Copyright law is one of the most important and relevant aspects of the legal system when it comes to doing business online. Most webmasters will at some stage encounter copyright law problems which must be addressed, whether that's an alleged violation of someone else's rights on their part, or someone else is violating their rights on another website or in an offline publication. Generally speaking, the principles behind copyright law are straightforward, however understanding how they work in practice is critical to ensure success in any legal claim.
At a general level, original works are the property of their creator or anyone subsequently licensed to use, reproduce or modify those works by the creator. The same is true online as it is in the publishing world - the author of content owns that content, unless some other arrangements have been made with other parties. That then gives rise to potential legal claims in circumstances where those rights have been unlawfully breached, such as content being used against advertising that doesn't belong to the publisher, or unauthorised reproduction of a particular part of work elsewhere than where permitted.
At a general level, original works are the property of their creator or anyone subsequently licensed to use, reproduce or modify those works by the creator. The same is true online as it is in the publishing world - the author of content owns that content, unless some other arrangements have been made with other parties. That then gives rise to potential legal claims in circumstances where those rights have been unlawfully breached, such as content being used against advertising that doesn't belong to the publisher, or unauthorised reproduction of a particular part of work elsewhere than where permitted.
