies to other countries too - if you are not in the EU, do a web search to find your regulations.
If you wish to copyright your work, do so before publishing it or
distributing it anywhere.
Of course, if you have created work - it is your work & you can use it how & where you wish. If it is about horses - do share it with us!!
