What is copyright?

 

What is copyright?

Most of the programs you buy are copyrighted and you must not copy them If you do, you may be breaking the law and liable to prosecution if caught. Many people will buy a copy of a game and make a copy for their friends or other family members. This is also generally illegal. Even lending your program disk or CD-ROM to other people can break the law in most cases. FAST (Federation Against Software Piracy), there are many organizations dedicated to preventing illegal copying of software. In a business situation, if your manager asks you to copy software, always make sure first that you have a license that gives you the right to copy the software.

Most of the texts you find on the Internet are copyrighted. Never copy text without authority and always cite your source.

There are many sites that offer free graphics and clipart. Some are original and have the ability to offer you free image downloads. Many sites may not have this authority. Popular examples are images, sound clips or movie clips from Star Trek. If you visit the official Star Trek site (www.startrek.com) you will see that the use of images even the name 'Star Trek' is protected and cannot be used on 'fan sites'. Even downloading sound clips to replace blips created by Microsoft Windows is often illegal. Some sites allow 'free' downloads for entire films or music tracks. If you can download a film for free before it's officially available on video/DVD, it's a pretty good bet that the unauthorized site covers itself. Get written permission to use downloaded content and the "if in doubt - no" safe rule Since CD-ROM writers have become so widely available, it has become possible to copy entire CDROMs that may contain software, games, or data. Don't do this Always beware of software that you can get advertising for very cheap price, it can be illegally copied.

Copyright issues when copying files

Transferring files across a LAN:

You must take care that you do not accidentally make copies of the Software on your local area network (unless you are of course authorized to make such copies).

Downloading files from the Internet:

You have to be very careful while downloading files from the internet. Just because a site says that you can download materials from the site, does not mean that the owners of the Internet site have the authority to allow you to do so. It is possible to download complete software packages from the net, even complete movie films. But in many cases it is not legal to do so.

Copying CD-ROM/DVD:

If you purchase the Software, in some cases you may be permitted to make a single, backup copy of the disc.You must not allow commercial software to be copied and resold.

Freeware:

It is a software that can be copied or downloaded for free. It is often fully functional. Examples might include software developed by organizations such as universities, where the goal was not to profit from the software It is very important not to confuse freeware and shareware

Shareware:

Here you can use the software for a free trial period. Sometimes the shareware version may be fully functional, but after a while will either start displaying an annoying message, asking you to register (ie pay) your software, or in some cases it may stop working completely after the trial period. This 'try before you buy' method of obtaining software is becoming popular with major software suppliers.

User License:

If you have more than one PC, you can either buy a separate copy of the required software for each PC, or even better: you can buy a user license. This user license permits you to copy and install on each computer The more copies you create, the higher the user license costs, but the lower the operational costs per PC.

FAQ

★ Importance of copyright?
Copyright law is important because it protects the creator's interests, allowing others legal access to it. It is designed to promote artistic creativity while allowing creators to obtain appropriate rights to their own ideas and creativity and protect the creator.

★ What is copyright use?

Copyright protects only the form in which ideas and information are published. Copyright expires after a certain period of time and the law allows some limited use of copyrighted material by others without the permission of the creator